Worship service 10/19/25.
Greetings and call to worship.
Greetings and good morning, saints and fellow Christians, those enlightened with heavenly wisdom, and able to discern good and evil, truth and heresy even by the Spirit of God, as it is written, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” Grace, Mercy and Peace be multiplied to you through the truth of God by our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the way the truth and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but through that way, that truth, that life.
Psalm 100 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Although the church in this world is beset round about by many enemies, yet we have confidence that His mercy is everlasting and His truth endureth to all generations. This gives us great encouragement to worship Him this Sabbath day and teach the sound doctrine of His Reformed church to His people from generation to generation.
A Puritan minister writes, “If you would hear the word aright, hear it with meek spirits. James 1: 21. Receive the word in mansuetudine, ‘with meekness’. Meekness is a submissive frame of heart to the word. Contrary to this meekness is fierceness of spirit, when men rise up in rage against the word; as if the patient should be angry with the physician when he gives him a medicine to purge out his bad humours. ‘When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and gnashed on him [Stephen] with their teeth.’ Acts 7: 54. ‘Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house.’ 2 Chron 16: 10. Pride and guilt make men fret at the word. What made Asa enraged but pride? He was a king, and thought he was too good to be told of his sin. What made Cain angry when God said to him, ‘Where is Abel, thy brother?’ He replied, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ What made him so touchy but guilt? He had imbrued his hands in his brother’s blood. If you would hear the word aright, lay aside your passions. ‘Receive the word with meekness;’ get humble hearts to submit to the truths delivered. God takes the meek person for his scholar. ‘The meek will he teach his way.’ Psa 25: 9. Meekness makes the word preached to be an ‘ingrafted word.’ James 1: 21. A good scion grafted in a bad stock changes the nature of it, and makes it bear good and generous fruit; so, when the word preached is grafted into men’s hearts, it sanctifies them and makes them bring forth the sweet fruits of righteousness. By meekness it becomes an ingrafted word.”
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 cause us by thy grace 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 27 [2]: 1 David maketh this Psalm being delivered from great perils, as appeareth by the praises and thanksgiving annexed: 6 Wherein we may see the constant faith of David against the assaults of all his enemies. 7 And also the end wherefore he desireth to live and to be delivered, only to worship God in his Congregation.
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I request; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his Tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, seek ye my face; my heart answered unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
9 Hide not therefore thy face from me; nor cast thy servant away in displeasure: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 Though my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a right path, because of mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as speak cruelly.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Exposition:
As we have already noted concerning the general scope of this Psalm, David—full of confidence and the Spirit of God—prayeth earnestly concerning his welfare and safety in the face of his enemies, grounding his hope in future mercies by remembrance of past lovingkindnesses. For though David was doubtless beset by many adversaries, both domestic and foreign, yet the Lord was ever his stay, his shield, his rock, and his light.
David begins, therefore, with a beaming declaration—not that the Lord had merely given him light or assisted him with light, but that the Lord was his light. And we must remember that David, speaking by the Spirit, speaks in a spiritual manner when he employs such a choice metaphor. For by “light” he signifies divine understanding, even the illumination of the soul, and the receiving of sound doctrine unto salvation. As he says elsewhere, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” and the apostle saith, “Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” and it is said in the gospel, “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Thus, employing the same image to the same end, he shows that inasmuch as the Lord Himself is our light, we shall never go astray while our trust is fixed in Him.
But this is not an open invitation for the wicked to partake of that light. God calleth whom He will. “He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy,” and, “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth; whereunto he called you by our gospel.” And again, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts.” Therefore, though the preaching of the Word is the outward means of salvation, it is effectual only to those whom God hath chosen of His free and sovereign grace.
It is not that God merely invites us into His light, nor that He assists us to attain it, but that He is our light—just as He is our life and our salvation. As it is written, “Jesus Christ is of God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” and again, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” He is the truth and He is made unto us wisdom that we might know the truth and be free, being united to the Father through Him. Christ is Himself the fountain and essence of all true wisdom, imparting it to us by His Spirit, causing us to understand His Word, to profit by it, and to draw from it sound conclusions, which is the basis for comfort and consolation. Thus, He may rightly be called our Wisdom.
David, acknowledging therefore that sound doctrine and salvation can never be separated, binds them together in a golden chain which none may break without nullifying the whole doctrine of Christ. For where Christ’s doctrine is not found, Christ Himself is not found; even as He saith, “I am that I say unto you.”
And William Tyndale, that mighty English Reformer, writes truly:
“Man’s wisdom is plain idolatry; neither is there any other idolatry than to imagine of God after man’s wisdom. God is not man’s imagination, but that only which He saith of Himself. God is nothing but His law and His promises—that which He biddeth thee to do, and that which He biddeth thee to believe and hope. God is but His Word, as Christ saith (John 8), ‘I am that I say unto you;’ that is, that which I preach am I; my words are spirit are life. God is that only which He testifieth of Himself; and to imagine any other thing of God than that is damnable idolatry.”
Therefore, in summary: since God is light unto us, let us walk in that light as He is in the light—in sound doctrine, in Christian love and unity, speaking words of edification, bearing patiently one another’s infirmities, and keeping our fellowship pure and unfeigned before Him who is both our Light and our Salvation.
Opening Prayer.
Our gracious and sovereign Lord, our light and our salvation,
Whom shall we fear when thou art our God?
Who shall stand against the truth when thou standest to deliver us?
Though an host encamp against us, we shall be confident in thy love, and rejoice in thy salvation. We shall praise thy name in the fires, and glory in thy holiness when the waters flow over us. Give us such faith and hope to wait patiently for thy coming when thou wilt judge all men. Give us hearts of purity to stand firm in the gospel. Give us hearts of valor to hope against hope. Give us hearts of love to worship thee with fire and devotion and offer ourselves in service to the brethren. We confess our flesh is weak and our spirits not yet perfect, but we hope in thy mercy. Shed thy mercy upon us by thy free spirit and unite our hearts to fear thy name. So may we come boldly before thy throne crying, grace, grace. So may we endure in faith, which though it is tried by fire might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, we love, and pray in His holy and most blessed name, who is our Mediator, our Captain, and Deliverer, Amen.
Lesson 54. [1.2.29.] The Contents of Holy Scripture: The Books of Wisdom: Reformed Orthodoxy in the Psalms.
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-Job, Psalms
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.
Since, then, there exists a clear command to invoke God only; since, again, one Mediator is proposed, whose intercession must support our prayers; since a promise has, moreover, been added, that whatever we ask in the name of Christ we shall obtain; men must pardon us, if we follow the certain truth of God, in preference to their frivolous fictions. It is surely incumbent on those who, in their prayers, introduce the intercession of the dead, that they may thereby be assisted more easily to obtain what they ask, to prove one of two things either that they are so taught by the word of God, or that men have license to pray as they please. But in regard to the former, it is plain that they are destitute of authority from the scriptures, as well as of any approved example of such intercession; while, as to the latter, Paul declares that none can invoke God, save those who have been taught by his word to pray. On this depends the confidence with which it becomes pious minds to be actuated and imbued when they engage in prayer.
The men of the world supplicate God, dubious, meanwhile, of success. For they neither rely upon the promise, nor perceive the force of what is meant by having a Mediator through whom they will assuredly obtain what they ask. Moreover, God enjoins us to come free from doubt, (Matt. 21:22). Accordingly, prayer proceeding from true faith obtains favor with God; whereas prayer accompanied with distrust rather alienates him from us. For this is the proper mark which discriminates between genuine invocation and the profane wandering prayers of the heathen. And, indeed, where faith is wanting, prayer ceases to be divine worship. It is to this James refers when he says, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God; but let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he that doubteth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the winds, and tossed” (James 1:6). It is not surprising that he who has no interest in Christ, the true Mediator, thus fluctuates in uncertainty and distrust. For, as Paul declares, it is through Christ only that we have boldness and access with confidence to the Father. We have, therefore, taught men, when brought to Christ, no longer to doubt and waver in their prayers, as they were wont to do, but to rest secure in the word of the Lord a word which, when it once penetrates the soul, drives far from it all dubiety, which is repugnant to faith.
It remains to point out the third fault in prayer, which I said that we have corrected. Whereas men generally prayed in an unknown tongue, we have taught them to pray with understanding. Every man, accordingly, is taught by our doctrine to know, when he prays in private, what it is he asks of God, while the public prayers in our churches are framed so as to be understood by all. And it is the dictate of natural reason that it should be so, even if God had given no precept on the subject. For the design of prayer is to make God the conscious witness of our necessities, and as it were to pour out our hearts before him. But nothing is more at variance with this design than to move the tongue without thought and intelligence. And yet, to such a degree of absurdity had it come, that to pray in the vulgar tongue was almost regarded as an offense against religion. I can name an archbishop who threatened with incarceration, and the severer penances, the person who should repeat the Lord’s Prayer aloud in any language but Latin. The general belief, however, was, that it mattered not in what language a man prayed at home, provided he had what was called a final intention directed to prayer; but that in churches the dignity of the service required that Latin should be the only language in which prayers were couched.
There seems, as I lately observed, something monstrous in this determination to hold converse with God in sounds which fall without meaning from the tongue. Even if God did not declare his displeasure, nature herself, without a monitor, rejects it. Besides, it is easy to infer from the whole tenor of scripture how deeply God abominates such an invention. As to the public prayers of the church, the words of Paul are clear; the unlearned cannot say “amen” if the benediction is pronounced in an unknown tongue. And this makes it the more strange, that those who first introduced this perverse practice, ultimately had the effrontery to maintain, that the very thing which Paul regards as ineffably absurd, was conducive to the majesty of prayer. The method by which, in our churches, all pray in common in the popular tongue, and males and females indiscriminately sing the psalms, our adversaries may ridicule if they will, provided the Holy Spirit bears testimony to us from heaven, while he repudiates the confused, unmeaning sounds which are uttered elsewhere.
In the second principal branch of doctrine that is, that which relates to the ground of salvation, and the method of obtaining it many questions are involved. For, when we tell a man to seek righteousness and life out of himself (i.e., in Christ only, because he has nothing in himself but sin and death), a controversy immediately arises with reference to the freedom and powers of the will. For, if man has any ability of his own to serve God, he does not obtain salvation entirely by the grace of Christ, but in part bestows it on himself. On the other hand, if the whole of salvation is attributed to the grace of Christ, man has nothing left, has no virtue of his own by which he can assist himself to procure salvation. But though our opponents concede that man, in every good deed, is assisted by the Holy Spirit, they nevertheless claim for him a share in the operation. This they do, because they perceive not how deep the wound is which was inflicted on our nature by the fall of our first parents.
No doubt, they agree with us in holding the doctrine of original sin, but they afterwards modify its effects, maintaining that the powers of man are only weakened, not wholly depraved. Their view, accordingly, is that man, being tainted with original corruption, is, in consequence of the weakening of his powers, unable to act aright; but that, being aided by the grace of God, he has something of his own, and from himself, which he is able to contribute.
We, again, though we deny not that man acts spontaneously, and of free will, when he is guided by the Holy Spirit, maintain that his whole nature is so imbued with depravity, that of himself he possesses no ability whatever to act aright. Thus far, therefore, do we dissent from those who oppose our doctrine, that while they neither humble man sufficiently, nor duly estimate the blessing of regeneration, we lay him completely prostrate, that he may become sensible of his utter insufficiency in regard to spiritual righteousness, and learn to seek it, not partially, but wholly, from God. To some not very equitable judges, we seem, perhaps, to carry the matter too far; but there is nothing absurd in our doctrine, or at variance either with scripture or with the general consent of the ancient church. Nay, we are able, without any difficulty, to confirm our doctrine to the very letter out of the mouth of Augustine; and, accordingly, several of those who are otherwise disaffected to our cause, but somewhat sounder in their judgments, do not venture to contradict us on this head. It is certain, as I have already observed, that we differ from others only in this: that by convincing man of his poverty and powerlessness, we train him more effectually to true humility, leading him to renounce all self-confidence, and throw himself entirely upon God; and that, in like manner, we train him more effectually to gratitude, by leading him to ascribe, as in truth he ought, every good thing, which he possesses to the kindness of God. They, on the other hand, intoxicating him with a perverse opinion of his own virtue, precipitate his ruin, inflating him with impious arrogance against God, to whom he ascribes the glory of his justification in no greater degree than to himself. To these errors they add a third: that is, that, in all their discussions concerning the corruption of human nature, they usually stop short at the grosser carnal desires, without touching on deeper-seated and more deadly diseases; and hence it is, that those who are trained in their school easily forgive themselves the foulest sins, as no sins at all, provided they are hid.
Lesson. Reformed Orthodoxy in the Psalms.
I. The Insufficiency of Natural Revelation.
Psalm 19:1, 7
II. The Sinfulness of Man.
Original Sin.
Psalm 51:5, 58:3 Psalm 14:1-3
III. The Necessity of Regeneration.
Psalm 51:10, Psalm 80:3, Psalm 100:3
IV. Justification by Faith.
Psalm 32, Psalm 143:2, Psalm 130:3-4
IV. The Means of Salvation.
The Word of God.
Psalm 19:7, Psalm 147:19-20,
V. The Final Judgment.
i. The eternal felicity of the righteous.
Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 17:15, Psalm 37:37.
ii. The future torment of the wicked.
Psalm 1:4-6, Psalm 9:17, Psalm 11:5-7
Conclusion.
Closing Prayer.
Fearless Puritan: 