Worship service 05/03/26.
Greetings and call to worship.
—Greetings and blessings to the people of God, gathered on the Sabbath to worship God in the Spirit by the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in sincerity and truth. Grace be with you, and peace be multiplied through the love of the Father and the love of His Son Jesus Christ. We come before Him on this blessed and holy day to worship Him as He has given us commandment in His word. Let us therefore bless and praise His name forever. John 14:6-7 says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Inasmuch as the Lord hath shown us the way by His Spirit, yea Jesus Christ is the way, let us walk in Him and walk in the light as He is in the light, that we might have fellowship one with another, and be forgiven and cleansed of all our sin.
A Puritan minister writes, “Ques. Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?
Ans. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week, ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.
Q. 1. Is the seventh day of the week always to be kept as holy, and the weekly Sabbath unto the Lord?
A. The seventh day in _number_ is always to be kept as holy, and the weekly Sabbath; the seventh part of our time being God’s due, and, by virtue of this commandment, to be separated from common use, and employed in his worship, and more immediate service every week; but the seventh day in order from the creation is not necessary always to be observed as a Sabbath, it being in the power of God, who appointed the seventh in order, to alter that order at his pleasure.
Q. 2. Which day of the seven did God at first appoint to be the weekly Sabbath?
A. God did at first appoint the seventh day in order to be the weekly Sabbath: “Six days shalt thou labour and do all which thou hast to do, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work,” etc.
Q. 3. Wherefore did God appoint the seventh day at first to be the weekly Sabbath?
A. God did at first appoint the seventh day to be the weekly Sabbath, because it was the day of his rest from his works of creation, that thereon men might rest from their works, and remember his: “For in six days God made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day,” etc.”
Prayer unto the public reading of the Holy Scripture:
Our holy and righteous Father,
Full of all glory, justice, and righteousness,
Merciful and faithful—The Covenant God who will by no means clear the guilty, taking vengeance on them that follow after other gods, 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 elected from before the creation of all worlds and purchased by the precious blood of thy Son, called out of darkness and brought into the fellowship of the gospel and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We bow in all reverence before thy throne, 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 denied access to the covenant promises, are under the wrath and curse of God, and must be cast from thy presence as an abominable thing. Moreover, we confess that without faith in the Mediator, consent to sound doctrine and a repentant heart, endeavouring to walk evenly and zealously for thee, which is the gracious work of the Spirit, we have no evidence of fellowship with thee. For we are by nature guilty and polluted, unable of ourselves to repent or return, and altogether unfit to render thee any service that is not defiled by sin. Therefore, do we confess our utter dependence on the Father’s love for our election, the Son’s righteousness for our justification and the Spirit’s work in our hearts for our sanctification. We believe that thou art our God, and the rewarder of them that diligently seek thy face. Therefore, inasmuch as we are convinced of our sin in Adam and the redemption in Jesus Christ alone, we cry out to thee for mercy: 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 by the blood of Christ and the washing of the Spirit by the word. Sanctify us by the truth of thy word. 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 live by it; And may the same Spirit who breathed life into the church in all ages; 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 28 [3]: 1 Being in great fear and heaviness of heart to see God dishonored by the wicked, he desireth to be rid of them. 4 And crieth for vengeance against them: and at length assureth himself, that God hath heard his prayer, 9 Unto whose tuition he commendeth all the faithful.
A Psalm of David.
1 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but malice is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their inventions: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
5 For they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, therefore destroy them, and build them not up.
6 Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my petitions.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and exalt them for ever.
Exposition:
—Previously, we saw the lively and earnest manner in which David besought God for support and audience, which was the mark of his faith and sincerity. And this we must ever bear in mind: that the proper manner of prayer is required of us no less than the right matter of prayer. God would have the whole man—what we speak, and how we speak it; the petition, and the affection that carrieth it. Therefore it is unacceptable to come before Him coldly, dryly, and without holy affection. Prayer without the heart is like unknown words spoken in a foreign tongue.
And truly, this is one cause why God afflicts us in the first place: He would remind us of His wisdom, power and sovereignty that He might draw us to affectionate prayer. When we are at ease, and there is no enemy to oppress us, we are tempted to forget that it is by the Lord’s mercies that we stand and by His grace we are sustained. As it is written, “they forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt.” And again, “And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.” Moses declares to the people that they must be kept dependent upon the Lord; for if the nations were consumed at once, then the beasts of the field would increase against them, that they might still be reminded of their need of Him for their safety and preservation.
Therefore, let us not be dull, dry, cold, or unaffected in prayer, but let us pray as David prayed—full of grace and zeal, earnestly beseeching God for audience. A cold and frozen prayer is not fit to be laid upon the altar, but the sacrifice must be made with fire.
Now we come to the content of David’s prayer. Being persuaded that the Lord heard him, having petitioned earnestly for it, and by faith apprehending the mercy of God, he makes his request known. He saith, “Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity.”
David here, from the very first, shows his distinguishing character and gracious disposition. For the righteous are not like the wicked—not in their musings, nor in their delights, nor in their prayers. The wicked often pray to God, but the matter of their prayers is of another kind. They mind earthly things; therefore their thoughts are consumed with the present. They may pray when afflicted, though not from faith, but rather from desperation. They may pray that God would bless them in this life, but there the compass of their desire ends, having no true knowledge of, nor relish for, the spiritual kingdom to come.
David, therefore, shows himself to be of another spirit, in that the beginning of his petition concerns the end of his life. He would not be drawn away with those who are drawn after iniquity. Those who run hard after the vanities of this life will fall hard into the punishments of the next. They who thirst after the things of this life and let slip the godly commandment, “mortify the deeds of the body”, God will let them slip into the fire which shall never be quenched. Those who are drawn by the devil into sin, God will drag them into hell, there to be with the devil, their playmate. Let not man think to tarry a moment with the devil. Here a little, and there a little, and suddenly, your life is gone, forfeit, and wasted. He who spends his time with the wicked, and lives his life like the wicked, shall perish with the wicked. The wicked spend their time, energy, zeal, and devotion storing up the things of this life, that they may live, and that their children after them may live in their inheritance. As the Psalm saith, “Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.” And again, “men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.”
But David sees beyond their present estate. He sees the end of their thoughts, their desires, and their works. He sees their final portion, which is death and destruction. Therefore, the beginning of David’s prayer concerning his enemies is not, “Make me stronger than they,” nor, “Let me triumph over them,” nor, “Deliver them into my hands,” but, “Draw me not away with them”—that is, unto judgment. For, despite their present ease, they shall be racked with perpetual torment. Despite their wealth and honour, they shall be punished with everlasting burnings. The flower may stand fair in the morning, yet it is cut down before evening, and its goodly image vanishes.
Let us then pray with David concerning our end, and we shall not be so troubled if things go ill with us in the present. For if our portion is with the righteous, what is temporal sorrow? And if our end is eternal life, what is present reproach? Let us therefore plead above all, not that we may be admired, enriched, or avenged, but that we may not be gathered with the wicked, nor drawn away into perdition with the workers of iniquity. Better to suffer with the saints than to flourish with sinners; better to be bruised and beaten on the narrow way which leadeth to life than crowned like kings on the road to everlasting destruction.
Calvin— “The meaning is, that in circumstances so dissimilar, God should not mingle the righteous with the wicked in the same indiscriminate destruction. Undoubtedly, too, in speaking of his enemies, he indirectly asserts his own integrity. But he did not pray in this manner, because he thought that God was indiscriminately and unreasonably angry with men; he reasons rather from the nature of God, that he ought to cherish good hope, because it was God’s prerogative to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, and to give every one his due reward. By the workers of iniquity, he means man wholly addicted to wickedness. The children of God sometimes fall, commit errors, and act amiss in one way or other, but they take no pleasure in their evil doings; the fear of God, on the contrary, stirs them up to repentance.”
Henry— “Save me from being infected with their sins and from doing as they do. Let me not be drawn away by their fallacious arguments, or their allurements, from the holy oracle (where I desire to dwell all the days of my life), to practise any wicked works;” see Psalms 114:4. “Lord, never leave me to myself, to use such arts of deceit and treachery for my safety as they use to my ruin. Let no event of Providence be an invincible temptation to me, to draw me either into the imitation or into the interest of wicked people.” Good men dread the way of sinners; the best are sensible of the danger they are in of being drawn aside into it; and therefore we should all pray earnestly to God for his grace to keep us in our integrity. 3. “Save me from being involved in their doom; let me not be led forth with the workers of iniquity, for I am not one of those that speak peace while war is in their hearts.” Note, Those that are careful not to partake with sinners in their sins have reason to hope that they shall not partake with them in their plagues, Revelation 18:4.
Trapp— “Draw me not away with the wicked — Who seek to draw me away from my settled purpose of attending upon thee, απερισπαστως , 1 Corinthians 7:35 , and are therefore likely to be drawn away by thee to execution, as malefactors are drawn, hanged, and quartered (there wanteth but a hurdle, a horse, and a halter, said Belknapp, to do me right), as Sisera was drawn by God to the river Kishon to be ruined, Judges 4:7 .
Poole— “Draw me not away with the wicked: the sense is, either,
- Do not suffer me to be drawn away by their counsel or example to imitate their evil courses. For God is oft said to do that which he doth not effect, but only permit and order, as 2 Samuel 12:12. Or,
- Do not draw me into the same snares and mischief with them; do not drag me, as thou dost or wilt do all these malefactors, to execution and destruction. Let me not die the death of the wicked. Compare Psalms 26:9. Thus drawing is used for drawing to death, Job 21:33; Ezekiel 32:20. This seems best to suit with the following context, wherein he imprecateth and foretelleth that destruction upon his enemies which he deprecated for himself.”
Opening Prayer.
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Amen.
Lesson 82. [1.2.56.] The Contents of Holy Scripture: The Prophets. Micah. The Prophet of the Spirit of the Lord. Part 2.
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—Jonah, Micah
All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
Intro. Micah 5-7.
Lessons from Micah.
- God makes His salvation known to His people contrary to the glory and expectation of men. Mic. 5:2. 1 Cor. 1:18-29
—Many mighty cities, famous for stability, wealth and strength, yet none were chosen for the birthplace of the Lord Jesus Christ, but this, famous only for the account of Boaz and Ruth, showing God’s particular interest and delight in true harmony and covenant fidelity. Calvin— “Even before the time of David Bethlehem was a small town, and one of the most common provinces. Who could have expected that a king would have been chosen from such a hamlet, and then, that he should come from a hut? for David belonged to a pastoral family; his father was a shepherd, and he was the least among his brethren. Who then could have thought that light would have arisen from such a corner, yea, from so mean a cottage? This was done contrary to the expectations of men. Hence the Prophet sets here before the faithful a similar expectation for their comfort; as though he said, — “Has not God once formed a most perfect state of things by making David a king, so that the people became in every respect happy and blessed? And whence did David come? It was from Bethlehem. There is then no reason why your present miseries should over-much distress you; for God can again from the same place bring forth a king to you, and he will do so.”
- Christ Himself is our peace, and manifests His peace to us through the preaching of His word. Mic. 5:5, Eph. 2:4, John 14:22-27, Judg. 2:16, Neh. 9:27. “Christ does not offer peace, nor give peace, but He is our peace, through the atonement and reconciliation made for His people.”
Practical application. Christ Himself shall be the peace and consolation of His people, making Himself known unto them through the doctrine and comfort of His holy word. Even when the enemy ariseth and endeavoureth to invade the land, not only by outward violence and tyranny, but by false doctrine, and all manner of spiritual corruption, seeking thereby to lay waste the Church and pull down the palaces of virtue, truth, and uprightness, yet the Lord will not forsake His inheritance. He will raise up faithful shepherds under Himself, who shall feed His flock with knowledge and understanding, lead them into the safety of green pastures by sound doctrine and gracious promises, confirming them earnestly in the obedience of faith. By this means, the hearts of believers are preserved from carnal fear and disquietness, so that they are not carried away with the terror of men or the subtlety of error, but, being established in the word of Christ, resist the devil steadfastly, withstand the world with holy courage, and remain constant in the ways of truth unto the end.
- The Lord’s people will be as a blessing to the nations surrounding them, not waiting for the word or counsel of men to encourage them to good works. Mic. 5:7, Isa. 30:21, 2 Cor. 2:15-17
- The Lord’s people will be bold, fearless, courageous, and fierce in the midst of trouble. They will resist the enemy, but the enemy will not resist them. Mic. 5:8-9, Prov. 28:1, Jer. 1:8-10
- The Lord will judge and avenge His people who are not given to idolatry. Mic. 5:10-15, Gen. 35:1-5, Judges 10:16
- The Lord will have mercy and not sacrifice. Mic. 6:6-8
The Lord Himself makes atonement for sin. “Shall I give my firstborn?”
The Lord requires of us sincere faith and sincere obedience. “Justice, mercy, and faith.” Matt. 23:23
- The wicked may judge themselves pure, but the righteous will not so. Mic. 6:11, Prov. 14:12, Deut. 29:19, Ps. 49:18-20
- The righteous have always been few on the earth, even among the professors of religion. Even among the professors of true religion. Mic. 7:1-7, Matt. 7:13-14, Isa. 6:13, Ps. 12:1-2, Ps. 28:3, Ex. 23:2, Jer. 5:1-5, Ezk. 9.
- The righteous must wait for the last day to be vindicated. Mic. 7:8-17
- The Lord will deliver His church from her enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, by the Lord Jesus Christ, pardon of sin, and acceptance through the righteousness of another. Therefore, may His people say, “Who is a God like unto thee?” Mic. 7:18-20, Ps. 103:3, 12, Ps. 130, Rom. 3:19-28
Conclusion.
Closing Prayer.
YouTube Audio: https://youtu.be/dnucQuwjlho