Sunday Worship Preparation: Psalm 111

After a few weeks away from the Psalms for Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, we return to the book of Psalms for our Sunday worship preparation. We are up to Psalm 111, a brief but beautiful psalm which is most appropriate for worship. Here is God’s Word according to this song of praise:

 Psalm 111

Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

²The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

³His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

⁴He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.

⁵He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

⁶He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

⁷The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.

⁸They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

⁹He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

The psalmist begins with the familiar “Hallelujah” (Praise ye the LORD”), calling God’s people to give praise to Jehovah God. Though this was penned as a personal song, the psalmist is no “lone ranger” Christian, worshiping God by himself and in his own way. Clearly he seeks the worship of God in the communion of saints and wants all of God’s people to join him in extolling the great God of their salvation. For as he thinks on God’s wondrous works and His attributes which are revealed in them, he plainly has the whole church in view and describes these works as being toward all God’s people (vss.5,6,9).

So for us as we worship today. Our praise of the Lord must be personal, arising from our own experience of God’s greatness and grace. But it must also be communal, as we join with the redeemed of the Lord to magnify the Lord for His works and ways.

There are many rich concepts in this psalm, but certainly the theme of God’s covenant is worthy of being noted (vss.5,9). It is clear from the language of this psalm that the psalmist has in view especially God’s work of saving His people in Christ. And that work of salvation is precisely His covenant, as v.9 reveals. There the psalmist states that God’s work of sending redemption to His people is identical to His commanding His covenant forever (Hebrew parallelism)! When God redeems His people, He brings them into covenant with Himself! When He pays the price for their freedom from sin and death, He buys them into friendship and fellowship with Himself! And that price , which is the blood of Christ His own Son in our flesh, is the blood of the covenant! And in this redemptive covenant the LORD (the unchanging “I AM”) is faithful and true to His Word and promises. As the psalmist says in v. 5, “He will ever be mindful of His covenant.” And again in v.8; “They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.”

And so we may rest in peace and assurance in the sovereign, saving work of our God. Nothing and no one can undo His redemption of us or cause His covenant bond with us to break. In Christ we are secure, now and forever. And that too is reason to praise our God, today and always. Those who fear Him know this – and do this (v.10). Shall we manifest that godly fear in our worship today?

If you wish to meditate on this psalm and others through music, you are encouraged to visit the Psalter page on the PRC website. The only versification of this psalm found in our Psalter is this one (click on the title to hear piano accompaniment).

304.  The Marvelous Works of God.  Psalm 111.  L.M. (4 stanzas)

1. O give the Lord whole-hearted praise,
To Him thanksgiving I will bring;
With all His people I will raise
My voice and of His glory sing.

2. His saints delight to search and trace
His mighty works and wondrous ways;
Majestic glory, boundless grace
And righteousness His work diplays.

3. The wondrous works that God has wrought
His people ever keep in mind,
His works with grace and mercy fraught,
Revealing that the Lord is kind.

4. God’s promise shall forever stand,
He cares for those who trust His word;
Upon His saints His mighty hand
The wealth of nations has conferred.

5. His works are true and just indeed,
His precepts are forever sure;
In truth and righteousness decreed
They shall for evermore endure.

6. From Him His saints’ redemption came;
His covenant sure no change can know;
Let all revere His holy Name
In heaven above and earth below.

7. In reverence and in godly fear
Man finds the gate to wisdom’s ways;
The wise His holy Name revere;
Through endless ages sound His praise.

Word Wednesday: “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”

Our word for this Wednesday is actually another expression frequently found in Christian circles and whose meaning we do not want to lose. You will remember we are also working our way through the book God Talk: The Triteness and Truth in Christian Cliches by Randall J. VanderMey (IVP, 1993). As he goes through the various phases of his life growing up as a Christian, he treats cliches that were an integral part of his life. In the chapter titled “Getting Tucked In” VanderMey reminisces about the prayer he was taught as a child: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee Lord my soul to keep….” I believe many of us can also remember learning to recite this precious little prayer before bedtime. No doubt we still hear it from the lips of our children and grandchildren.

But yes, the danger is very real that it becomes an empty prayer, a rote recitiation, a mere cliche in our Christian lives. VanderMey reflects on that in this chapter, and talks openly about his determination that his own children would not learn to pray this way but would learn to be free and talk in their own words to God. And yet, there was this fond and pressing memory of that prayer he had learned. It stuck with him. And it taught him basic things about family life – and about life in the family of God:

Since I have stood so firmly against ditty prayers for so many years, I am surprised at the traces of joy that accompany my recollection of the words, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep…’ According to my joy, there must have been more going on during those ancient recitals than I have been willing to allow.

…Furthermore, my ditty prayer gave me a chance to spend some moments with my mom or, some nights, my dad. I thought about little kids who didn’t have moms or dads. I felt so lucky. Thank you for moms and dads, God. Thank you for ‘quality time’, for moments of ‘bonding’, for contexts for intimacy and processes of socialization.

…I never would have thought of doing it by myself. But Mom and Dad said it was good to do. They trusted him. God must have been something like Mom’s mom or Dad’s dad. And so I learned about heirarchical relationships, transcendence and meditation. I learned about generational covenants from the inside.

…Every night I had to pray that prayer. Once didn’t take care of it for good. And still, each time was plenty for that day. It was sort of like the sun. The sunshine was plenty for each day, but the next day we got some more. The sun was never through. It just went round and round. So I learned that some things were good not because they got better; they were good because they stayed the same. Rituals, I’ve learned, are something like that: cyclic, redundant, dynamic, equilibrious. They counteract the slow erosions of time and become the loci of enduring values (pp.28-29).

Can we relate to these things too? Yes, such prayers were good for us. And I believe we too still draw not simply precious memories from them but also precious lessons. “Thank you, Lord, for my Dad and Mom who taught me to pray this simple prayer, but who also taught me such deep lessons about what it means to live in a covenant family and to be part of Your covenant family.”

Sunday Worship Preparation – Psalm 105

As we prepare ourselves for worshiping our Triune God and Father in Jesus Christ and by His Spirit this Lord’s Day, we use Psalm 105 as our guide and help. The heading to this psalm reads: “God providence and care of his people described”, and that is certainly true as the main lines of Israel’s history are traced from the call of Abraham to the entrance into Canaan.

But you will also immediately see that this psalm is a celebration of God’s covenant faithfulness and a call to the church to worship the Lord for this. In fact, the opening lines of this psalm are repeated in 1 Chron.16, where David leads the people in worship after the tabernacle was erected in Jerusalem and the ark of the covenant was brought into it (the very symbol of God’s dwelling with His people through the blood of the covenant). Listen to the opening of this Word of God:

Psalm 105

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

²Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

³Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

⁴Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

⁵Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

⁶O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

⁷He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

⁸He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

⁹Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁰And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

¹¹Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

¹²When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

And after rehearsing the history of God bringing Israel into Egypt through Joseph, caring for them there, leading them out through His judgments on pharoah and Egypt (the ten plagues), and then providing for them in the wilderness, the psalmist ends with God’s faithfulness in bringing them into the promised land:

⁴²For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.

⁴³And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:

⁴⁴And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;

⁴⁵That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the Lord.

We can see, then, how fitting this psalm is for our worship today. And we have much more church history to rehearse, much more of God’s covenant faithfulness to recall and relate. All of it centered in Christ, in whom all God’s covenant promises are “yea, and in him Amen” ( 2 Cor.1:20). As we gather with our families this morning for devotions, and as we gather with our congregations today, let us remember “the marvellous works that he hath done” and “give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name”, “sing unto him”, and “talk… of all his wondrous works”. Let us praise our God for His covenant faithfulness!  And do so in hope that He will yet fulfill all His Word to us and to all His elect people when Jesus returns. “Praise ye the LORD”!

If you wish to meditate further on Psalm 105, through music, you may make use of this versification of the psalm found in our Psalter (Though there is only a single versification, there is a second tune. I will quote only stanzas 1-5 here. The rest may be found at this link – scroll all the way to the end. Click on the title to hear the piano accompaniment.):

289.  The Unfailing Faithfulness of God.  Psalm 105.  C.M.

O praise the Lord, His deeds make known,

And call upon His Name;

Sing ye to Him, His praises sing,

His wondrous works proclaim.

 

Let hearts rejoice that seek the Lord,

His holy Name adore;

Seek ye Jehovah and His strength,

Seek Him for evermore.

 

Ye children of God’s covenant,

Who of His grace have heard,

Forget not all His wondrous deeds

And judgments of His word.

 

The Lord our God is God alone,

All lands His judgments know;

His promise He remembers still,

While generations go.

 

While yet our fathers were but few,

Sojourners in the land,

He sware that Canaan should be theirs,

And made His covenant stand.

I also want to add this video which I came across late this week and have been playing over and over. It is a Dutch versification of the Genevan tune of Psalm 42, which you most of you will recognize (As the hart, about to falter”, L.Bourgeois, 1551 – #416 in our Psalter). Absolutely beautiful arrangement! May it be the blessing to you it has been to me.

May We have Hope for Prodigal Children? December “Tabletalk”

Hope for Prodigal Children by Burk Parsons | Reformed Theology Articles at Ligonier.org.

With the arrival of December comes the arrival of the latest issue of Tabletalk, Ligonier Ministries’ monthly Reformed devotional magazine. While the daily devotions continue on the Heidelberg Catechism, as it has throughout this past year (currently covering the Lord’s Prayer), the theme of this month’s issue is new: “The Prodigal Son“. Once again there are four (4) main articles on this theme, though other special rubrics relate to it as well (see below). This is how these main articles treat the theme:

• “Jesus’ Mission to the Lost: Luke 15″ by Thomas R. Schreiner
• “The Prodigal Son” by David Murray
• “The Story of Two Older Brothers” by John P. Sartelle
• “The Loving Father” by Allan Murray

Editor Burk Parsons introduces the issue and theme with the article linked above. It is a brief, but wonderfully pastoral  and solidly Reformed perspective on wayward sons and daughters born and raised in the church. Below are two paragraphs from it which will reveal that. You are encouraged to browse and read other available articles from this issue at the Tabletalk portion of Ligonier’s website.

As a pastor, I am often faced with the difficulty of counseling deeply saddened fathers and mothers with prodigal sons and daughters. Parents who enter my study for counsel and prayer are usually trying to come to grips with the harsh reality about a prodigal (lavishly wasteful) son or daughter. The child they have loved, prayed for, educated, nurtured, protected, and discipled has left everything to chase after the fleeting pleasures of the world, forsaking not only their father’s home but their father’s faith. There are likely many parents and grandparents reading this who have prodigal children or grandchildren, and they are greatly burdened for their souls, praying they would come to the end of themselves, trust Christ, and come home.

…In His sovereignty, God uses parents to speak God’s truth and God’s gospel to the hearts and minds of their children. If parents, who are primarily responsible for training up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, choose not to admonish for fear of driving their faithless children farther away from home, their fear might ultimately reveal their own faithlessness as well. Parents must not give in to the temptation to presume their prodigal children are bound for glory, and neither should they ever give up praying for, preaching to, and pleading with their children to come to the end of themselves, trust Christ, and come home—where they will be overwhelmingly welcomed by the heavenly Father and by their earthly father, who will run to them with open arms and a prodigal (lavishly wasteful) celebration as they both rejoice coram Deo, before the face of God.

Under the rubric “Pastor’s Perspective”, Presbyterian pastor Scotty Smith had a profitable piece on “The Prodigal Son(s) and Church Discipline”. I encourage you to read his short article as a good introduction to the theme as well.

Loving Jehovah, Forsaking Baal

In connection with our Bible studies in Judges this year, I am also reading Dale R. Davis’ Judges: Such a Great Salvation (Christian Focus, 2000). The quote below is taken from a section on his treatment of Deborah’s song found in Judges 5, actually the last verse, which is our memory verse for tonight. He points out that this verse is both a prayer and a call. The prayer aspect of it is related to our petition in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come” (and he quotes from Q&A 123 of the Heidleberg Catechism in explanation of what this means, viz., the destruction of all our foes). But this now is what he says about the “call” aspect of Judges 5:31 – a solemn reminder of what our duty is as members of God’s gracious covenant:

Yet this kingdom word is a call, a call to fickle Israel to love Yahweh and find strength in him: ‘But let those who love him [Yahweh] be like the sun going forth in its strength’ (v.31b).  To love Yahweh was Israel’s first covenant responsibility: ‘And you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with your whole life, and with everything you have’ (Deut.6:5). Then Moses’ next words spell out how Israel was to love Yahweh with such intensity: ‘And these words which I am commanding you today shall be upon your heart’ (Deut.6:6). Jesus would have said, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments’ (John 14:15). And the first commandment for Israel was ‘no other gods.’ So when Deborah sings of ‘those who love Yahweh,’ Israel – the Israel of 3:7, 3:12, and 4:1, the Israel who thinks Baal and Asherah are such a fun-loving couple – should be pricked to the heart and ask herself, ‘Have I loved Yahweh? Will I love Yahweh? Must I not love Yahweh? For, if I do not, will I not then belong among his enemies and stand outside his kingdom?’ (p.89).

Sunday Worship Preparation – Psalm 91

To lead us into proper worship of our Triune God today we will meditate on Psalm 91. We do not know whom the Holy Spirit used as the instrument of inspiration for this psalm. But that only serves to emphasize that it is not the human instrument who is important; this is God’s Word, and that is what we must focus on. Let’s put this Word before us:

 Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

²I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

³Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

⁴He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

⁵Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

⁶Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

⁷A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

⁸Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

⁹Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

¹⁰There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

¹¹For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

¹²They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

¹³Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

¹⁴Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

¹⁵He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Psalm 91 is a familiar song of comfort for God’s people, as the psalmist speaks of and promises God’s saving protection in the midst of life’s battles and trials to those who trust in Him. The language is the language of warfare and testing. The children of God in this world are not on a playground but on a battlefield, constantly under attack by that triple foe: the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature. Even our Lord when He was in our flesh came under the attack of  this three-fold enemy – in the last instance, not his own sinful nature but ours, even as he bore our sins personally and painfully. We are reminded of that in this Psalm because the devil quoted vss.11-12 to Jesus in connection with the second temptation (Matt.4:5-7).

But that is also why we may be sure that what the psalmist speaks of here in terms of God’s powerful protection is true and real – because Christ our Lord triumphed over our foes and gained the right for us to be protected and preserved in the face of their vicious attacks (read his defense of God and of his people in Matt.4!). Christ is the reason for there being “the shadow of the Almighty” for us to abide under in our daily battles (v.1). Christ is the reason there are “feathers” and “wings” in our heavenly Father for us to find shelter under when Satan rages (v.4). Christ is the reason we can be without fear when the “terror by night” of our daily sin rises up within our souls when we go to bed. Christ is the reason we find refuge in God when the “arrow” of the wicked world flies against us “by day” (v.5). And Christ is the reason why the Father sends His angels as messengers of mercy to us to keep us in all our ways (v.11).

We may also notice the covenant language that is used here. The psalmist speaks repeatedly of the closeness of the friendship of Jehovah with His own – and of their nearness to Him. God’s friend-servants “dwell” with the Lord (v.1), such that He is their “habitation” (v.9). He “covers” them with His feathers and shelters them “under His wings”, pressing them close to His side (v.4). And He promises them an everlasting dwelling with Him, where there will be perfect protection and unending peace (v.16). This too is grounded in Christ our covenant Head, who came as close as he could to us in the Incarnation (even taking on our flesh and blood) and who accomplished all that God willed in salvation to bring us close to Him (the cross, resurrection, and ascension). This is our hope, today and tomorrow, and all our days, until our Lord takes us home. May we confidently rest in this truth: “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust.”

If you would like to listen to a musical versification of Psalm 91, you may visit the Psalter page on the PRC website. There you will find two versifications of this psalm, right at the top of the page, including this one (click on the title to hear the piano accompaniment):

248. Overshadowing Protection.  Psalm 91.  L.M.

The man who once has found abode

Within the secret place of God

Shall with Almighty God abide,

And in His shadow safely hide.

 

I of the Lord my God will say,

He is my refuge and my stay;

To Him for safety I will flee,

In Him my constant trust shall be.

 

The Lord with His protecting care

Shall keep thee from the hidden snare;

When fearful plagues around prevail

Thy life the scourge shall not assail.

 

Thou shalt beneath His wings abide,

And safe within His care confide;

His faithfulness shall ever be

A sure protection unto thee.

 

No nightly terrors shall alarm,

No deadly shaft by day shall harm,

Nor pestilence that walks by night,

Nor plagues that waste in noonday light.

 

At Thy right hand, though thousands die,

No harm shall unto thee come nigh;

But thou secure, unharmed, shalt see

What wicked men’s reward shall be.

P.S. I forgot that the PR Psalm Choir also sang the above number at their May 2012 Concert. Here is the video of that performance, directed and produced by Josh Hoekstra:

Sunday Worship Preparation – Psalm 89

As we prepare ourselves for worship in the Lord’s house today, we turn to our next Psalm, Psalm 89, a “Maschil (contemplation) of Ethan the Ezrahite”. As best we can tell, this lengthy song was written during the time of Solomon and the subsequent split of the kingdom. The psalm concerns the Davidic covenant, which centers in David’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and is therefore a significant Word of God (see 2 Sam.7;  Lu.1:31-33; and vss.19-37 of the psalm). Psalm 89 begins on a joyful note, as the psalmist celebrates the covenant faithfulness of God (vss.1-18); but it ends as a lament, as he wonders where God’s lovingkindness is in the face of reproach by Israel’s enemies (vss.38ff.).

Let’s focus on the center of the psalm, as it centers on Christ the Head of the covenant and the One in Whom all the promises of God are “Yea and Amen” (2 Cor.1:20).

¹⁹Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

²⁰I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

²¹With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

²²The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

²³And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

²⁴But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

²⁵I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

²⁶He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

²⁷Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

²⁸My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

²⁹His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

³⁰If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

³¹If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

³²Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

³³Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

³⁴My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

³⁵Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

³⁶His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

³⁷It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

Here we find the reason for our entrance into God’s covenant of grace, our being preserved in it, and our everlasting security in it – God’s sovereign, loving appointment of Christ as the Head of the covenant! Nothing else explains our place in God’s covenant. Nothing else accounts for our remaining in the covenant. And nothing else gives ground for our home in the everlasting mansion of our Father. Simply Christ. And here He is described in all His glory as the Head of the covenant. He is the eternal Son of God. He is the manly Son of David. He is the Faithful Covenant-Keeper, though His covenant-fellows are all covenant-breakers.

And in vss.38-45 we also see Him as Christ-crucified on behalf of His elect people.  That is how we must read that section – the cut-off covenant Head for the sake of the covenant friends He represents and came to save from wrath unto life. Go and stand at the cross as you read those verses! And marvel at the covenant faithfulness of God toward us and the loving suffering of His Son for us.

And then worship this God and this covenant Head! And let the opening sections of this psalm lead you in that thankful praise and adoration of this blessed God. Sing of His mercies, v.1. Fear Him in the assembly of the saints, v.7. Know the joyful sound, and walk in the light of God’s face, v.15. Close out your worship (private and public) with the words of the psalmist: “Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen and Amen” (v.52).

May our covenant God richly bless you on this Lord’s Day. And may you richly bless Him in return.

If you wish to listen to some versifications of this Psalm taken from our Psalter, visit this page and scroll down to Ps.#’s 241-243 (way at the end of this section).

Seminary Convocation 2012

Last evening at Grandville PRC (MI) the Protestant Reformed Theological School (Seminary) held its annual convocation to mark the beginning of a new school year. Rev. Ken Koole, President of the Theological School Committee, opened the night by leading us in singing, prayer, and Scripture reading (Deut.6). The audience was then treated to three special numbers sung by the men’s chorus, the Hope Heralds.

Rev.Koole then introduced Prof.Ronald Cammenga, professor of Dogmatics and OT Studies, as our speaker for the evening. Prof.Cammenga gave a fine address to the students, faculty, and audience on the vital relationship between our Seminary and the “good Christian schools”. Grounding his remarks on Deut.6, Article 21 of the Church Order of the PRC (see below), and the Reformed, confessional teaching on God’s sovereign, unconditional, and unilateral covenant of grace with elect believers and their spiritual children, he demonstrated how the Seminary in all of its work serves to support, encourage, and promote the Christian schools, specifically, those started and maintained by Protestant Reformed parents.

His speech was a stirring reminder of how the PR Seminary serves this significant cause of our Lord’s kingdom.  It also stirred up gratitude within me – both for our Seminary and for our good Christian schools. As the Seminary seeks to prepare men for the gospel ministry and leadership in Christ’s church, these preachers and officebearers will play an important role in the Christian school movement. God grant us faithful men who will promote our Christian schools in all their preaching and teaching!

On the back of last night’s program (above image) was  a quote from one of the decisions of the great Synod of Dordt (1618-19) on the establishment of Reformed Christian schools (image below). You will find the entire program above and this quote below. Click on the images to enlarge them for reading.

As always, it would have been nice to have a larger crowd last evening, to show support for the Seminary and to encourage our professors and students. Yes, life is busy, but the Seminary too needs and is worthy of your support. Whether you were able to come last night or not, you can and ought to pray for the Seminary daily. Will you commit to doing that, starting today?

Article 21 of the PRC Church Order (basically the CO of Dordt) states:

The consistories shall see to it that there are good Christian schools in which the parents have their children instructed according to the demands of the covenant.

For more information on the PRTS (Seminary), visit this page. As soon as Prof.Cammenga’s speech is available on SermonAudio, I will let you know through the the PRC website and the Seminary’s page.

Additionally, if you are looking for a “good read” on Reformed Christian education, allow me to recommend David J. Engelsma’s (retired professor from our Seminary) Reformed Education: the Christian School as Demand of the Covenant, published by the RFPA and available here. Every Reformed Christian ought to read, study, and commit to the principles of this important book.

J.Calvin on Psalm 84: “Those are happy whose highest ambition… is to draw near to him” (God)

Also for our meditation today we include this commentary of John Calvin on verses 5-6Psalm 84. May these words also confirm and strengthen in us the desire and longing for fellowship with the living God through Jesus Christ our Savior.

4 Blessed are they who dwell in thy house. Here the Psalmist expresses more distinctly the proper and legitimate use of the sanctuary; and thus he distinguishes himself from hypocrites, who are sedulously attentive to the observance of outward ceremonies, but destitute of genuine heart godliness. David, on the contrary, testifies, that the true worshippers of God offer to him the sacrifice of praise, which can never be dissociated from faith. Never will a man praise God from the heart, unless, relying upon his grace, he is a partaker of spiritual peace and joy.

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. David again informs us, that the purpose for which he desired liberty of access to the sanctuary was, not merely to gratify his eyes with what was to be seen there, but to make progress in faith. To lean with the whole heart upon God, is to attain to no ordinary degree of advancement: and this cannot be attained by any man, unless all his pride is laid prostrate in the dust, and his heart truly humbled.

…Those are happy whose highest ambition it is to have God as the guide of their life, and who therefore desire to draw near to him. God, as we have formerly observed, is not satisfied with mere outward ceremonies. What he desires is, to rule and keep in subjection to himself all whom he invites to his tabernacle. Whoever then has learned how great a blessedness it is to rely upon God, will put forth all the desires and faculties of his mind, that with all speed he may hasten to Him.

Sunday Worship Preparation – Psalm 84

For our worship preparation this Lord’s Day we are up to Psalm 84, one of the most precious and fitting psalms for our day of worship. For in this song the psalmist describes the blessedness of the one who longs for and dwells in God’s house, i.e., the one whom God by His grace draws near to Himself in covenant friendship and fellowship and the one who as a fruit of that desires and tastes sweet communion with the Lord. Let’s take in this theme from the words of the psalm; meditate carefully on the beautifully expressive language that is used:

Psalm 84

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!

²My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

³Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.

⁴Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

⁵Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

⁶Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

⁷They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

⁸O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

⁹Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

¹⁰For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

¹²O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

In OT Israel this blessedness of dwelling with the Lord was attached to a literal and physical house of God – the tabernacle and temple; that reality is evident from the psalmist’s language here. In vss.6-7 he even describes part of the actual journey the people of God had to make to get to this earthly house of God. And these “sons of Korah” (descended from the Levites) referred to in the heading to the psalm were literally doorkeepers and musicians who worked in the tabernacle and temple (Hence the words of v.10).

In NT Israel, the church, this tie to a physical “house of God” is done away in Christ (see John 4:20-24) and the saints’ dwelling with the Lord is open to any place and every place where God reveals Himself to them. Yes, we still refer to our places of worship as the “house of God”, and that is not wrong in itself. For certainly in the public gathering of God’s people the Lord comes to dwell with His own and that place too becomes His “house”. But we must understand that in the NT God’s dwelling with His people is not limited to a building, or to any physical place. If a church has no building in which to worship and the saints must meet out in the field, God in Christ and by His Spirit is present to dwell with them, and that place becomes His “house”. This too is worship “in spirit and in truth”.

With that understanding our focus in Psalm 84 should be on our longing for and enjoyment of this fellowship with God in Christ. That is what this son of Korah expresses here. From the heart, by the Spirit of Christ, he describes how lovely he finds God’s dwellingplace (v.1) and how eager he is to taste communion with his Lord (v.2). He speaks of what God is to him and to all His people – a Sun and Shield – and what He gives to those who approach Him – grace and glory (v.11)! He cries out to God in the prayer of servant-friendship, beseeching his sovereign Friend to hear him and look on him (vss.8-9). And in spiritual intimacy he tells his Friend how good he finds it to be in His house of fellowship (v.10).

Are we also filled with such godly desires so that we can speak these words today in anticipation of worship in the Lord’s house? If we do not chiefly and centrally long for God and fellowship with Him, then all the other aspects of worship will be a bore to us and considered a drag on our time. And we will not look forward to worship or prepare ourselves spiritually. We will be thinking of and longing for other things to do today – satisfying our own pleasures in the house of this world.

But if God is our central desire and delight, then we will eagerly long for and prepare for worship today. And we will go in the joy of the Lord and with His people find the Lord in the midst of His people. And we will draw near to Him, hear Him speak to us, responding in prayer-talk to Him. And then with hearts full of Him and His saving fellowship in Christ, we will sing of the greatness, glory, and grace of this sovereign Friend, with gratitude. And we will leave saying, “This day is better than a thousand! This time of fellowship with my God was sweeter than any fellowship with the world! Yes, I would rather be here, in God’s presence, than anywhere else!” Amen? Amen!