Hymn of the Day
(tune: "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?" p. 342)
When any turn from Zion's way, (Alas, what numbers do!)
It seems I hear my Savior say, "Wilt thou forsake me too?"
Ah, Lord! with such a heart as mine, Unless Thou hold me fast;
I feel I must, I shall decline, And prove like them at last.
Yet Thou alone hast power I know, To save a wretch like me;
To whom or wither could I go, If I should turn from Thee?
Beyond a doubt I rest assured, Thou art the Christ of God;
Who hast eternal life secured, By promise and by blood.
The help of men and angels joined, Could never reach my case;
Nor can I hope relief to find, But in Thy boundless grace.
What anguish has that question stirred, If I will also go?
Yet, Lord, relying on Thy Word, I humbly answer, No!
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Today's Hymns
Be Thou My Vision - #334
Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim #45,
Hallelujah, God Has Saved Me! #cb11
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Special Dates:
Eric and Katie – 7 ~ Elaine Grimsley – 7 ~ Jean Rozeboom – 12
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This coming weekend (September 10-12) I will be preaching for Sovereign Grace Church of Jackson, MO (Drew Dietz, pastor). Eric Van Beek will preach in my absence.
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Whatever you do for God, do it with all your heart and mind and strength. In other things be moderate, and dread running into extremes. In soul matters fear moderation just as you would fear the plague.
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No man was ever sorry that he served the Lord. No man ever said at the end of his days, "I have read my Bible too much, I have thought of God too much, I have prayed too much, I have been too concerned about my soul." Oh, no! The people of God would always say, "Had I my life over again, I would walk far more closely with God than ever I have done. I am sorry that I have not served God better—but I am not sorry that I have served Him. The way of Christ may have its cross. But it is a way of pleasantness, and a path of peace." -J.C. Ryle
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For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? ~Esther 4.14
Wherever we are, God has put us there and He has put us there "for such a time as this." In this story. Esther is a type of the church of the Lord Jesus. Her uncle Mordecai, who spoke these words to her, is a type of Christ, Himself. Our Lord tells us that we have been put in our time and place to serve His purpose "at such a time as this."
We may not know what "time" it is, and we may not know the specific "work" He will give us to fulfill His purpose, but we should always be ready to step up to do whatever work may prove helpful to the Kingdom of God in this world.
It is not as though our unwillingness to serve God's cause will result in the failure of God's purpose, for as Mordecai told Esther, "If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place." God has not entrusted His purpose of salvation to us, but He has given us the blessed privilege of being involved with it. There are yet many of the Lord's sheep yet lost, and they must and will be found. Is it not a wonderful thing to consider that God has allowed us to be involved in this great work of His? Would we prefer to live our lives pursuing ever greater earthly riches while ignoring the opportunity to "store up for ourselves treasures in heaven"? (Luke 12.31-34)
As the years roll by, I become more acutely aware of how little time there is to serve our Lord in this life. Shortly, that time will be past, for you as well as me. Will we have spent ourselves for the Savior or spent ourselves on what must certainly perish? Will we have so lived that those around us know the gospel? Will we have been faithful to the worship of God's church so that our children and grandchildren will have such a place to attend when we are gone? Or at our departure, will this place be nothing more than an empty shell of religion.
We cannot know what God will do in time to come. But if the day comes when our church no longer exists, may it not be because we were silent and inactive "at such a time as this." -Joe
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"The praise of all his saints." Psalm 148:14
And who is this, my soul, but Jesus? Is He not indeed both the praise and the glory, the delight and the joy, the portion and the happiness of all his people? His saints, doth it say? Yes, saints, made so by his righteousness and salvation, when taken from among sinners, and when themselves sinners, he hath washed them in his blood, clothed them with his garment of salvation, and granted them an inheritance among the saints in light. And is He not their praise? Indeed, is there any other the object of their praise, to whom they look up, in whom they delight, but Him, in whom God their Father hath made them accepted in Him, the Beloved?
Say then, my soul, is He not thy praise this day, and will He not be thine everlasting, unceasing praise, every day, and all the day, and through the endless day of eternity? Who shall be thy praise but Jesus: His beauty, His glory, His excellency, in whom all divine perfections center? Who shall be thy praise but Jesus, the Mediator, the Christ of God, whose glory it is to redeem poor sinners and make them saints; to give out of his fulness, and grace for grace? Who shall be thy praise, but He that hath made thy peace, in the blood of His cross, and ever liveth to make intercession for thee?
Oh, thou fair and lovely One, the chiefest among ten thousand, Thou art my praise, my glory, my song, my rejoicing! Every day, will I praise thee; morning by morning will I hail thy name, and night by night testify Thy faithfulness. Here, while upon earth, will I unceasingly speak of Thy praise; and, ere long, I shall join the happy multitude above, in that song—"To Him that hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood!" Oh, Thou that art the praise of all the saints. -Robert Hawker