Hymns #35 - By Christ Redeemed, In Christ Restored

By Christ Redeemed, In Christ Restored

By Christ redeemed, in Christ restored,
We keep the memory adored,
And show the death of our dear Lord,
Until He come.

His body broken in our stead
Is here in this memorial bread,
And so our feeble love is fed
Until He come.

The streams of His dread agony,
His life blood shed for us, we see;
The wine shall tell the mystery
Until He come.

And thus that dark betrayal night
With the last advent we unite
By one blest chain of loving rite
Until He come.

Until the trump of God be heard,
Until the ancient graves be stirred,
And, with the great commanding word,
The Lord shall come.

O blessèd hope! with this elate
Let not our hearts be desolate,
But, strong in faith, in patience wait
Until He come.

(Words by George Rawson)

Hymns #34 - All Glory Be to God on High

 All Glory Be to God on High

All glory be to God on high,
Who hath our race befriended!
To us no harm shall now come nigh,
The strife at last is ended;
God showeth His goodwill to men,
And peace shall reign on earth again;
O thank Him for His goodness!

We praise, we worship Thee, we trust
And give Thee thanks forever,
O Father, that Thy rule is just
And wise, and changes never;
Thy boundless grace o’er all things reigns,
Thou dost whate’er Thy will ordains;
’Tis well Thou art our Ruler!

O Jesus Christ, our God and Lord,
Begotten of the Father,
O Thou who hast our peace restored,
And the lost sheep dost gather,
Thou Lamb of God, enthroned on high
Behold our need and hear our cry;
Have mercy on us, Jesus!

O Holy Spirit, precious Gift,
Thou Comforter unfailing,
Do Thou our troubled souls uplift,
Against the foe prevailing;
Avert our woes and calm our dread:
For us the Savior’s blood was shed;
Do Thou in faith sustain us!

(Words by Nikolaus Decius)

Hymns #33 - All Things in Jesus

All Things in Jesus

Friends all around me are trying to find
What the heart yearns for, by sin undermined;
I have the secret, I know where ’tis found:
Only true pleasures in Jesus abound. 

Refrain

All that I want is in Jesus.
He satisfies, joy He supplies;
Life would be worthless without Him;
All things in Jesus I find.

Some carry burdens whose weight has for years
Crushed them with sorrow and blinded with tears.
Yet One stands ready to help them just now,
If they will humbly in penitence bow.

Refrain

No other name thrills the joy chords within,
And through none else is remission of sin.
He knows the pain of the heart sorely tried.
Both need and want will by Him be supplied.

Refrain

Jesus is all this poor world needs today.
Blindly they strive, for sin darkens their way.
O to draw back the grim curtains of night,
One glimpse of Jesus and all will be bright!

Refrain

(Words by Harry Loes)

Dr. John MacArthur on being "book smart" - Part 2

Since we're at the end of a chapter, I'm taking a brief break from our spiritual depression series.  These two posts are from another Dr. John MacArthur letter dated September 17, 2010.

"Similar examples of dead faith about in church around the globe.  Pews are filled every Sunday with people who grew up in the church, surrounded by the truth and familiar with the usual Bible stories, but who have kept that knowledge at arm's length.  Perhaps they haven't grown completely cold to biblical truth, but they haven't really obeyed it yet, either.

"Some of them may even think about the Bible and its teachings constantly, or blog about it daily--but they treat it like a hobby rather than truly submitting to its authority.  Others never even think about it except on Sundays.  Like a reference volume or a textbook, it sits static in a dusty corner of their minds, accessed only in the need of the m oment, and then quickly ignored again.

"That is a dangerous and tragic way to handle the truth of Scripture.  Knowing about (emphasis in original) God is simple not enough.  Grasping the facts alone is not the same as being saved.  In fact, apart from true faith and repentance, a person who merely knows about (emphasis in original) God is no better off than the demons (James 2:19).

"The catch is that knowing about (emphasis in original) God is still a vital part of truly knowing Him.  For every person who understands the truth but remains in that hearer-only category, there are many more who know next to nothing about the God of Scripture, but who are content to put their trust in a god of their own making. (emphasis in original)  Their flawed perception of God comes from ignorance of the Bible, poor teaching, bad theology, or mismatched bits of biblical truth they've cobbled together through the years.  In some cases, their concept of God is purely a figment of their own imagination.

"Put simply, that is idolatry--such people have substituted a fictional deity for the Lord.  It's no different from worshiping a golden calf, a bronze Buddha, or a stone sphinx.

"And it's not just people outside the church who think and live that way.  Plenty of people who have been exposed to the truth of Scripture prefer to worship their own, homemade versions of God.  Projecting their own values and characteristics on the Lord, they presume He can't truly be all that His Word claims He is--that there must be limits to His knowledge, power, wrath, and judgment.

"Or they choose one of the Lord's more favorable attributes and camp on it to the exclusion of everything else He has revealed about Himself in His Word.  For example, we are naturally thrilled by the truth of 1 John 4:8 'God is love."  But if your theology begins and ends there, you're not really worshiping the true God of the Bible, but one you've concocted.  True biblical faith doesn't cherry-pick the truth.  Everything (emphasis in original) Scripture teaches about the nature, character, and work of the Lord is vital and necessary.  Choosing anything short of that is idolatry.

"So while it's not enough to hear the truth without obeying it, nevertheless, 'faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word' (Romans 10:17).  In other words, hearing and understanding the truth about God is still absolutely essential (emphasis in original) for a right relationship with Him.  You can't know God without first knowing what is true about Him.  And a true knowledge of the true  God is likewise the necessary foundation for authentic obedience to His Word.

"In short, what you know about the Lord and what you do with that knowledge touches every part of your life...so much hinges on believing the unfiltered, accurate truth about who God is and what He's done...."

Dr. John MacArthur on being "book smart" - Part 1

Since we're at the end of a chapter, I'm taking a brief break from our spiritual depression series.  This short series of posts is from another Dr. John MacArthur letter dated September 17, 2010.

"You've probably heard the pharse 'book smart.'  It's a way to describe people who excel academically, but seem unable to put their knowledge to any practical use.  Their expertise may appear to be vast and impressive, but it is essentially useless.  They are well informed in theory, but they are fools in practice.

"I'm deeply concerned that there are many men and women in the church today who are book smart when it comes to the Bible.  They know the truth of God's Word, but it has not taken root or made any transformation in their lives.  They might be able to give all the right answers on a quiz about biblical theology, but if that knowledge has not penetrated their hearts and brought about real faith and repentance, it's worthless.

"That's not to say the truth itself is worthless or ineffective.  God's Word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).  But that doesn't mean the truth always secures a positive, sanctifying result.  After all, the truth hardened Pharaoh's heart.  The same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay.

What we are really talking about is the difference between knowing the Lord, and knowing about Him (emphasis in original).  No amount of academic knowledge can substitute for real repentance and living faith.  Those are the essential marks of a right relationship with God.

"Anyone can know about (emphasis in original) God and his truth.  Some of the world's foremost Bible scholars are liberals who see Scripture as nothing more than a historical artifact of a piece of literature.  While their knowledge of God's Word is often vast, their hearts remain cold and unmoved by the truth.

Hymns #32 - Adore and Tremble, for Our God

Adore and Tremble, for Our God

Adore and tremble, for our God
Is a consuming fire!
His jealous eyes His wrath inflame,
And raise His vengeance higher.

Almighty vengeance, how it burns!
How bright His fury glows!
Vast magazines of plagues and storms
Lie treasured for his foes.

Those heaps of wrath, by slow degrees,
Are forced into a flame;
But kindled, oh! how fierce they blaze!
And rend all nature’s frame.

At His approach the mountains flee,
And seek a watery grave:
The frighted sea makes haste away,
And shrinks up every wave.

Through the wide air the mighty rocks
Are swift as hailstones hurled;
Who dares engage His fiery rage
That shakes the solid world?

Yet, mighty God, Thy sovereign grace
Sits regent on the throne;
The refuge of Thy chosen race
When wrath comes rushing down.

Thy hand shall on rebellious kings
A fiery tempest pour,
While we beneath Thy sheltering wings
Thy just revenge adore.

(Words by Isaac Watts)

God and His People Israel

In our through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading this week, we came to Psalm 83, which was particularly interesting in light of the current (and past) "peace" talks between the Israelis and Palestinians/Arabs.  How could anyone in their right mind read passages like this and still be against Israel?  That doesn't mean Israel does everything right and we should automatically support everything the nation of Israel does, but neither should we be her enemy.  The psalm is very clear about what God thinks of those who oppose His people:

Keep not Thou silence, O God; hold not Thy peace, and be not still, O God.  For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult, and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head.  They have taken crafty counsel against Thy people, and consulted against Thy hidden ones.  They have said, Come and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.  For they have consulted together with one consent; they are confederate against Thee: the tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also is joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot.  Selah.

Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kishon, who perished at Endor; they became as refuse for the earth.  Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna, who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.  

O my God, make them like a wheel, like the stubble before the wind.  As the fire burneth a forest, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire, so persecute them with Thy tempest, and make them afraid with Thy storm.  Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Thy name, O Lord.  Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish, that men may know that Thou, whose name alone is the Lord, art the Most High over all the earth.

Amen.

Hymns #31 - Almighty Father of Mankind

Almighty Father of Mankind

Almighty Father of mankind,
On Thee our hopes remain;
And when the day of trouble comes
I shall not trust in vain.

In early years Thou wast my Guide,
And of my youth the Friend;
And as my days began with Thee,
With Thee my days shall end.

I know the Power in whom I trust,
The arm on which I lean;
He will my Savior ever be
Who has my Savior been.

My God, who causedst me to hope
When life began to beat,
And, when a stranger in the world,
Didst guide my wandering feet.

Thou wilt not cast me off when age
And evil days descend;
Thou wilt not leave me in despair
To mourn my latter end.

Therefore in life I’ll trust in Thee,
In death I will adore;
And after death will sing Thy praise
When time shall be no more.

(Words by Michael Bruce)