May 27, 2020 -- Psalm 119:173 -- Divine Help

Let your hand be ready to help me,

for I have chosen your precepts.

Psalm 119:173 English Standard Version

It is helpful to know that precepts are general rules given to guide or regulate good behaviour.

Last night our Men’s Bible Study listened to a teaching from Paul Tripp. As he taught from the book of Jonah he noted that the place where spiritual warfare is at its closest is in our own hearts and minds. We all want comfort rather than denying ourselves in obedience to the LORD. It is worth chewing on and considering. Still thinking about this, I realized today’s text is a wonderful complement to that teaching.

In his commentary on this verse, Matthew Henry observed: "I have chosen thy precepts. I took them for my rule, not because I knew no other, but because, upon trial, I knew no better." (As quoted in BibleWorks10). While the precepts of God are always given so that our thoughts and behaviours are guided in the most excellent pathways we are inclined to try another way. I know from experience how often I want a shortcut—but as Henry so concisely pointed out, there is no better way.

The precepts of God yield holy results.

The precepts of God guide us through the complications and landmines of our lives.

The precepts of God are always valid in every circumstance for every person in every time.

The precepts of God have been tested through-out the generations as His children seek to obey Him.

The precepts of God allow us to live in society harmoniously.

We need the hand of the Living God to help us to walk in His precepts. Though we know He has proven His ways to be perfect and true, we buck against them. Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ such help has been given. Jesus lived the precepts of God perfectly. Jesus, the Lamb of God, voluntarily took the punishment of God against our sins upon Himself so that we can be called the righteous of God. What mercy and love. What a glorious King. What a tremendous answer to this psalmist’s prayer. Help did arrive. Hope is available to all who call on the Name of Jesus.

Hear my prayer, O LORD, attend to my cry

from the ends of the earth I call out to You when my heart is overwhelmed.

Blessed Father, thank You for hearing such cries for mercy and answering in Jesus.

Spirit of Comfort, assist us to walk in the will and precepts of God, in the full assurance that our sins are forgiven by the grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.

May 25, 2020 -- Psalm 119:172 -- Crescendoing praise

My tongue will sing of your word,

for all your commandments are right.

Psalm 119:172 English Standard Version

What a radical calling we have as followers of Jesus Christ! We see in His Word His justice and perfections and through life experiences know His great faithfulness. As Christians we stand in direct opposition to the world that surrounds us. We sing, literally, we answer back to God our praise and wonder. We cannot help ourselves we must shout and sing.

There are many memorial tributes to Ravi Zacharias as this internationally renowned Christian-speaker and apologist for the faith died on May 19, 2020. There are many things I appreciated about Zacharias, one being his uncanny ability to quote exactly the right poet or musician, philosopher or mathematician to make his point. One memorial tribute video montage had Zacharias defending the Christian’s awe of our Maker. He noted all of us will worship. Christians worship the God Who reveals Himself in Scripture and in Creation. The atheist worships chance. He quoted Turner to make his point about the atheist’s worship.

“If chance be the Father of all flesh,
Disaster is his rainbow in the sky,
And when you hear
State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!
It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.”
― Steve Turner, Poems

The atheist, the worshipers of chance worshipers of the cruel domination of the deified man, faces constant upheaval. The ideal of a man-made utopia is torn apart by every inhumane act and the incontrovertible evidence that people and our circumstances and our living conditions are not improving. Political parties are more polarized and fractured than ever. Peace treaties are made and broken. There is no basic goodness in the human spirit.

The life lived in praise to the LORD of Angel Armies and such life which is structured according to His right commandments is one that is constantly confirmed in the magnificence of our God. This world and universe is wearing out like a garment. The cumulative effects of the Fall and sin are evident all around us. Equally clear and backlit in glory over against all this is the tremendous kindness of our God. He Who reaches down into time and the circumstances of our lives in order to bring healing and hope by the cross of Jesus. He Who by His Spirit living within us shows us the grand riches given us and guarded in us and for us by this same Spirit so that the enemy cannot snatch glory from our clumsy grasp. It is joy to praise Him. It is our crowning hope to honour Him in our words and thoughts, in our actions and planning.

With the hymn-writer of old we give full throated praise to You, Immortal, Invisible, God-only wise! Every reflection on Your excellencies and majesty cause us to search out, asking of ourselves, how can I more fully, more dearly serve You? May praise of You ever be on our lips and may our tongues ever be employed to bless You. As the treasures of Who You Are are made known within our innermost being through reading the word and prayer let our anticipation of that great, glorious wedding feast in heaven fill our thoughts and minds. May we constantly, wantonly invite all those around us to the feast in glory. Draw many of our friends, our neighbours, our co-workers and people in our world to Yourself, blessed and Triune God—so that the chorus of praise will ever increase swelling to that great crescendo of creation-wide adoration of Your Name which will take place when Jesus returns on the clouds. Hallelujah! Amen.

May 24, 2020 -- Psalm 119:171 -- Wadis of praise

My lips will pour forth praise,

for you teach me your statutes.

Psalm 119:171 English Standard Version

In the dry regions in and around Israel there are dry river beds called: wadis. A wadi will remain dry until the rainy season when streams of water will pour forth. In the original language the expression “pour forth” is used for water coursing down one of these wadis in the rainy season. Now it is employed as the expression to pour forth praise and honour and blessing to God Who is near and Who by His Spirit and Word teaches us His ways.

Think of it, we were dry—dead in our sins and trespasses—then Jesus touched us and we were raised to new life. By the power of the Spirit we comprehend how wide flowing is the love of God our Father given to us. Jesus is for us Living Water (so He promised in John 4:15). Receiving Jesus results in hearts and mouths, minds and souls gushing forth praise and blessing, thanks and songs to His glorious Name.

The channels which hold and direct the coursing waters of praise and thanksgiving are His statues. The commandments of the Mighty LORD of Heaven and Earth direct our ardent worship in the appropriate courses. The more we know what He requires of us, the greater is our ability to praise Him, thank Him and live in joyful obedience to Him.

Such expressions of flowing praise from lives directed by His commandments are like streams of water in the desert. People who see us, those dry souls and parched hearts, witness that there is Living Water which bubbles up in us. Inevitably they will ask: what is different about him? Why is she so happy when there seems to be no reason for it? Our lives carry such Living Water and such testimony about God to the world around us. Brothers and sisters I urge you—be prepared to give an answer to those who ask you about such praise bubbling up in you and flowing from you, which finds its source in Jesus Christ.

Praises and honour and blessing are rightfully Yours, Blessed God, Holy and Triune. Thank You for the songs of deliverance, given to us by Your Spirit, which flow from our hearts. Thank You Spirit of Truth for the teaching You give us in the statutes of Scripture, these statutes which are most perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ: the Living Water for our souls. Holy and Perfect Sovereign of Heaven and Earth delight in the praises of Your people. Spirit of the Living God cause our songs of praise which flow from us in joy-filled channeled in obedience to Jesus Christ our King draw many parched souls to seek after this same Jesus Who is the well-spring of all blessings in us. Amen.

May 21, 2020 -- Psalm 119:170 -- In need of rescue

Let my plea come before you;

deliver me according to your word.

Psalm 119:170 English Standard Version

In the previous verse the Psalmist asked “let my ringing cry come before you”; now he is begging for the LORD’s help. He needs rescue. The world’s influence is so persistent. So subtle. So brazen. So evident in movies and commercials and social platforms.

The Psalm writer wants to watch over his life and his actions. He is aware that he will pass over so much of his own sin. He knows He needs the LORD His God and His illuminating Spirit to show him all his faults and deliver him from this. Jerry Bridges wrote:

We need to be watchful in the little things of everyday life, the little issues

that seem so unimportant—the little lie, the little bit of pride, the little lustful

glance, or the little bit of gossip…the truth is, it is in the minutiae of life

where most of us live day after day. We seldom have to say no to an outright

temptation to adultery. We often have to say no to the temptation to the

lustful look or thought. And as some unknown person has said, “He that

despises little things shall fall little by little”. It’s true, we need to be on the

lookout for the “little things,” so that we will be prepared to say no to the

more obvious sins. Watching is the first step in avoiding or battling any

sin, especially worldliness.

Jerry Bridges as quoted in Growing Up Christian Karl Graustein, page 70

For the last twenty-one, eight verse stanzas the Psalmist has been enumerating the open sins and subtle sins, the sins of enemies and recklessness of his own sin-hardened heart. He knows we need the rescue of the LORD our God. Thanks be to God for the glorious work of Jesus Christ.

We read in Galatians 1 that Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins, to rescue us from the present evil age (Galatians 1:4). What a powerful statement. What a indictment against our sin. Many people who regularly read these devotions have told me they are so tired of Psalm 119. They are tired of the constant references to law and sin. No doubt. I understand. I embarked on this because I readily ignore how bad my own sin is. This chapter of the Bible drives home my need for rescue, for the Savior of my soul in Whom we have a Father, a purpose and an eternal home.

Mighty God, thank You for answering King David’s prayer. Thank You for providing the way of salvation, long before King David even knew he needed rescue. Thank You Lord Jesus, our Rescuer and our Everlasting King. Thank You Spirit of the Living God for guarding us and keeping us in the flood of Jesus’ great grace and rescue. Spirit of God, watcher of our souls, light Your search-lamp within our souls and minds and hearts so that what we consider to be little evils will be rooted out and more room will be made for the eternal delights of living in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Amen.

May 19, 2020 -- Psalm 119:169 -- Ringing Cries of Prayer and Praise

Let my cry come before you, O LORD;

give me understanding according to your word.

Psalm 119:169 English Standard Version

The word “cry” seems so prosaic, so ordinary. In fact in the original language it is a ringing cry. That is odd. It is an expression we do not use very often. It is the secondary sense of ringing that is in view: the forceful, unequivocal cry. So we read it as the ringing cry of one who is seeking to be wholly dedicated to the LORD. Perhaps the writer is aware of his own stumbling steps and failures. Let my ringing cry for help and sustaining grace reach Your ears, O God. Perhaps he is experiencing the great kindness of the LORD and his cry is one of resounding praise and honour. What is beautiful is that the psalmist knows he has access to the very throne room of God.

If you look at King David’s life you’ll read that even his own wife when she entered into his presence bowed down before him (I Kings 1:31). If a mere mortal king had such respect and obeisance from his own wife, how much more do we as sons and daughters of the Most High King of Glory marvel at the access we have to Him Who is Immortal and Magnificent?!

In our studies of Psalm 119 we have reaced the final stanza, the last octet. It is a fitting summary of what we’ve read and learned and prayed together. The various threads and themes of this book are being tied together. The Word of God, the summary of His laws and rules, His Self-revelation show us the tremendous kindness we have received.

Think of it, because of the accomplished work of Jesus Christ we gain access to the throne room of God. By His blood all believers are priests—we can go directly to Jesus Christ and find in Him our Lawyer, our Friend, our Comforter Who brings us to the Father. The Word shows us the power of the Spirit Who guards our hearts and minds so that we read and revel in the deep things of God.

What response can we offer in view of all of this? I suppose cries of ringing praise are the most fitting prayers to offer; Psalm 150 our prayer today:

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens!
 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
    praise him according to his excellent greatness!

 Praise him with trumpet sound;
    praise him with lute and harp!
 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
    praise him with strings and pipe!
 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150 English Standard Version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMwGTbnknCM

May 18, 2020 -- Psalm 119:168 -- God's eye is on you: does that worry or assure you?

I keep your precepts and testimonies,

for all my ways are before you.

Psalm 119:168 English Standard Version

The fact that all our thoughts and actions are laid bare before the LORD is an incentive for us to keep His rules and laws. We do not want to offend Him as His eye is always on us. So this is the testimony of Christians. We who know the mercy of God look to Him as our Master and with our eyes ever on Him, we want to live for Him in such a way that our lives and actions and thoughts meet His approval.

The fact that all our thoughts are actions are laid bare before Him is also an expression of assurance. All our ways are before Him—He knows us at our worst, most sinful and cynical—and knowing we could not save ourselves He provided for us the way of salvation. Though He is inexpressibly holy, though His excellences and perfections are such that we He cannot tolerate sin of any kind, He has provided the way for us to be saved. He has given us life and named us as His sons and daughters. This way of salvation is Jesus Christ—what extravagance.

Imagine you are traveling in a desert. Unexpectedly there is a brief storm. Then you see a scorpion that happens to be caught up in the raging waters that have swept it into its eddying grasp and you want to save this scorpion. Understand this: the scorpion will not thank you. Even as you are saving it, it will sting you. Even if you save it, it will sting you. It cannot comprehend what you are doing.

In the same way, we sting God with our sins. Our old nature continues to rear up again and again. Yet God the Merciful does not pull back His hand. He continues in His purposeful rescue of us. His Son endures everything, up to and including the cross, but sets this joy before Him—knowing the sinner will be transformed and be covered by His righteousness—His right living. Even more Jesus knows the Father will be glorified.

Scorpion-hearted though we were, when we recognize this great, saving love of God something happens. Either we resent God and question His right to command our living, and we will continue to be people who are constantly stinging at Him and refusing to yield to Him or the other response is we thank Him. Those who thank God the Father of all Kindness and Love realize we still sting Him at the most inopportune times and realizing our wickedness continually confess our sins to Him, hating our errors and ways. Urgently and humbly we pray, help us to keep all Your rules and Your precepts, Your Words and Your law because of this realization which is dawning over our souls—all our ways are before You and yet You love us. Great are You, LORD, Triune and Blessed, Holy and True.

In the Bible one of the prophets asks: “Who is a God like You, what deity can compare to You? You wipe our slate clear of guilt and past sins!” LORD God Almighty—You alone are God and You are merciful. Thank You for Your saving love. Spirit of the Living God, help us to see our sins in the light of the law so that we know our great need for Jesus the Savior. Forgive us. May we grow in the glorious assurance that You, Faithful God, see us, know us at our worst, and work out Your salvation in us. Spirit of God let the joy of our salvation animate our ever-deepening commitment to obey Jesus and so bring delight to the heart of our Father in heaven. Amen.

May 17, 2020 -- Psalm 119:167 -- Hearts softened for the glory of God

My soul keeps your testimonies;

I love them exceedingly.

Psalm 119:167 English Standard Version

When I was a teenager there was a very popular Christian Contemporary Artist named Keith Green. He was one of the first really popular Christian singers that young people listened to at the time. I bring this to your attention in the context of this day’s text. When I first read it, I was objecting “No, my soul doesn’t keep the LORD’s testimonies”. And then I remember a Keith Green song Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful. I listened to it again and this particular version had this preamble, which perfectly captured my mixed feelings about the first phrase of the text.

Green said:

This week on Monday, about midnight, I wrote a letter to the Lord, I didn’t know where to mail it, so I put it in my bible and I asked him: “Lord you gotta do something about my heart, it is starting to harden up, it has been a long time since I met you and it is starting to harden up, it is kind of natural, I want to have baby skin Lord, I want to have skin like a baby on my heart, it is starting to get hard and wrinkled and calloused, not because of anything I’m doing , because of a lot of things I am not doing…

What a graphic description of the way in which our hearts can change. If we are not intentional about our commitment to Jesus Christ and regularly speaking with Him, singing to Him, and listening to His Word. When the heart starts to get wrinkled and hardened and cynical, we look at a text like the one before us today and wonder “how can that be”? We look for loopholes and avenues out.

The fact is, we hold up a text like the one we read today and confess we are far from this standard. The goal of our heart, mind and soul is to the love the LORD our God with all our being. When we recognize the calloused condition of our heart ask the Spirit of God—Who showed us the state of our heart—to help us scrape the dry, leathery parts off so that we can offer to the Triune, Blessed God our softened hearts. Once softened we find once again that our souls love Him exceedingly.

Rouse yourself in these Covid-19 crisis times. Pray. Read the Word. Listen to inspiration teachings and worship songs. Confess you sins and your hardened heart and ask for the Lord to bring you to the place where you can shout out with the Psalmist: “My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly”! The love for the testimonies of the LORD point to a heart that is even more inclined to love the LORD Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Spirit of the Living God, move through our hearts. Wean our hearts from sin. Spirit of Truth remove the callouses and dried out parts so that our hearts resonate once again with a pure and deep love for the LORD God Almighty. Bless the preachers and evangelists, missionaries and bible teachers who bring Your word to us today so that our souls may delight in the LORD of Glory. Amen.

If you have the time, listen to this Keith Green song, the one I referred to in this devotion today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqEa1Uo9UZc

May 14, 2020 -- Psalm 119:166 -- Hope

I hope for your salvation, O LORD,

and I do your commandments.

Psalm 119:166 English Standard Version

Hope expresses such a longing of the soul. It can simmer and bubble below the surface and its real intensity won’t even be apparent to our conscious mind until suddenly we catch a glimpse of that which is hoped for and our heart soars with longing that is uncapped. Sometimes that hope betrays us. Other times we recognize the beauty of the longing.

J.C. Ryle warned the children of believing parents to be careful what they are hoping for. Many such children of Christian households hope to, yearn to fit in with their non-Christian peers, they hope for popularity, they hope to break the rules like they see their peers breaking rules. Ryle warned:

I ask the children of religious parents to mark well what I am saying. It is the highest

privilege to be the child of a godly father and mother, and to be brought up in the midst

of many prayers. It is a blessed thing indeed to be taught the gospel from our earliest

infancy, and to hear of sin, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and holiness, and heaven, from

the first moment we can remember anything. But, oh, take heed that you do not remain

barren and unfruitful in the sunshine of all these privileges: beware lest your heart

remains hard, impenitent, and worldly, notwithstanding the many advantages you enjoy.

You cannot enter the kingdom of God on the credit of your parents’ religion. You must

eat the bread of life yourself, and have the witness of the Spirit in your own heart. You must

have repentance of your own, faith of your own, and sanctification of your own.

In wonderful contrast to neglecting riches given, the Psalmist is calling believers to examine our hearts: what is it we are hoping for? What is the yearning that is steering us in a direction we ought not to go? A verse like this calls us to recalibrate our hopes and longings so that all are oriented to the LORD of Glory, our salvation.

The commandments of God guide our feet in His righteous paths. The law of the LORD directs us to Jesus Christ—Who is the fulfilment of the Law. The word of the LORD resonates deep within our heart as the Spirit of God animates it within us so that we know our hope to be nothing less than Jesus Christ and HIs righteousness.

Faithful Father in heaven, thank You for those among us who grew up in Christian households. Thank You for those who met Jesus Christ because of faithful parents. We pray with thanks for those who were drawn to Jesus Christ at a later age and who now strive to raise their children in the hope and beauty of Christ the King. Spirit of God, help us all to know the riches given us in Jesus Christ. Spirit of God, directed by this word today, help us examine our hearts and minds, our hopes and aspirations and recalibrate our hope so that it is fixed on Christ alone. Blessed are You, God of all Perfections, the heart’s true Desire and the Desire of all Nations. Amen.

May 13, 2020 -- Psalm 119:165 -- Great crises and greater peace

Great peace have those who love your law;

nothing can make them stumble.

Psalm 119:165 English Standard Version

The truth of these words is especially dear to me today. Over the last two weeks dear brothers and colleagues have been embroiled in the urgent question of whether or not our churches should be open in defiance of our civil magistrates (our duly appointed government). Those of you who have read my posts have seen the wildness of my passionate arguments—like a child learning to wield a sword slicing himself and others and things at random. What speaks to me is the peace that has followed the conflict. We had a Presbytery meeting on Saturday and though I was poised and ready for a fist fight, I was met with brothers who disagreed with me, but nevertheless, showed great restraint and kindness. In light of this, the power of this verse is especially true for me today.

We have great peace because God’s law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

We have great peace because as we have been forgiven in Jesus Christ so we are free to offer and receive such forgiveness.

We have great peace because we can disagree and not be afraid that the love of God and the love of brothers and sisters in Christ will be withdrawn from us.

We have great peace because the Accuser, Satan, will attempt to continue to stir up anger and doubt and sow insidious questions among us—but this we know: all our wrong-doing has been cast onto Christ at the cross and He has been punished in our place and therefore we have the righteousness of Jesus.

We have great peace because the Law of God is proven just and good and this law has led us to Jesus Christ so that nothing can make us stumble: our circumstances, our wrong-doing, their wrong-doing, our world—nothing can make us stumble beyond the grip of His grace. What comfort we have. What great grace surrounds us.

Those of you who know my story, may know that at the final classis meeting where my status was to be determined, I was not even allowed to speak. I was denied access to the meeting. It was staggering. Brothers and colleagues whom I’d know and worked with for decades all withdrew; it felt as if I was bereft of their love, their support. I confess I was stumbling over that. I confess I was starting to live in the straitjacket of those experiences, rather than in the wide expanse of God’s great peace.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit reminded me that all of us are guilty before God. All of us are in need of the mercy and salvific work of Jesus Christ. As such, I did not stumble now, I rose up and blessed God for showing me what a church meeting, one that was filled with landmines of hard topics, what such a meeting could be like. The Spirit going before, sweeping the mines, the Spirit reminding us of the Word, of the Glory of God and the promise of how good it is when brothers live together in unity.

It was healing. I had forgiven my colleagues of my previous denomination. I have in the past asked for their forgiveness. Some responded. Some did not. Still, God is great and His Spirit is bringing healing to the greatest depths of our need. And recently through the events of the last two weeks, God has shown what great peace can exist among brothers who strongly disagree on things or rulings, but are united in the majesty of Jesus Christ and His truth.

LORD of Glory—streams of tears flow from my eyes because Your law is not obeyed. Mighty God of salvation, You have opened the way of salvation through Jesus Christ and we who know Your extravagant mercy plead for family members and friends who do not know the strong power of Your forgiving love demonstrated to us in Jesus Christ. Spirit of the Living God work in the hearts and lives of family members and friends, colleagues and neighbours, especially now, in these days of Covid-19 crisis where so many have no world-view adequate to comprehend or face the gut-wrenching consequences for employment, work, their future, their family, and mental health. Triune and blessed God, may the great peace of those who love Your law stand as a glowing witness, a lighthouse to draw many to Jesus Christ. Amen.

May 10, 2020 -- Psalm 119:164 -- Seven Times a Day Praise

Before I write and send this devotional today, please note that three of my previous devotions were offensive to brothers and sisters in Christ who hold different views. I was making my point, but I went beyond this and made assumptions about the motives of others rather than attributing to them a shared, holy zeal for the LORD. In the same forum where I published such things I make an apology and humbly ask their forgiveness. I have removed two of these posts and radically re-written the post that remains so that ad hominen attacks are removed.

I still hold the same view that our churches should be open in accordance with whatever regulations are in place set by civil magistrates, but I recognize there are colleagues in ministry who hold the opposite view. As at a recent Presbytery meeting they extended kindness to me and my very different view though I am in the tiniest minority, so I long to show courtesy and kindness even as I offer my point of view for consideration.

Thanks. Shalom. Richard

Seven times a day I praise you

for your righteous rules.

Psalm 119:164 English Standard Version

Do you have a soundtrack running through your brain? Yesterday I was talking with a good friend, he and I both noted we always have some music playing in our brains. Recently we’d both heard Aretha Franklin’s version of Nessun Dorma (performed live in 1998 at the Grammy’s). My friend noted I’d be humming it or quoting it at the oddest times. Since that conversation I’ve been asking him (at the most random times): “what’s the track that’s playing now?” And he always answers. Sometimes it is an obscure folk dance tune, or something he recalled from his teenage years (that would take him more than a decade back in time).

This afternoon I had the wonderful privilege of attending church! New Brunswick is allowing religious services with up to 10 in attendance. Pastor Michael is holding five worship services today, and up to nine people are attending at a time. Via email church members had the chance to sign up for particular time slots. What a lot of organization it took on his part! What a joy it is to be in church! One family with young children sat several pews behind us. Pastor Michael asked for a hymn request. And this young lad shouted out “100”. It is the beautiful hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy!” And he didn’t just shout out a random number, he knew the number and the selection it represented. It is evidence to me that this family has times of worship at home and the children, though quite young, know songs and psalms and hymns of praise. At a tender age they are learning how to, seven times a day, praise God.

If perhaps it is not your experience that your heart and mind resound with praises and blessing to God, I would humbly ask you—what are you listening to? The scores of movies. The sitcoms theme songs? The lyrical musical ditties of commercials? All of these will cling like burrs to the brain. Perhaps intentionally add a diet of praise songs and hymns. Listen to magnificent oratorios like: Handel’s Israel in Egypt, or Mendelssohn’s Elijah. If you’d like a shorter intro to wonderfully classical music, consider Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major. Maybe as you prepare dinner, listen to some contemporary Christian music. Fill that noggin of yours with rapturous music and you’ll soon find with the psalmist that (at least) seven times a day you offer praises to God in your heart for all you have received in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer King.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!

Spirit of the Living God, bring to my heart and mind songs of deliverance and anthems of praise honouring Jesus Christ, the Captain of our Salvation. Spirit of the Living God. Triune God, forever glorious in Your perfections, let the words of our lips and the meditations of our hearts be a constant tribute of praise to You. Amen.

May 8, 2020 -- Psalm 119:163 -- Responding to our dangerous times

I hate and abhor falsehood,

but I love your law.

Psalm 119:163 English Standard Version

The range of meaning for falsehood includes deceit, deception, and lying. The writer of this Psalm wants his heart to be completely devoted to the One Who is Holy and Perfect. He has recognized princes have persecuted him without cause. He knows the Word of God to be his great source of rejoicing. Now the writer is calling out for his brothers and sisters in faith to hate and abhor falsehood. Note the intensity of these words, Hebrew does not have exclamation marks, so putting two words of similar meaning next to one another (hate and abhor) there is a tremendous intensification of emotion and weight to what is being written.

This morning I had to rise up from my bed much earlier than usual and pour out my heart to the LORD. I am so conflicted because I struggle with the question: are we as Christians, are living in falsehood?

The Word of God requires us to gather as His people. We are to worship the LORD, one day in seven is set apart for Him. His people must praise Him, gathering no matter what the civil magistrates of the land require. This is how I read it. Brothers whom I respect hold the view in this case we are required to obey our civil magistrate. At issue is this: where there is a conflict, which law do we obey? Many churches and denominations have obeyed the commands of our government rather than giving greater weight to the first three laws of the Ten Commandments.

Right now so many Christians and leaders appointed by God, who are faithful in so many areas, put forward a few arguments for obedience to the civil magistrate. Such leaders are saying, among other things, we must obey our civil magistrate and this command to stay home trumps the command to meet and worship God. Their point is that the civil magistrate is given authority by God in some clear areas.

Here is a place where I have a question. Many of these same church leaders endorse Christian Schools in defiance of state funded schools. Many of these same church leaders seem to show an inconsistency on this point by home schooling children rather than allow the heinous, government required sex education curriculum to be taught to their children. They defy the civil magistrate in this because it so so obvious we must do so.

For me it is obvious the public school system has failed in its curriculum. It is obvious Christians should protest what is being taught and should send their children to Christian Schools or home school their children. For me it is obvious that churches should be open and as Christians defy the government’s order to go to public schools, so it seems Christians should go to church in obedience to the commandments to do so. It feels to me that this is just at the moment when the world needs Christians more than ever to stand up, go to church, and show full parking lots and open doors.

Second premise put forth today is this, the only way to honour God and our civil magistrate was to shut down our churches immediately. Here I tremble before the thought for the holy majesty of our Great and Glorious God. At this point I grieve as the churches which shut down immediately did not even leave the witness to the world and the defiant public symbol of public gatherings of five or ten as local civil magistrate regulations would allow.

Why have we as churches not complied by having five or ten people in church at a time and showing our parking lots as active places where small groups of people longing for their turn to get in and worship? We could have had people going to church all-day each Sunday and through-out the week. Why have we not complied with the letter of the law while protesting the implications made by our civil magistrate that Christians and churches are not essential?

Why, when churches have been allowed, since April 23, to gather in parking lots without penalty or fine, have church leaders not immediately filled our parking lots each Sunday and joyfully summoned the people of God to gather? God commands us—why are we so deafeningly silent?

At this one point I fear we love our comfort more than we love the Torah, and its Author our Faithful, Sovereign.

We have braved sickness and possible exposure to Covid-19 by going to stores. I wonder, why won’t we insist churches be open? Perhaps 5 people at a time, all through the week?

I hope that history will not say of us that we have shamed ourselves and brought gross dishonour to the Name of Him Who is glorious by obsequiously obeying the requirements of an inconsistent magistrate rather than like a slave kept our eyes on God and obeyed Him first, last and always.

One area that rubs my conscience is this: we have allowed low-paid grocery workers to cash out our purchases, and celebrated them as front-line, brave workers while we have as Christians not held the line, opening our churches as widely as our civil magistrate would allow. It seems to be as if we’re huddling in fear in our homes without showing even the least trace of such courage as is displayed by grocery clerks! Will historians judge us and say we have acquiesced with the civil magistrate’s declaration to the world we are not essential.

In view of our great love for God, Christians write your Prime Minister, your Member of Parliament, your Premier and health officials and respectfully say: 1. thanks for your work, we are praying for you; 2. as a Christian I believe churches are essential; 3. open our churches immediately. 4. We will comply with the regulations for safely gathering, but we must gather. Thank you. And sign your name: ____________________

Sure, we can wear masks or face shields, but gather we must!

Sure, we can socially distance as is required, but I believe we must honour God above sinful man.

Sure, those who are most vulnerable and have pre-existing conditions that make going out in public dangerous such persons should stay home as they did before this pandemic.

Christians, flood the in-boxes of your church leaders and call them to be faithful. Tell them you are praying for them, but you are so disappointed that our churches are not open. Prick their consciences and call them to action for the glory of Jesus Christ.

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
 Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.” Amen.

This version of the LORD’s Prayer is from Matthew 6:10-13.

May 6, 2020 -- Matthew 15:109 -- Have we made void the Word of God?

This has been removed by Richard Vander Vaart, recognizing brothers and sisters of good conscience have a very different view.

May 5, 2020 -- Psalm 119:162 -- Called from Cowardice to Bold Rejoicing

I rejoice at your word

like one who finds great spoil.

Psalm 119:162 English Standard Version

the text I’d written I have removed in view of the fact this is causing offense to dear brothers and sisters in Christ and the way it was written was inflammatory, rather than serving as fodder to aid good and robust discussion.

May 2, 2020 -- Psalm 119:161 -- Persecuted?

Princes persecute me without cause,

but my heart stands in awe of your words.

Psalm 119:161 English Standard Version

David was a mighty king of Israel. You would think that David, as one at the pinnacle of his power, would have no problem with persecution. And you’d be wrong. The fact of the matter is this: when we name God as the strength of our life, we will be out of step with the rest of the world. Jesus reminded His disciples: “You will be hated by everyone because of Me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22).

What kinds of persecution will we face?

It can be outright hostility because we call Jesus our LORD and know Him at the Way, the Truth and the Life. So we deny ourselves the pleasures the world pursues and peers will object to us.

It can be something like a financial penalty because we refuse to lie in order to gain an advantage on our taxes or mortgage.

It can be mocking and ridicule by fellow Christians because we stand up for Jesus and the truth of creation as it is presented in scripture.

Let us be honest, as Christians in the West, what we face is mild in comparison to the persecution which opposes our brothers and sisters around the world. However, I wonder, is one of the reasons we face less persecution anchored to the fact that we do not stand out for Jesus but try so hard to stay in step with our culture?

David withstood persecution because his heart was in awe of God’s words. The power of the words of God was greater than all the suffering—potential and real suffering—he faced. The New Testament disciples and followers of Jesus showed the same endurance and courage. The word of God promises us: “Greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4). The Spirit of God, the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. What glory and blessing, what hope and power reside in us. With David we can declare: “my heart stands in awe of Your words”.

Triune God, LORD of Terrible splendour and beauty, power and holiness, blessed are You. Great and true are all Your words. Spirit of the Living God, help us to believe and obey the word of Scripture. Spirit of the Living God, as we meditate on and memorize the Word may we in faith see Jesus our conquering King and Savior and serve Him alone in thankfulness and praise. Forgive us for the poverty of our faith and our shaky witness. Increase our confident courage as soldiers of the cross of Jesus Christ. Amen.

April 30, 2020 -- Psalm 119:160 -- Spotting the Truth

The sum of your word is truth,

and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

Psalm 119:160 English Standard Version

Since I have a lot of extra time on my hands I have been watching things on the internet on which I normally wouldn’t spend my time. For example, I watched a couple of instructional videos on how to spot a liar—the first taught by a former FBI trainer and the second taught by a former CIA trainer who specialized in this and was teaching retail employees to spot a liar. The retail employees would use these skills as they conducted job interviews or when dealing with a suspected thief. Fascinating stuff. It makes me realize how our lives are filled with half-truths and lies.

Little wonder then that non-Christians are suspicious of Christianity—where we as Christians claim we are following Jesus Who declared: “I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me” John 14:7. Many will wonder “Can I trust Jesus?” Such thinking is heavily influenced by the culture we live in which itself is saturated in lies and constantly speaks against Christianity as the sole source of Truth.

One way in which Christianity is so different from all other religions and world philosophies is our acknowledgement that Jesus is perfect. Followers of Jesus measure their lives by His standard and His rules spelled out in the Bible. We fail. We neglect to do the good He calls us to do. We purposefully do things contrary to His holiness. The righteous rules of God provide for this—we are called to turn from our wicked ways, confess them, and receive forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

The power of the cross is in the fact that all men and women and children are sinners. We are all on an even playing field—one filled with liars, and wicked people of all stripes and kinds. Christians are those who by the Word of God see themselves as sinners in need of a Savior. Christians are those who know just how wrong they are and how immeasurably great is the mercy and love of God Who has provided for us the way of salvation—rescue from our ourselves, our sin-filled world and the lies of the devil and his demonic army.

With tremendous joy and hope Christians know that one day all sin, all lies, all-wrong doing will be fully exposed. Those who turned to Jesus in this life will see how fully horrendous their sins were and will more fully bless and honour and praise Jesus for standing in our place as the sinner-bearer, the One Who took our place at the cross. Those who refused Jesus in this life will on the Day of Judgment face the full wrath of God—His just and perfect anger against sin. The truth of God the Judge of all the earth will be fully revealed and it will be terrible.

Now is the day of salvation. Now is the opportunity to hear and respond to the prompting of the Spirit moving you to listen and obey the voice of Jesus. Pick up your bible. Find a Christian whose walk you admire and ask your questions. Be prepared to grow and learn There is no adventure like it. The sum of God’s Word is Truth and it is glorious and it is freedom and it is joy.

Jesus, Lamb of God Who has taken away the sin of the world, blessed be Your Name. Great and perfect is Your love. This day we pray for our dear friends and family members who do not acknowledge You, change their hearts by Your word of Truth. Let us experience the great joy of seeing such come to know You and delight in You by our testimony and our life’s walk with You. Jesus, send Your Spirit so that missionaries and evangelists will see many come to confess their sins and acknowledge You as their King. Lion of Judah, Jesus Conqueror of sin and death and the grave may our dedication to You bring honour and praise to our Father in heaven. Triune and blessed God, we know there is such glory in store for all who believe, increase our faith and passion, our zeal and dedication, so that the temptations of this world fade and the blessedness of following You prompts us to ever greater devotion and acts of love. Amen.

April 28, 2020 -- Psalm 119:159 -- Be revived

Consider how I love your precepts!

Give me life according to your steadfast love.

Psalm 119:159 English Standard Version

The Psalmist is calling out to the Living God, “See this, perceive it and know this I love Your statutes and precepts”. What we adore we stare at. What we long for we gaze at longingly. The point is this, the more we think about the laws of God, the more we realize how right they are, how good they are, how perfect they are. (Remember verse 96—”To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless”—its perfections, its wisdom, its instruction is without limits.) Knowing the precepts and commands of God inevitably draws us to see Jesus and His perfections.

The world has such a different perspective about law and freedom. Here is a stark example. While reading on the incredible pull of pornography and the work it takes to break men and women free from this, I came across something that stopped me cold. There is pornography called “adoration”. The whole point is that people watching it are in fact adoring or worshiping those whom they look at. The perpetrators of this great sin call such pornography what it is: “worship” or “adoration” of the human body. People who view such pornography are in fact engaging in worship of what is sinful. Note carefully what I am saying—human sexuality is not sinful. When sex has no boundaries, such as is defined by the law of God, it becomes great slavery. God gives the gift of sex for the context of marriage. When a man and a woman are married, excluding all others, and delight in the gift of sex it is a great blessing.

The attendant prayer is so important. King David, the writer of this Psalm, cries out “Revive me” according to your steadfast love. There are so many things which are pulling me towards sin so that my taste for all that is holy and good is dying within me. Unless the LORD of Glory should revive us, literally breathe life into us, we will die to all that is holy. The Spirit of God is called the Breath of God. The Spirit of God gives life to our lungs so that we breath life in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God gives us oxygen so that our eyes are revived and we see and delight in Jesus and His perfect ways.

Father in heaven, with the psalm-writer we are crying out: revive us! We long for the breath of Your Spirit to bring life to our lungs so that filled with the freshness of Your steadfast love we will see Jesus for Whom He truly is and worship Him alone. We confess how our eyes have looked longingly at things, or people, or money and wanted to have all things serve us. We confess our misplaced worship and adoration. Stop us. Change us from the inside out so that Jesus and His Word and His ways will be precious to us. Revive us, giving us life according to Your immeasurably great love. Amen.

April 27, 2020 -- Psalm 119:158 -- From faithless to faithful

I look at the faithless with disgust,

because they do not keep your commandments.

Psalm 119:158 English Standard Version

Matthew Henry’s fine commentary on this brief passage offers great insight—more concisely than I could hope to do.

He beheld the transgressors, those whose sins were open before all men, and it grieved him

to see them dishonour God, serve Satan, debauch the world, and ruin their own souls, to see the

transgressors so numerous, so daring, so very impudent, and so industrious to draw unstable

souls into their snares. All this cannot but be a grief to those who have any regard to the glory

of God and the welfare of mankind.

Matthew Henry, resource: BibleWorks10

As our country prolongs its lockdown and social distancing, so many of us have more time on our hands than we’ve ever had before. The question is this: have we accomplished the things we’d always said we’d do if we have more time? Have we studied the Bible? Have we written notes of encouragement (or emails, or messages)? Have we spent time in prayer? It is just a short step for us as Christians to cross from faithfulness to faithlessness.

The mercy of God is such that Scripture is filled with warnings so that believers will turn again to the LORD of all the earth and find forgiveness in Jesus Christ and strength from the Spirit of God to repent of sin and become industrious for the glory of God and the welfare of others. Today if you hear the LORD’s invitation and your conscience is pricked, return to Him, the guardian of your soul.

LORD of all Faithfulness, thank You for prophets and teachers, for ministers and evangelists, Christian family members and friends who have made the Good News of Jesus Christ clear to us. Thank You for the glorious work of Jesus Christ through Whom we are called sons and daughters of the Most High God. Spirit of all Comfort direct our hearts and our thoughts to Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of all true believing. Triune God, blessed and holy, let Your words be sweet to our thoughts and Your commands the pathway of peace. In these times of Covid Crisis, draw many people to Yourself and restore to prodigal sons and daughters the joy of Your salvation. Amen.

April 25, 2020 -- Psalm 119:157 -- Why Do I Experience Suffering in Relationships?

Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,

but I do not swerve from your testimonies.

Psalm 119:157 English Standard Version

A difficult, but masterful, work by Thomas Boston is called The Crook in the Lot. Such a crook basically means something in our life that is crooked where we’d expected it to be straight, easy-going. Puritans called these losses and crosses and when I was younger the expression was having stones in one’s shoes. Yet the fact is, such crooks are part of the lot, or the circumstances, God has providentially set each of his servants to endure.

With regards to relationships and interactions with others, Boston wrote:

So men do oftentimes find their greatest cross, where they expected their greatest comfort.

Sin hath unhinged the whole creation, and made every relationship susceptible of the crook.

In the family are found masters hard and unjust, servants froward and unfaithful;

in a neighbourhood, men selfish and uneasy;

in the church unedifying ministers offensive in their walk,

and people contemptuous and disorderly, a burden to the spirits of ministers.

In the state, oppressive magistrates, opposers of that which is good,

and subjects turbulent and seditious.

Boston, The Crook in the Lot, page 32

Why should God Who is Good and Faithful allow such things in our life?

1. So that we would be driven from pride and self-sufficiency and turn to the Holy and Blessed Triune God for all our help (II Corinthians 12:7).

2. So that as we endure in submission to Him others see our suffering and patient endurance and praise God (James 5:10-11).

3. So that by such we made perfect in service to the Living God (James 1:2-4).

4. So that it is not our will, but God’s will that is accomplished in our lives. We are inclined to evil and want so much to just ‘fit in’ with the world. It is not what we are called to in Christ, we are taught to prayer Father in heaven hallowed be Thy Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10).

5. So that the testimonies, rules and laws of God shine as the guiding lantern on the path of our lives, showing us the excellent way, contrary to the ways and thoughts of the world (our text Psalm 119:157).

God of Mercy, we cry out to You, recognizing that in our lives there are many relationships that are twisted up and so difficult for us. Some among us have parents who have neglected their duties and exposed us to cruelty. Some among us have been betrayed by dear friends or colleagues and struggle to comprehend how to go forward. Others among us see heinous actions by the courts or government, such as state-sponsored abortion or euthanasia, and cry out in bewilderment. Others carry shattered expectations of happy work-places now filled with venom and back-biting. Accomplish Your holy purposes in us. As Christ our Master suffered, help us Father of All-Compassion, to endure in our obedience to Him. As Christ our Master was filled with Your Spirit, Father in heaven pour out the of Spirit of Power on us so that we will abide in the grace of Jesus Christ and displaying the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control—live such powerful witness to Jesus in our lives that many will be drawn to Him. Amen.

April 23, 2020 -- Psalm 119:156 -- Do you know boundless mercy?

Great is your mercy, O LORD,

give me life according to your rules.

Psalm 119:156 English Standard Version

Can you agree with the Psalmist that the LORD is great in mercy? What evidence is there of His great mercy?

He Who knows all our sins, even our sinful thoughts, (Psalm 139:1-4) forgives us in Christ.

He Who knows the full measure of all our wrong-doing and while we are still sinners has provided salvation for us in Christ (Romans 5:8).

He Who knows the repetitive nature of our sins, what we begged forgiveness for in the morning we are prepared to sin again in the evening. Yet Jesus taught His disciples to forgive seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:22). If our Master taught us to forgive in this way, we know this is possible only because He is the source of all forgiveness and is Himself great in mercy!

Two verses ago the writer pleaded with God: “give me life according to your promise!” Today we read a parallel prayer: “give me life according to your rules (or more accurately translated from the Hebrew ‘your judgments’).

First off, you need to know that the Name of God used in our passage LORD means life. He alone is Self-Existent Life and has life in Him to create life or raise someone to life.

Second, note that based on the fact He is Life, the Psalmist pleads for life.

Third, the Psalmist asks for life based on God’s judgments. In the past verse the Psalmist held onto the promises of God that He would remember our sins no more. Now the Psalmist is praying based on the fact that the LORD has smashed down His gavel of judgment and declared our sins forgiven and new life to be ours because of Jesus Christ.

Imagine a scene where grandma has her grandson Tommy visiting. Grandma has a makeshift planter box green-house. As is her annual custom, she is growing seedlings to be ready for the first frost-free days. Tommy, angry at a friend who didn’t want to play with him, smashes the glass of grandma’s little greenhouse. Grandma was at the sink doing breakfast dishes and saw the whole thing. Though sad at the broken glass and crushed seedlings, she said nothing.

At supper Tommy, feeling queasy and unable to eat, blurts out, “Grandma, I broke your greenhouse!”. He runs off to his room. A little while later, after the storm of tears, grandma goes up to see Tommy in his room. “Tommy, I know you broke the greenhouse. I saw it while I was doing dishes.”

With dripping eyes and nose and tousled hair Tommy turns to his grandma. Surprised. Thoughts flood through his mind: Why didn’t she run out and stop me? Why didn’t she scold me immediately?

Great questions. When Tommy knew he had sinned, violated his grandma’s trust and love, he needed to realize the weight of what he’d done and confess it. Grandma was prepared to wait so that his confession would not be premature. When he confessed, she forgave. The plants were still destroyed. So she required Tommy to help her clean up. He paid for some of the new seeds. He helped replant these seeds. And they went together to get new glass (which she paid for because it was too expensive for him). He realized the cost of what he’d done in time, money and investment of his own energy.

This is but a slight illustration of God’s infinitely greater mercy. He forgives us in Christ. He waits for us to acknowledge our sins and confess them. Then He calls us to rebuild relationships. He calls us to make restitution. Over and above this all, in His great mercy, He walks with us in love. He reminds us by His Spirit that no matter our sins, He is our Father. He Who began a great work of salvation in us will see it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Father of all mercies we confess before You this morning how many precious truths we have smashed, how many beautiful paths of righteousness we have torn up by our ravenous sinfulness. Help us, by Your Spirit, to perceive our sins and be moved to confess them. Thank You for Jesus, Your Son, our Savior, Who has taken away our sin. Thank You for life and hope and strength. Thank You for the glorious Spirit Who works in us Your reviving love, Your strength to to work for good so that relationships can be restored and rebuilt for Your glory. Whatever is yet unconfessed and weighing down our souls we pray embolden us to recognize these sins, to confess them and to take hold of the ever fuller, new life that is held out to us in Christ Jesus our King. Amen.

April 21, 2020 -- Psalm 119:155 -- Untitled

Salvation is far from the wicked,

for they do not seek your statutes.

Psalm 119:155 English Standard Version

That particular word salvation has only been used once before in this Psalm (verse 123). Now the word salvation is used here and in the next two stanzas, which are the last two stanzas of this epic poem. There is an intensification of the psalmist’s language of dedication to the LORD His God that is moving towards a crescendo and then in the final verse of this Psalm a rather surprising conclusion.

How are the wicked different than those who are deemed righteous? It is one of the critical questions of Psalm 119. Both the righteous and the wicked sin. Both the righteous and the wicked experience times of blessing in God’s good creation. Yet is the righteous who seek God. It is the righteous who in times of trouble and times of triumph seek to remain faithful to the Living God. They know themselves to be saved—that is rescued from themselves, rescued from this world and rescued from the clutches of the devil.

Salvation does not come from ourselves. Salvation is the gift of the God of all Mercy. In fact He rebukes Israel, those supposed to be His Own people when He declared:

I spread out my hands all the day
    to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
    following their own devices;
 a people who provoke me
    to my face continually,

Isaiah 65:2-3 English Standard Version

It is almost as if the LORD of Heaven and Earth was holding out His arms for a hug that His people refused to receive. His arms were left hanging there suspended in invitation and spurned. Though He had provided salvation for them, His people did not embrace Him or His ways. Though He had rescued them, they stubbornly returned back to their former slave masters.

The people embraced by the Living God our Father are those who recognize they are sinful. They understand their need for rescue. When confronted by their sin they see that Jesus Christ has spread out His hands at the cross and embraced our punishment for sin so that we could be counted as holy and receive the embrace of our Father in heaven. The Spirit of God, Who has shown us Christ’s forgiving work and our Father’s open embrace, strengthens the people who have received God’s salvation to walk in His statutes. There is a sense in which the statutes of God can be called His wisdom. Those who know their former sinful way of life (and the incessant throbbing impulses to sin again) are wonderstruck that the God of all Love and Mercy should receive them in His embrace. Therefore they long to walk in the wisdom, the laws, and commands, He has set out for them. Such regulations are for the believer the pathway of peace.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Your is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.