12 December 2021
Call to Worship: Psalm 100:1-5
Opening Hymn: 293 “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
Confession of Sin
Almighty God, Who are rich in mercy to all those who call upon You; Hear us as we humbly come to You confessing our sins; And imploring Your mercy and forgiveness. We have broken Your holy laws by our deeds and by our words; And by the sinful affections of our hearts. We confess before You our disobedience and ingratitude, our pride and willfulness; And all our failures and shortcomings toward You and toward fellow men. Have mercy upon us, Most merciful Father; And of Your great goodness grant that we may hereafter serve and please You in newness of life; Through the merit and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Hebrews 10:19-22
Hymn of Preparation: 292 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”
Old Covenant Reading: Isaiah 7:1-4
New Covenant Reading: Luke 1:39-55
Sermon: God My Savior
Hymn of Response: Hymn 301 “Song of Mary”
Confession of Faith: Apostles Creed (p. 851)
Doxology (Hymn 568)
Closing Hymn: Psalm 98C “Sing a New Song to Jehovah”
Evening Service
Hymns: 300, 245, 565
OT: Proverbs 30:7-9
NT: 1 Timothy 6:3-10
Sermon: Godliness with Contentment
Suggested Preparation
Monday (12/6) read and discuss Luke 1:39-55
Luke 1:39–55 (ESV)
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
J. C. Ryle writes:
Let us mark, firstly, the full acquaintance with Scripture which this hymn exhibits. We are reminded as we read it, of many expressions in the book of Psalms. Above all, we are reminded of the song of Hannah, in the book of Samuel. (1 Sam. 2:2, &c.) It is evident that the memory of the Blessed Virgin was stored with Scripture. She was familiar, whether by hearing or by reading, with the Old Testament. And so, when out of the abundance of her heart her mouth spoke, she gave vent to her feelings in Scriptural language. Moved by the Holy Ghost to break forth into praise, she chooses language which the Holy Ghost had already consecrated and used.
Let us strive, every year we live, to become more deeply acquainted with Scripture. Let us study it, search into it, dig into it, meditate on it, until it dwell in us richly. (Coloss. 2:16.) In particular, let us labor to make ourselves familiar with those parts of the Bible which, like the book of Psalms, describe the experience of the saints of old. We shall find it most helpful to us in all our approaches to God. It will supply us with the best and most suitable language both for the expression of our wants and thanksgivings. Such knowledge of the Bible can doubtless never be attained without regular, daily study. But the time spent on such study is never mis-spent. It will bear fruit after many days.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 93. Which are the sacraments of the New Testament?
A. The sacraments of the New Testament are baptism and the Lord’s supper.
Tuesday (12/7) read and discuss Psalm 5:1-12
Psalm 5 (ESV)
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. 1 Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. 2 Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. 3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. 4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. 8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. 9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. 12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Derek Kidner commenting on verses 11 and 12 writes:
Although danger is not forgotten (note the defensive words, refuge and shield), the psalmist now breaks free of his loneliness. He is no longer a man praying on his own, hemmed in by his foes, but is conscious of a whole company who can join him in praise. And by a happy contrast, the last word in the Hebrew, thous dost cover him… is one whose only other occurrence is in 1 Samuel 23:26, where it describes a hostile force ‘closing in’ on David, only to find itself quietly deflected by God’s encircling, providential care of him.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 94. What is baptism?
A. Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.
Wednesday (12/8) read and discuss Isaiah 7:1-4
Isaiah 7:1–4 (ESV)
1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. 3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.
John Goldingay writes:
Isaiah’s later reference to David’s household, addressed to Ahaz himself, suggests that Isaiah’s direct point lies elsewhere. It reminds Ahaz of his theological position. He isn’t merely the king of a small Middle Eastern nation who needs to think practically and politically about policies for his people. He is the current head of David’s household, the heir to God’s promises to David and his successors. He has to live in the world but to do so without implying that worldly considerations are the only ones to be taken into account. It’s always a tough aspect to a leader’s position. Isaiah underlines the point by referring to Pekah the Ephraimite king as “the son of Remaliah” and to the man they want to put on the Judahite throne as “the son of Tabeel” (we don’t know his actual name) without using their own names. They’re not sons of David, like Ahaz. Each king needs to be seen as the current representative of a dynasty.
In trying to be practical, Ahaz is out checking the city’s water supply. In a country such as theirs, people commonly built their cities on a hill, which was a good defensive position. Yet it meant water supply was a problem; a besieging army could sit tight and wait till the city ran out. So cities tried to safeguard and protect their water supply; Ahaz is out doing so. It’s the responsible thing to do. Isaiah doesn’t say it’s wrong but does warn Ahaz to avoid assuming that such action is the key to surviving the expected siege. The decisive fact is that Yahweh has made a declaration about what will happen to Syria and Ephraim, their capitals, and their kings. They’re not Israel (in the theological sense), their capitals are not Jerusalem, and their kings don’t belong to David’s household. Ephraim is on the verge of obliteration. It fell to Assyria a decade later; the “sixty-five years” looks like an allusion to an event referred to in Ezra 4. Judah’s job is to stand firm in trust in Yahweh if it wants to stand firm as a people; Isaiah uses two forms of the same verb to make the point about the connection between these two forms of standing firm.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 95. To whom is baptism to be administered?
A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized.
Thursday (12/9) read and discuss Proverbs 30:7-9
Proverbs 30:7–9 (ESV)
7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
George Schwab writes:
The poem of Agur provides a blueprint for a wise life. The first step is to renounce any pretense to independent or intrinsic wisdom. The next step is to remember and name the God of creation—the Father who calls you to listen to his words. A balanced and moderate life is best suited for wisdom, wisdom that comes from his word, not from observations of nature and society.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 96. What is the Lord’s supper?
A. The Lord’s supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to Christ’s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
Friday (12/10) read and discuss 1 Timothy 6:3-10
1 Timothy 6:3–10 (ESV)
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Donald Guthrie writes:
Strong words are used in the description of those whose desires are set upon the acquisition of wealth. The words apply to all whose aims are controlled by the passion to increase material possessions, yet there is no condemnation of such possessions in themselves. The apostle is not so much thinking of those already rich, as of those ever grasping to become so.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 97. What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s supper?
A. It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.
Saturday (12/11) read and discuss Luke 1:39-55
Luke 1:39–55 (ESV)
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
J. C. Ryle writes:
Let us mark, secondly, in this hymn of praise, the Virgin Mary’s deep humility. She who was chosen of God to the high honor of being Messiah’s mother, speaks of her own “low estate,” and acknowledges her need of a “Saviour.” She does not let fall a word to show that she regarded herself as a sinless, “immaculate” person. On the contrary, she uses the language of one who has been taught by the grace of God to feel her own sins, and so far from being able to save others, requires a Saviour for her own soul. We may safely affirm that none would be more forward to reprove the honor paid by the Romish Church to the Virgin Mary, than the Virgin Mary herself.
Let us copy this holy humility of our Lord’s mother, while we steadfastly refuse to regard her as a mediator, or to pray to her. Like her, let us be lowly in our own eyes, and think little of ourselves. Humility is the highest grace that can adorn the Christian character. It is a true saying of an old divine, that “a man has just so much Christianity as he has humility.” It is the grace, which of all is most becoming to human nature. Above all, it is the grace which is within the reach of every converted person. All are not rich. All are not learned. All are not highly gifted. All are not preachers. But all children of God may be clothed with humility.
MEMORY WORK
Q. 98. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.