HYMN VIII
ESAU Gen. xxv. 34. Heb. xii. 16.
by John Newton (1725-1807)

OOR Esau
repented too late
That once he his birth-right despis’d;
And sold, for a morsel of meat,
What could not too highly be priz’d:
How great was his anguish when told,
The blessing he sought to obtain,
Was gone with the birth-right he sold,
And none could recall it again!

He stands as a warning to all,
Wherever the gospel shall come;
O Hasten and yield to the call,
While yet for repentance there’s room!
Your season will quickly be past,
Then hear and obey it today;
Lest when you seek mercy at last,
The Savior should frown you away.

What is it the world can propose?
A morsel of meat at the best!
For this are you willing to lose
A share in the joys of the bless’d?
Its pleasures will speedily end,
Its favor and praise are but breath;
And what can its profits befriend
Your soul in the moment of death?

If Jesus for these you despise,
And sin to the Savior prefer;
In vain your entreaties and cries,
When summon’d to stand at his bar:
How will you his presence abide?
What anguish will torture your heart?
The saints all enthron’d by his side,
And you be compell’d to depart.

Too often, dear Savior, have I
Preferr’d some poor trifle to thee;
How is it thou dost not deny
The blessing and birth-right to me?
No better than Esau I am,
Tho’ pardon and heav’n be mine;
To me belongs nothing but shame,
The praise and the glory be thine.

—from Olney Hymns. Book I: On select Passages of Scripture.

salme 11
(Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth. A Psalme or song of David.
1 In the Lord put I my trust: howe say yee then to my soule, Flee to your mountaine as a birde?
2 For loe, the wicked bende their bowe, and make readie their arrowes vpon the string, that they may secretly shoote at them, which are vpright in heart.
3 For the foundations are cast downe: what hath the righteous done?
4 The Lord is in his holy palace: the Lordes throne is in the heauen: his eyes wil consider: his eye lids will try the children of men.
5 The Lord will try the righteous: but the wicked and him that loueth iniquitie, doeth his soule hate.
6 Vpon the wicked he shall raine snares, fire, and brimstone, and stormie tempest: this is the porcion of their cup.
7 For the righteous Lord loueth righteousnes: his countenance doeth beholde the iust.

ecommended ermons Albert Mohler Alistair Begg Bret Capranica

David Legge David Strain Jason Robertson John MacArthur Mark Loughridge Michael Beasley

Paul Lamey Paul W. Martin Phil Johnson Phillip M. Way R.C. Sproul Steve Weaver

Stats can either build our egos, or crush them. Most of us, no matter how small our numbers, can probably find some cause for pride in our stats. I recently did a little analysis to see what the numbers mean. I’m not sure I got it right, but if I did, my conclusion is that I have far less to be proud of than a superficial reading of the numbers indicates. Sure, I have x page loads, y unique visitors, and z returning visitors; but z is the only number that really means “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” And that number is considerably smaller than x. So, here are my stats, in percent rather than numbers to avoid [ahem] boasting.

71% of you stay for less than 5 seconds. By “you,” of course, I mean “them,” because if you’re reading this, you’re not one of “them.” These are probably the folks who came here by way of a Google search for “asparagus and a theologian” and ended up here.

2% of you are also probably not reading this. You (they) check out in 30 seconds or less.

The remaining 27% of you are actually reading something. 10% stay for at least 30 seconds, but less than 5 minutes. That may not sound like much, but you can actually read quite a bit in 30 seconds. 4 minutes and 59 seconds is far more than I spend on almost any blog I read.

17% stick around a while and probably deserve some kind of award. 6% are here for 5 minutes to an hour (1% for 20 minutes or more). An amazing 11% stay for an hour or more. An hour? Here? These readers are most likely incarcerated somewhere, or they are Norwegian*, but not both; Norwegians never get incarcerated.

So, looking more closely at my stats was a rather humbling experience. But I’ve saved the worst for last: of the 573 posts on this site, the most popular is a guest post by an eighteen-year-old girl†. It’s a good thing I don’t care about the numbers.   . . . and [David] went and hanged himself.

_________________________
* This is a reference to the stoic hardiness of the Norsemen, and not to any alleged intellectual deficiency (as portrayed in jokes you may have heard featuring characters with names such as Ole and Sven).
† of whom I really am quite proud.

—Richard D. Phillips, Jesus the Evangelist (Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007), 35.

HYMN 18. (C. M.)
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Rev. xiv. 13.
by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

EAR what the voice from heav’n proclaims,
   For all the pious dead;
Sweet is the savor of their names,
   And soft their sleeping bed.

They die in Jesus, and are blest;
   How kind their slumbers are!
From suff’rings and from sins released,
   And freed from every snare.

Far from this world of toil and strife,
   They’re present with the Lord;
The labors of their mortal life
   End in a large reward.

—from The Psalms & Hymns of Isaac Watts. Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Book I: Collected from the Holy Scriptures

salme 46 Geneva Bible.
To him that excelleth upon Alamoth.
A song committed to the sonnes of Korah.
1 God is our hope and strength, and helpe in troubles, ready to be found.
2 Therefore will not we feare, though the earth be moued, and though the mountaines fall into the middes of the sea.
3 Though the waters thereof rage and be troubled, and the mountaines shake at the surges of the same. Selah,
4 Yet there is a Riuer, whose streames shall make glad the citie of God: euen the Sanctuarie of the Tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the middes of it: therefore shall it not be moued: God shall helpe it very earely.
6 When the nations raged, and the kingdomes were moued, God thundred, and the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hostes is with vs: the God of Iaakob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, and behold the workes of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh warres to cease vnto the endes of the world: he breaketh the bowe and cutteth the speare, and burneth the chariots with fire.
10 Be still and knowe that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, and I wil be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of hostes is with vs: the God of Iaakob is our refuge. Selah.

ecommended ermons Albert Mohler Alistair Begg Bret Capranica

David Legge David Strain Jason Robertson John MacArthur Mark Loughridge Michael Beasley

Paul Lamey Paul W. Martin Phil Johnson Phillip M. Way R.C. Sproul Steve Weaver

Arriving home after a grueling but exhilarating week of fellowship and fun, giddy with excitement and fairly bursting with experiences to share with my dear readers, I began posting. I posted pictures. Then the comments came rolling in. Several readers who had been at the conference wrote in praise of my wife, who was surely deserving, but were rather less complimentary of yours truly. (One fine fellow said I looked like an Oxford professor, which I think was a compliment, but then I’ve never seen an Oxford professor, so I don’t know.) While she was described with such adjectives as “terrific,” “wonderful,” and “lovely,” I was pretty much ignored — at least until one character who shall remain nameless called me “weirdo,” and his progenitor, who shall remain hairless, besmerched my necktie. I wonder: does he even know how to tie a tie? I’ll bet he wears clip-ons. Sorry, I’m wandering.

Anyway, you can probably understand, then, why my self-esteem might have been trampled on . . . that is, might on have been trampled . . . or something like that. (On top of it all, I’m still struggling with prepositions.)

Then, finally, one kind lady — with impeccable taste — said I was a “sharp dressed handsome fellow.” I perked up. My wife said she was “just being polite,” but I know better. Yes I do. I do so! I read it again: sharp dressed handsome fellow. And again: sharp dressed handsome fellow sharp dressed handsome fellow sharp dressed handsome fellow. ZZ Top began playing in my head. Da-dum da-daah, da-da-dum-daah, da-da-dum . . . Yeah, that’s it, you know what I mean . . . They come runnin’ just as fast as they can . . . What? Oh, sorry, I was daydreaming again.

Well, that was only the beginning. While it’s nice to be admired superficially, we all want recognition that is more than skin deep. We want to be recognized for our character and intellect, don’t we? Mine was coming. My blue funk was finally and completely dispelled when, on his very own blog, no less a scholar than Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin, a man with two — two! — middle initials, called me “brilliant.” Brilliant brilliant brilliant . . . So there. I guess my terrific, wonderful, lovely wife is lucky to have me.

Today the college I attend sponsored an event to raise awareness for domestic violence. The event left me feeling very confused. It is called “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes,” and it is held here every year. The idea of the event was that if men put on dresses and high heels and try to race in them, it will raise awareness for domestic violence. My sociology teacher offered extra credit points to people who went, so I did. As I watched teachers and football players duct tape women’s shoes to their feet I thought of all they would learn. Now they will understand what we go through every day as we strap on our stilettos and run everywhere, I thought. Now they know how hard our lives really are as we try to climb the corporate ladder in five inch heels and sundresses. This is why it is hard to get out of an abusive relationship; it is too hard to run in high heels. This is also probably why men beat their wives. They are not wearing heels, they are wearing comfortable men’s shoes. Maybe if more men wore heels they would all become more sensitive to the daily problems women face and stop beating their wives.

Later that afternoon I talked to someone who had attended the college a few years ago.

“Oh yeah,” he said when I mentioned the event, “I ran in that one year, but I can’t remember what it was about. . . .” I told him why he had run in women’s shoes and he looked very surprised.

“Really, I thought it was just one of those wacky end of the school year things.” I’m glad he attended and participated.

Aside from the fact that a few of my teachers have nicer legs than I do, I did not learn much from this. It was very entertaining to see grown men in high heals, and to watch them race each other in them. Their parents must be proud. I still know very little about domestic violence. I also find it sad that this is what these men think they have to do to show that they are concerned about domestic violence. There must be another way. Maybe this is a reflection on our culture today; the fact that to get people’s attention you have to put men in dresses is a sad thought. Domestic violence is a problem and there is really nothing funny about it. Most of the people who attended this event could not have cared less about domestic violence; they just wanted to be entertained for an hour.

I was raised, as I believe I have stated before, on a strange mixture of evangelical Lutheranism and Arminian revivalism.The Lutheranism was of the best kind, but the revivalism, while certainly nowhere near the worst, was confusing enough. In Sunday School and Confirmation, we learned sola fide, and at evangelistic meetings — which were certainly not called “revival meetings,” we were plied with the fiction of gospel songs like the one that follows:

Almost Persuaded
by Phillip P. Bliss

“Almost persuaded” now to believe;
“Almost persuaded” Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to say,
“Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day
On Thee I’ll call.”

“Almost persuaded,” come, come today;
“Almost persuaded,” turn not away;
Jesus invites you here,
Angels are lingering near
Prayers rise from hearts so dear;
O wanderer, come!

“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past!
“Almost persuaded,” doom comes at last!
“Almost” cannot avail;
“Almost” is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail—
“Almost,” but lost!

Have you ever read anything so calculated to manipulate? Couple those pathetic lyrics with the mournful melody, which, if you can stand it, you can listen to at cyberhymnal.org, and you are guaranteed to get some poor, emotionally assaulted sinner to walk — or crawl — down the aisle to “make a decision for Christ.”

“He who is al­most per­suad­ed is al­most saved, and to be al­most saved is to be en­tire­ly lost,” were the words with which the Rev. Mr. Brun­dage end­ed one of his ser­mons. P. P. Bliss, who was in the au­di­ence, was much im­pressed with the thought, and im­me­di­ate­ly set about the com­po­si­tion of what proved to be one of his most pop­u­lar songs.

One of the most im­press­ive oc­ca­sions on which this hymn was sung was in the Ag­ri­cul­tur­al Hall in Lon­don, in 1874, when Mr. Glad­stone was pre­sent. At the close of his ser­mon Mr. Moody asked the con­gre­ga­tion­ to bow their heads, while I sang “Al­most Per­suad­ed.” The still­ness of death pre­vailed through­out the au­di­ence of over fif­teen thou­sand, as souls were mak­ing their de­ci­sions for Christ.

Sankey, Ira Da­vid. My Life and the Sto­ry of the Gos­pel Hymns (Har­per & Bro­thers, 1906) 112.

Did I really use the word “fiction” to describe Almost Persuaded? Yes, as the scenario described in Bliss’s gospel song — from which the Gospel is mysteriously absent — has never occured. Certainly, sinners sit and listen to preachers call them to repentance and faith in Christ and walk away untouched. I almost dare say that happens every time the Gospel is preached. But the call of the preacher, which has no guarantee of any specific result, is not the supernatural call of God. Scripture assures us that this call always results in saving faith in the hearer.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

With that verse, I could almost end this series. Really, what more needs to be said? But, though I do aim for brevity, I have more to say.

RESURRECTION

O God of my Exodus,

reat was the joy of Israel’s sons,
when Egypt died upon the shore,
Far greater the joy
   when the redeemer’s foe lay crushed
   in the dust.
Jesus strides forth as the victor,
   conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing
      might;
He bursts the bands of death,
   tramples the powers of darkness down,
   and lives for ever.
He, my gracious surety,
   apprehended for payment of my debt,
   comes forth from the prison house of the grave
   free, and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.
Show me herein the proof that his vicarious offering
      is accepted,
   that the claims of justice are satisfied,
   that the devil’s sceptre is shivered,
   that his wrongful throne is levelled.
Give me the assurance that in Christ I died,
   in him I rose,
   in his life I live, in his victory I triumph,
   in his ascension I shall be glorified.
Adorable Redeemer,
   thou who wast lifted up upon a cross
   art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, who as man of sorrows
   wast crowned with thorns,
   art now as Lord of life wreathed with glory.
Once, no shame more deep than thine,
   no agony more bitter,
   no death more cruel.
Now, no exaltation more high,
   no life more glorious,
   no advocate more effective.
Thou art in the triumph car leading captive
   thine enemies behind thee.
What more could be done than thou hast done!
   Thy death is my life,
   thy resurrection my peace,
   thy ascension my hope,
   thy prayers my comfort.

—from The Valley of Vision, Arthur Bennett, editor (Banner of Truth Trust, 2002).

salme 141
(Geneva Bible)
A Psalme of David.
1 O Lord, I call vpon thee: haste thee vnto me: heare my voyce, when I cry vnto thee.
2 Let my prayer be directed in thy sight as incense, and the lifting vp of mine hands as an euening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keepe the doore of my lips.
4 Incline not mine heart to euill, that I should commit wicked workes with men that worke iniquitie: and let me not eate of their delicates.
5 Let the righteous smite me: for that is a benefite: and let him reprooue me, and it shalbe a precious oyle, that shall not breake mine head: for within a while I shall euen pray in their miseries.
6 When their iudges shall be cast downe in stonie places, they shall heare my wordes, for they are sweete.
7 Our bones lye scattered at the graues mouth, as he that heweth wood or diggeth in the earth.
8 But mine eyes looke vnto thee, O Lord God: in thee is my trust: leaue not my soule destitute.
9 Keepe me from the snare, which they haue layde for me, and from the grennes of the workers of iniquitie.
10 Let the wicked fall into his nettes together, whiles I escape.

ecommended ermons Albert Mohler Alistair Begg Bret Capranica

David Legge David Strain Jason Robertson John MacArthur Mark Loughridge Michael Beasley

Paul Lamey Paul W. Martin Phil Johnson Phillip M. Way R.C. Sproul Steve Weaver

Things I liked about Together for the Gospel 2008:

• Books. Who doesn’t like free books?
  • Band of Bloggers
    • Christ is All: The Piety of Horatius Bonar ed. by Michael Haykin and Darrin Brooker
    • The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (Puritan Paperbacks, Abridged)
    • Walking as He Walked by Joel Beeke
    • reThink by Steve Wright
    • Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry ed. by Tom Ascol
    • When I Don't Desire God by John Piper
    • Young, Restless, Reformed by Collin Hansen
    • A Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur
  • Together for the Gospel
    • English Standard Version (ESV) Compact Bible
    • The Truth of the Cross by R. C. Sproul
    • Culture Shift by Albert Mohler
    • If You Could Ask God One Question by Paul Williams and Barry Cooper
    • The Gospel & Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever
    • The Faithful Preacher by Thabiti Anyabwile
    • In My Place Condemned He Stood by J. I. Packer and Mark Dever
    • The Future of Justification by John Piper
    • Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin
    • Pierced for Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach
    • Why We’re Not Emergent (by Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin Deyoung and Ted Kluck
    • Preaching the Cross by Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, & Albert Mohler
    • The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
    • The Courage to be Protestant by David Wells
    • Christ & Culture Revisited by D. A. Carson
• Community. It was exhilarating to be surrounded by thousands who were not only thinking about the same things I do, but, in many cases, thinking the same things about the things I think about as I do.
• Fellowship. Although there was not nearly enough free time, it was wonderful to visit with like-minded Christians. The immediate familial bond was evident, from the kind words we received from some, to the good-natured insults we — that is, I — received from others.
• Music. The songs were very well-chosen, and Bob Kauflin did an excellent job leading the singing. It was so moving to sing these great hymns of the faith in unison with thousands of brothers and sisters.
• Preaching. Oh, yes, there was preaching. You can, and should, go here to download the General Sessions and Panel Discussions. Be prepared to be encouraged, challenged, and convicted.
• Ligon Duncan. Duncan demonstrated why faithful pastoral ministry cannot exist without sound theology.
• Thabiti Anyabwile. Have I mentioned that I can pronounce his name? Thabiti Anyabwile. See there, I did it again. I spelled it right, too, even though spell-check disagrees. Thabiti gave the best message on “race” that I have ever heard, saying what I have believed for years, but applying it in ways that have never even occurred to me.
• John MacArthur. MacArthur was, as always, MacArthur. His message, The Sinner neither Able nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability, left me feeling like a sinner, and all the more grateful for the grace of God and the cross of Christ.
• Mark Dever. Dever spoke on Improving the Gospel. In short, you can’t, so don’t.
• R. C. Sproul. Sproul is one grand, magnificent old man. Due to the vertigo he suffers from as a result of a stroke a few years ago, he was wheeled in and out of the auditorium, and sat behind the podium. Yet, as he preached, there was no hint of frailty. He preached with all the passion and drama that those who have listened to him for years have come to expect.
• Albert Mohler. Can there be any doubt that Mohler is the smartest man in the world? Mohler dismantled the arguments against Penal Substitution with great clarity.
• John Piper. Piper is one of those uncommon preachers whose passion is not a substitute for substance.
• C.J. Mahaney. What is one to think of Mahaney? I’m afraid he is one of those people who I wouldn’t want to meet before noon.

Things I didn’t like about Together for the Gospel 2008:

• Too much packed into one day. It would have been nice to have had more time for fellowship. The same conference spread over four days instead of three would have been nice — and far less exhausting.
• I registered too late to get a room in the hotel I would have preferred, causing some inconvenience. The conference organizers should have warned me. I blame Mark Dever.
• I ate too much on Tuesday. Phil Johnson sat next to me eating nothing but a salad — with an air of superiority, I might add — and I was compensating for him.
• The books were too heavy. All those ushers in their nifty vests should have been assigned to carry them to our cars or hotel rooms for us.
• I had John MacArthur sign The Gospel According to Jesus and spoke briefly with him. He didn’t ask to join me for lunch.
• I had an argument with my wife. Clearly, someone was quenching the Spirit. I think it was Mahaney.
• Louisville is too far away. I propose the conference be moved to Bismarck, North Dakota for 2010. Seriously, can you think of a more central location for the US and Canada? I didn’t think so.
• 1200 miles, one way. $3.59/gallon gas. 14 miles/gallon.
• We had drinks at the Galt House on Thursday evening. Two drinks, $13.00. T4G should have arranged discounts in the hotel bar. This, no doubt, is Mohler’s fault.
• T4G. I despise the internet shorthand that spawned this. I despise the fact that I have stooped to using this abbreviation myself a few times. How difficult is it to type out Together for the Gospel? Not difficult at all, IMHO, LOL.

Me & Tim Challies. After more than three years of reading Challies.com and having the privilege of becoming friends with the World’s Most Famous Christian Blogger®, I finally met the man himself. I was thankful that I had boned up on my Canadian so the language barrier was not too difficult to overcome.

Me & Phil Johnson. What a pleasure it was to meet Phil. No ministry has impacted my life to the extent that Grace to You has, so it was truly a delight to meet the man who keeps that ministry running and edits the majority of John MacArthur’s books. I have also benefited greatly from his Spurgeon Archive, The Hall of Church History, and his Famous Annotated Bookmarks. Oh yes, I think he blogs somewhere, too. My wife (who is not in any of these pictures because she took them) and I got to sit at the end of the table with Phil and his wife Darlene at lunch on Wednesday. During the course of conversation, Phil confessed that Darlene reads his blog posts before he posts them and “tones [him] down.” I can’t imagine why that’s necessary.

Me & Jeremy, Garry, & Steve Weaver. I was excited to meet these guys, and unfortunately did not get the time to visit much with them. Jeremy was much more reserved and well-behaved than I expected. Actually, they all were.

Me & Timmy Brister. Timmy organized the Band of Bloggers meeting that took place just prior to the conference. I would almost have traveled the 1200 miles to Louisville just for that.

Me & Steve Berlew. Steve is the Banner of Truth man, and as such is worthy of reverence. I was careful not to touch him, so as not to dim his shekinah. I’m afraid, though, that he touched me, so if something flaky turns up on the Banner site, it’s probably my fault.

Me & Hank Balch. One of the non-conference highlights of the week was meeting this young Texan SBTS student and having lunch with him on Thursday after the conference. He was kind enough to drive us to Chick-fil-A (I was told we must go there). He also called my wife “Ma’am” until she very nearly fell in love with him. Public service announcement: Hank needs a wife, and he has my endorsement. Your daughters would be blessed to snag a guy like him.*

Me & Jonathan Moorhead. By the providence of God, Jonathan was able to get a last-minute spot at the conference, so we were able to have a good time of fellowship with him. Jonathan is a TMS graduate and has just been ordained to the ministry and finished his Ph.D. at DTS. He and his family will be leaving soon for Samara, Russia where he will teach at Samara Preachers’ Institute and Theological Seminary. Click here to learn more about this ministry and how you can support it.

Me & Paul Martin! Paul is Tim Challies’ pastor, and approximately 7’13” tall! He is a much better preacher than he was a Prime Minister! Paul smiles a lot and uses far too many exclamation points!

Some of the other bloggers I met and failed to shoot were:

Dan Phillips, who is a very unassuming, pleasant, mild-mannered fellow.

Frank Turk, who would probably be surprised to learn that I was very disappointed that I didn’t run into him again after our initial meeting at Band of Bloggers.

Thabiti Anyabwile, who was also a conference speaker. Thabiti is a warm and very authentic guy. That doesn’t, however, mean that emergents should like him. I feel that I must inform you that I knew how to pronounce his name before I heard it, although I cautiously refrained from doing so out loud until I was sure. No, I’m not bragging. Thabiti also brought his wife, Kristie, who reads this blog and is more attractive than Thabiti, although not as tall.

I will have more on the conference later this week.
____________________
* I sincerely hope I have not embarrassed Hank. I would never do such a thing intentionally.

HOW LONG?
Horatius Bonar (1808–1889)

Y God, it is not fretfulness
   That makes me say “how long?”
It is not heaviness of heart
   That hinders me in song;
’Tis not despair of truth and right,
   Nor coward dread of wrong.

But how can I, with such a hope
   Of glory and of home ;
With such a joy before my eyes,
   Not wish the time were come,—
Of years the jubilee, of days
   The Sabbath and the sum?

These years, what ages they have been!
   This life, how long it seems!
And how can I, in evil days,
   ’Mid unknown hills and streams,
But sigh for those of home and heart,
   And visit them in dreams?

Yet peace, my heart, and hush, my tongue;
   Be calm my troubled breast;
Each restless hour is hastening on
   The everlasting rest:
Thou knowest that the time thy God
   Appoints for thee, is best.

Let faith, not fear nor fretfulness,
   Awake the cry, “how long?”
Let no faint-heartedness of soul
   Damp thy aspiring song:
Right comes, truth dawns, the night departs
   Of error and of wrong.

—from Hymns of Faith and Hope (Kessinger Publishing, 2007).

salme 134
(Geneva Bible)
A song of degrees.
1 Behold, praise ye the Lord, all ye seruants of the Lord, ye that by night stande in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift vp your hands to the Sanctuarie, and praise the Lord.
3 The Lord, that hath made heauen and earth, blesse thee out of Zion.

ecommended ermons Albert Mohler Alistair Begg Bret Capranica

David Legge David Strain Jason Robertson John MacArthur Mark Loughridge Michael Beasley

Paul Lamey Paul W. Martin Phil Johnson Phillip M. Way R.C. Sproul Steve Weaver

The Ten Commandments
Ralph Erskine (1685-1752)

	o God but Me shalt thou adore, I am thy God alone.
2.	No image frame to bow before, But idols all dethrone.
3.	God’s glorious name take not in vain, for be revered He will.
4.	His sacred Sabbath don’t profane, Mind it is holy still.
5.	To parents render due respect, This may thy life prolong.
6.	All murder shun and malice check, To no man’s life do wrong.
7.	From thought of whoredom base abstain, From words and actions vile.
8.	Shun theft and all unlawful gain, Nor gather wealth by guile.
9.	False witness flee, and slandering spite, Nor willful lies invent.
10.	Don’t covet what’s thy neighbor’s right, Nor harbor discontent.

—from Worthy Is the Lamb (Soli Deo Gloria, 2004).

salme 15
(Geneva Bible)
A Psalme of Dauid.
1 Lord, who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle? who shall rest in thine holy Mountaine?
2 He that walketh vprightly and worketh righteousnes, and speaketh the trueth in his heart.
3 He that slandereth not with his tongue, nor doeth euill to his neighbour, nor receiueth a false report against his neighbour.
4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoureth them that feare the Lord: he that sweareth to his owne hinderance and changeth not.
5 He that giueth not his money vnto vsurie, nor taketh reward against the innocent: hee that doeth these things, shall neuer be moued.

ecommended ermons Albert Mohler Alistair Begg Bret Capranica

David Legge David Strain Jason Robertson John MacArthur Mark Loughridge Michael Beasley

Paul Lamey Paul W. Martin Phil Johnson Phillip M. Way R.C. Sproul Steve Weaver

Sunday, 31 [1768]. . . .
   How sweet is the work of the ministry, when attended with the unction of power of the Holy one! My soul has been very barren, ever since last Lord’s Day; but this sabbath has been a sabbath indeed.
   Spent the evening both agreeably and profitably, in reading the confession of faith, charge, and sermon, delivered at Bristol last August . . . Blessed be God for the advancement of his interest among us, under whatever form. Lord, increase the number of thy faithful witnesses, every where and in every denomination of Protestants!

—Augustus Toplady, The Complete Works of Augustus Toplady (Sprinkle Publications, 1987), 12.

May each of us, especially those of you who serve in ministry, have such a Lord’s Day, and pray such a prayer.