Article: The Father and Family Worship

I’m going to take a short break from A Deacon’s Life and hopefully I’ll be back in May.  I need the extra time to prep.  The topic of family worship has been on my mind much these days, so perhaps here and there I’ll drop quotes that I come across in my reading.  This comes from The Father and Family Worship by Rev. J.W. Alexander (1804-1859):

THERE is no member of a household whose individual piety is of such importance to all the rest as the father or head. And there is no one whose soul is so directly influenced by the exercise of domestic worship. Where the head of a family is lukewarm or worldly, he will send the chill through the whole house. And if any happy exception occur, and one and another surpass him in faithfulness, it will be in spite of his evil example. He, who ought by his instructions and life, to afford a perpetual incitement to his inferiors and his juniors, is made to feel in case of such delinquency, that they must look elsewhere for guidance, even if they do not weep in secret places over his neglects. Where the head of the family is a man of faith, of affection, and of zeal, consecrating all his works and life to Christ, it is very rare to find all his household otherwise-minded. Now one of the chief means of promoting such individual graces in the head is this: his daily exercise of devotion with the members. It is more to him, than to others. It is he who presides and directs in it, who selects and delivers the precious Word, and who leads the common supplication, confession, and praise. To him, it is equal to an additional act of personal devotion in the day; but it is more. It is an act of devotion, in which his affection and duty to his house are particularly brought before his mind; and in which he stands in the place and pleads the cause, of all that he holds dearest upon earth. No one need wonder then, that we place family-prayer among the most important means of reviving and maintaining the piety of him who conducts it.

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The Blessed Man

Read: Psalm 1 (focus on vv. 1-2)

1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Record:  As Book 1 of the Psalms begins, the psalmist describes the blessed in light of three negatives:

1. who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
2. nor stands in the way of sinners,
3. nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

The psalmist then shifts to the positive giving definition to the true blessed man of God.  Verse 2 describes him as one:

• who delights in the law of the LORD
• who meditates on his law day and night.

Next the psalmist gives two illustrations to further describe the righteous man as opposed to the wicked man.  The righteous person is like a tree, while the wicked person is like chaff.  The righteous person is like a tree planted by streams of water with fruit coming in its season, never whithering away.  All that the righteous man does prospers, because the Lord knows his way.

The wicked man is not like this.  He is easily blown away by the wind.  He will not be able to stand in judgment, nor before the righteous, but his way will ultimately perish.

Reflect and Respond: The psalms were poetry meant to be sung.  The very first psalm that we find in book 1 tells us to avoid the wicked, sinners, and scoffers, and instead to delight and meditate upon the law of the Lord day and night.  The song the Scriptures want me to sing is to delight and mediate upon God’s very Word.  There is nothing more righteous than the true words of God; furthermore God wants me to sing His righteous Word into my heart and to respond in righteousness.

Ultimately though, this psalm brings me to the most righteous, most blessed man, namely Jesus.  His delight was fully in the law of the Lord, because He perfectly upheld every aspect of the law.  Jesus’ drive was to obey the Father’s will, and His will was set forth in the law of God.  To keep the law is to love and delight in it, which Christ did so clearly.  He had the deepest delight in the law because He sought to obey it in every way.  Failure to obey the law is fundamentally a hatred for the law and the giver of the law… God.  Jesus loved the Father and kept his commandments.  He who kept the law, was the very Word of God, and is now the righteous man who blesses his people because of his perfect obedience to the Father’s will.

LD 11: Comfort in the Saving Name

It’s all in the name, and this is often the case with biblical names.  When Mary was found to be with the child, an angel of the Lord spoke very clearly to Mary about the child of her womb.  She was to give him a very specific name, a name that would prophetically summarize the nature of Christ’s earthly ministry of obedience to the Father for the sake of the salvation of His people.  The Father sent the Son by the power of the Spirit to be the Savior of God’s people.

That name is “Jesus”.  This is the basic background of the meaning of the name that Jesus bears.  His name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.  Jesus came to save and his name was to mark that accomplished reality.

After the many biblical figures perceived to be the savior seed of the women (as noted in Seth’s line of Matthew 1) who were ultimately unworthy to save, Matthew emphatically presents Jesus as the Savior who is the promised Seed of the Woman.  Matthew 1:21 says,

“21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

At this point in Mathew’s Gospel, Jesus has yet to make his bodily appearance, but already he is the noted victor and the pinnacle of Scripture’s entire message. The Father has ordained that the Spirit pronounce the name of Jesus on a baby yet to be born.  I find it encouraging that the omniscience of the Father is so intricately tied to the perfect and perpetual obedience of the Son with the giving of this saving name “Jesus.”  Behind the name of Jesus is:

• the Father sending the Son
• the Son obeying the Father
• the Spirit pronouncing victory and applying the Son’s work to God’s people

When we call upon the name of Jesus in faith, we are asking for the very salvation which he has secured for his people.  Jesus is that Savior and there is everlasting comfort in his name.

Thankfully, Jesus is my Savior.

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Part II: Deliverance: God the Son
Lord’s Day 11
Q & A 29
Q. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”?
A. Because he saves us from our sins.  Salvation cannot be found in anyone else; it is futile to look for any salvation elsewhere.

Q & A 30
Q. Do those who look for their salvation and security in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere really believe in the only savior Jesus?
A. No.  Although they boast of being his, by their deeds they deny the only savior and deliverer, Jesus.  Either Jesus is not a perfect savior, or those who in true faith accept this savior have in him all they need for their salvation.

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LD 10: Patience. Thankfulness. Confidence.

This Lord’s Day set of questions finds its beauty in its lucidity.  HC #27 states that all things come to us by his Fatherly hand, which is already comforting in and of itself.  Yet, I love how HC #28 elaborates on the Father’s caring hand with these three words…

Patience.  Thankfulness.  Confidence.

These are the blessings from God’s creation and providence.  In this post I simply want to supply biblical passages which reflect these three words.

Patience.
Scripture never promises freedom from adversity and suffering in this life, but in the Father’s care, we can be patient in the Lord.  In our sufferings we can be patient because the end result for those in Christ is hope… the biblical notion of hope that is rooted in the work of Christ, a hope that is as sure as the breath you are now breathing:

3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5)

Thankfulness.
Because the Father’s care is always good, thankfulness is a fitting disposition and response in every season.  I pray for this response, to know His comfort in all circumstances, always:

18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

Confidence.
Our confidence comes in the wonderful promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  These are some of the most encouraging words in all the Bible:

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:35-39)

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Lord’s Day 10
Q & A 27
Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?
A. Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but from his fatherly hand.

Q & A 28
Q. How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us?
A. We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from his love.  All creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.

The Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace

Read: Ephesians 4:1-16 (vv. 12-16)

Record: Paul a prisoner to Christ and his gospel urges his readers to walk in a manner worthy of the calling.  He gives several fruit of those who walk in the Spirit: humility, gentleness, patience, loving one another, peace and unity.  The combination of the last two characteristics drive the remainder of the section: “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (v. 3)”

That unity manifests itself because there is:

• one body
• one Spirit
• one hope
• one call (inferred)
• one Lord
• one faith
• one baptism
• one God and Father

All Christians receive grace to keep the bond of peace.  The passage then turns to the work of Christ in vv. 8-10 describing his ascending and descending.  Christ both descended and ascended to fill all things: he suffered and then was glorified.  [He left glory to bear the curse of sin in order to conquer sin’s death by his resurrection and return to the glory of heaven above.]  Christ’s gifts are very specific.  Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are gifts given by Christ for a very specific purpose: to equip the saints to build up the body.

I’ll describe vv. 12-16 a bit more below.

Respond:  With Ephesians 1-3 as the foundation explaining who we are in Christ (the indicative), Paul now moves the second part of the letter to encourage the walk we live out in Christ (his pastoral encouragement coming in the imperative).  The high call to unity that Paul wants to see comes as a result of the work of Christ’s gifts to the church… namely Christ’s shepherding His church through His pastors/teachers and evangelists now (and His apostles and prophets from their respective redemptive historical periods).

The goal (“to equip…to build up” v. 12):

• attain unity of the faith (v. 13)
• knowledge of the Son of God (v. 13)
• mature manhood (v. 13)
• measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (v. 13)

The negative reason (“so that” v. 14):

• may no longer be children tossed to and fro (v. 14):
  • by every wind of doctrine (v. 14)
  • by human cunning (v. 14)
  • by craftiness in deceitful schemes (v. 14)

The positive reason (“Rather” v. 15):

• speak the truth in love (v. 15)
• grow up into our Head (into Christ) (v. 16)
• so that the whole body grows together, built in love (v. 16)

Reflect:  When I think about the goals and the reasons Paul gives for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, it all hinges on what the Spirit was sent to do in the first place: to testify to the comfort found in Christ.  The Spirit’s work is to lead us to Christ, to glorify and exalt Him, and to mold us into His perfect image.  Everything is centered upon growing in the knowledge of our faith in Christ.  Christ is to be magnified/exalted/glorified, known/studied/heard/spoken, loved/adored, followed, believed, worshipped, gifted, and shared.  Why? So that we won’t be swayed by false teaching like gullible kids, but bolstered in our Head who is Christ so that the body of Christ will love just as its Head has loved us.

This is where Paul is taking us.  Ephesians 5:2 says:

…and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Paul’s pastoral thrust of the passage is this: know and believe the love of Christ, grow in the love of Christ, and walk in the love of Christ.  This is my prayer.