Sunday Meditation, March 29
Christ, Our Hope in Sickness and Isolation
Remember, the growth of a believer is not like a mushroom—but like an oak, which increases slowly indeed—but surely. Many suns, showers, and frosts, pass upon it before it comes to perfection; and in winter, when it seems to be dead—it is gathering strength at the root. Be humble, watchful, and diligent in the means, and endeavor to look through all, and fix your eye upon Jesus—and all shall be well.
— John Newton
Scripture for Meditation: Psalm 42:11
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.*
Hymn of Invocation: Arise, My Soul, Arise
Arise, my soul, arise! Shake off your guilty fears.
The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears.
Before the throne my Surety stands,
Before the throne my Surety stands
My name is written on His hands.Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary.
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O, forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O, forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”The Father hears Him pray, His dear Anointed One;
He cannot turn away the presence of His Son.
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.My God is reconciled; His pard’ning voice I hear.
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear;
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And, “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.— Charles Wesley, 1707-1788
Hymn of Hope: The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.Refrain:
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.When darkness hides His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.— Edward Mote, 1797-1874
Prayer of Blessing
Responsive Reading: Lamentations 3:19-24
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.
Hymn of Faithfulness: Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!Summer, and winter, and springtime, and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!— Thomas O. Chisholm, 1866-1960
Prayer of Corporate Confession
Silence for Personal Confession
Assurance of Pardon: Romans 8:35-38
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Response: Thanks be to God.
Hymn of Pardon: It Is Well
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well, with my soul.”Refrain:
It is well (It is well) with my soul (with my soul).
It is well, it is well with my soul.Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.My sin—O the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.— Horatio Spafford, 1828-1888
Confession of Faith: Heidelberg Catechism
Question 27: What do you understand by the providence of God?
Answer: God's providence is his almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.
Question 28: What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by his providence?
Answer: We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from his love; for all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they cannot so much as move.
Hymn of Hope: Christ, Our Hope in Life and Death
What is our hope in life and death?
Christ alone, Christ alone.
What is our only confidence?
That our souls to him belong.Who holds our days within his hand?
What comes apart from his command?
And what will keep us to the end?
The love of Christ in which we stand.Chorus:
O sing hallelujah! Our hope springs eternal.
O sing hallelujah! Now and ever we confess:
Christ our hope in life and death.What truth can calm the troubled soul?
God is good, God is good.
Where is his grace and goodness known?
In our great Redeemer's bloodWho holds our faith when fears arise?
Who stands above the stormy trial?
Who sends the waves that bring us nigh unto the shore,
The rock of Christ?Chorus:
O sing hallelujah! Our hope springs eternal.
O sing hallelujah! Now and ever we confess:
Christ our hope in life and death.Unto the grave, what will we sing?
Christ, He lives! Christ, he lives!
And what reward will heaven bring?
Everlasting life with him.There we will rise to meet the Lord;
Then sin and death will be destroyed.
And we will feast in endless joy,
When Christ is ours forevermore.Chorus:
O sing hallelujah! Our hope springs eternal.
O sing hallelujah! Now and ever we confess:
Christ our hope in life and death.
(repeat)Now and ever we confess:
Christ our hope in life and death.
Keith Getty, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Papa, Matt Boswell, Matthew Merker
2020 Getty Music Publishing, Messenger Hymns, Love Your Enemies Publishing, Matthew Merker Music, Getty Music Hymns and Songs, Jordan Kauflin Music (Admin by Music Services) CCLI #2783020
Ministry of the Word
*All Scripture, English Standard Version. © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission.