Lord’s Day, Vol. 2 No. 6
(1) Study of the Life of Christ
We have embarked on the study of the Life of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in our sermon series since January 2014. There are rich lessons that benefit our souls for eternity. This world and its wisdom will pass away, liable to change and corruption. In contrast, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is the living God in human flesh, full of grace and glory. There is no greater discipline than the study of the Word of God. There is no better picture of godliness than the life of His Son. Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God, the embodiment of the fullness of wisdom. Please pray for the preacher who has taken on a challenge unequal to the task. It is only by prayer and the Spirit’s enabling that the preaching of His Word may be accomplished for His glory.
(2) Comfort for the Sorrowing
The hymn “God Will Take Care of You” written by Civilla D. Martin (1869-1948) was commissioned upon a bed of affliction. Confined to a sickbed and unable to leave the house, she wrote the words of this hymn one Sunday afternoon in 1904 that expressed her faith amid trial. When she showed her husband the words after he returned from a preaching mission, he sat down at a pump organ in their home and composed the tune – appropriately called Martin. This hymn became a source of comfort for many who bear the burdens of illness and hardship.
Be not dismayed whate’ver betide
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.Chorus:
God will take care of you,
Through every day, o’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail
God will take care of you.All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.
Misfortune and hardship are the rule, not the exception, of life. Job’s famous epigram reminds us that “man is born unto trouble” (Job 5:7). But just as an eagle uses the wind and storm to reach greater heights, so the child of God, on wings of faith, rises above life’s hardships to new heights of strength and holiness.
We may be tempted to feel alone, forsaken, and forgotten. But let us remember that the Lord is with us always. God does not promise that He will deliver us from trial but He promised that he will give grace that will carry us through.
The missionary William Carey, the father of modern missions, began his missionary career to India in 1793. He served the Lord in that country for 40 years, never once returning to his home in England.
After William Carey was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent him a printer and God raised two men to assist him. Soon the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect. He had also prepared dictionaries and grammars for the use of his successors.
One day while Carey was away, a fire broke out and completely destroyed the building, the presses, many Bibles, and the precious manuscripts, dictionaries, and grammars. When he returned and was told of the tragic loss, he showed no sign of despair or impatience. Instead, he knelt and thanked God that he still had the strength to do the work over again. He started immediately, not wasting a moment in self-pity. Before his death, he had duplicated and even improved on his earlier achievements. (Source Unknown)
So, “be not dismayed whate’er betide”; be assured that “God will take care of you.” – [Taken from Songs in the Night (Inspiring Stories behind 100 Hymns Born in Trial and suffering) by Henry Gariepy.]
Indeed, God does give a song in the night (Job 35:10). The psalmist was comforted when God’s word ministered to his heart. He testified, “Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8).
Dear reader, are you in some affliction? God will take care of you. May this hymn minister comfort to your heart.
Yours lovingly
Pr Lek Aik Wee