Lord’s Day, Vol. 2 No. 32
(1) A Year Since Our First Prayer Meeting
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Our first prayer meeting at the Praise Chapel was conducted on 15 August 2013. It marked the beginning of our gospel work at the Diary Farm area.
Thank God for gathering His people every Wednesday night at 8pm for prayer since then. We can testify to many rejoicings of answered prayers.
God’s people are spiritually refreshed and strengthened. The Scriptures are opened and God’s people are instructed. In the past year, we have studied the book of Exodus and Daniel. We have just begun a new series on the book of Ezra.
When we come to God with a contrite spirit, we receive God’s blessing as the Psalmist testified:
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
As God’s people make right with Him and renew their walk with Him at mid-week, they are spiritually recharged for the rest of the week.
As was the pattern of the infant church at Jerusalem recorded in Acts 1, the spirit of God came mightily to empower its members to do His will in their lives. We encourage you to keep an appointment with the Lord at mid-week to pray.
(2) God’s Comfort in Sickness
Psalm 41:3 “The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.”
The bed of languishing is a description of illness that causes one to be bed-ridden and restricted from doing the every day routines of life. The sick person suffers from pain and discomforts of the body. He loses his appetite resulting in physical frailty. The experience of sickness can be very discouraging.
How did the psalmist go through this bed of languishing? The word “strengthen” means to support, to uphold or to sustain. The testimony of the psalmist was that it is the LORD that supported and sustained him through his sickness.
His relationship with the LORD was vital, critical and pivotal in the psalmist’s experience. He had cultivated deep strength in his relationship with his Saviour and Friend. The LORD never fails. That was the conviction in his heart and indeed the LORD carried him through. God’s word is a balm for the discouraged soul. God’s Word is able to uplift the heart. Music is next to theology. The singing of godly hymns and choruses also uplifts the heart. For example, the hymn “Keep on Believing” is very encouraging to the downtrodden soul.
Keep on believing, Jesus is near
Keep on believing, there’s nothing to fear
Keep on believing, this is the way
Faith in the night as well as the day
Psalm 41:3 begins with the LORD. Indeed, this must be the emphasis for He only is the Great Physician, He only has the power to heal. He has the power to provide relief and comfort.
In the second part of the verse, the psalmist said, “Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.” The LORD helped him every time is the sense of this verse. Every time he was sick on the bed, the LORD showed favour to him and helped him. We are not saying that the LORD will always turn one’s sickness to health but that when one is sick, the LORD will show Himself a present help to comfort him. It is like having a helper to remake his bed so that he will have fresh bed-sheets and clean blankets. It speaks of the mercy of God expressed in practical ways that the psalmist could attest to.
In the context of this psalm, the psalmist is exhorting us to help those in afflictions for the LORD will not forget your labour of love and when you are in trouble, the LORD will certainly deliver you.
As testifies in Psalm 41:1-2, “1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.”
The promise from God is that when we do good, He will bless our lives with His goodness too. He delivers us from enemies, He delivers us from sicknesses. He preserves us.
(3) Blessed Hope Devotions Online
Trust that you have been reading the devotions on Mark’s Gospel by JC Ryle on a daily basis for your soul’s nourishment since 1 August 2014. It is not too late to begin now if you have not started. The write-ups are available on our website www.blessedhope.sg under the sub-section “DEVOTIONS”. Do avail yourself and your family of these spiritual gems.
Yours lovingly in Christ,
Pr. Lek Aik Wee