Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

other."
expected."
grace"
not"
uprightly"
still"
best friend, he puts his friendship on a
very low level.
The pleasures of childhood have much
to do with after life. I read a story
about a boy named Benedict Arnold who
got his biggest laughs by such amuse
ments as pushing little girls down in the
mud and nailing live frogs to a tree, and
watching how long they would kick. And
I read another story of a boy named
Abraham Lincoln who seemed always
to be near when anyone, especially a
child, needed help, and even the dogs
did not bark at him. These are two atti
tudes of life. One caring only for his
own amusement found no real satisfac
tion in life. The other accepted God as
his Father, his fellowmen as brothers,
and doubled his own profits in life by
sharing them with others. Our most
valuable possessions are increased by
sharing, and there is a selfishness that
tendeth to poverty. Paul was not a Joy
Killer. He had received the Spirit of
love, and had found close together
among the Fruits of the Spirit, Love,
Joy, Peace.
Paul is
Col. 3:12
speaking here of the same
qualities of Love described in his letter
to the Corinthians. He asks the Colos
sians to put them on. Let them serve as
a harness by which we can lift and car
ry the burdens of life. If we accept this
harness as belonging to Christ, wear it
in His service, He will fit it to us, and
choose the burdens we are able to carry.
For His yoke is easy,
(fitted to our
shoulders) and His burden is light.
WThat greater joy can we have in this
life than to let the Peace of Christ rule
in our hearts, and be thankful (verse
15). To this end, Paul commends the
Praise Service of the congregation,
where we admonish one another in
Songs of Praise, songs that are the
Word of Christ, that have found a place
in our hearts.
I John 4:7
John urges us to enjoy life. What
gives us joy is what we like, the pos
session of that which appeals to our af
fection. Affection gives joy in the mea
sure of its depth and the worthiness of
its object. The joy is greater when the
affection rises to the quality of love, and
to its greatest height when it rises to the
love of God. An affection dissipated on
lower levels makes it impossible to ex
press itself on the higher levels. If a
man chews or smokes tobacco, his deli
cate sense of taste is destroyed,
so that
he cannot enjoy the fine flavors of an
apple or orange. One who indulges his
evil nature by hating some of his neigh
bors, destroys his ability to enjoy fully
his love for anyone, even God. John
106
wanted his "beloved" to be happy. To
this end he said, "Let us love one an
If we do, we know that we are
begotten of God. "He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is Love."
Psalms
PRAYER MEETING TOPIC
March 9, 1955
"CONFIDENCE IN PRAYER"
Heb. 4:14-16
Paul D. McCracken, D.D.
143:4-6, page 347
140:1-3, page 343
126:3-4, page 321
119 :3-4, page 309
116:3-6,
page 282
References: Ps. 37:4; John 15:7; Matt.
7:7-10; James 5:14-16; 1:5-6; John 14:
14; Mark 11:24; John 16:24; I John 3:
22; James 5:17-18; Matt. 21:22.
COMMENTS
A story about prayer,
which I heard
more than once during my boyhood, was
about the. old lady who had a hill just in
front of her cottage, which not only ob
structed her view but caused her much
inconvenience. Having read in her Bible
the striking statement of Matt. 17:20.
one night she prayed very earnestly that
the hill be removed. The next morning
when she got up the hill was still there,
and her only comment was, "Just as I
Too much of our praying is like that.
We lack confidence, our faith is weak or
non-existent, and therefore our prayers
are fruitless. James properly says of
such praying (James 1:7) "For let not
that man think that he shall receive
Lord."
anything of the
But we have every reason to "come
boldly to the throne of as our
text suggests (Heb. 4:16). That doesn't
mean carelessly or irreverently, but it
does mean freely and with perfect con
fidence.
I. CONFIDENCE IN THE ONE TO
WHOM WE PRAY GOD
Think who He is. Recall the Shorter
Catechism statement Q. 4.
He is the only living and true God, the
great I AM.
He is the creator. He made the worlds.
He spake, and it was done.
He is the preserver and upholder of
the universe, and all things therein.
The gold and the silver are His; the
cattle on a thousand hills.
He is omniscient. "His understanding
is infinite" (Ps. 147:5).
He is Omnipotent. Nothing is too hard
for Him (Jer. 32:17).
"He is able to do exceeding abundant
ly above all that we ask or think" (Eph.
3:20).
He is Omnipresent. Read Psalm 139.
He is Our Father in Heaven,
sus said in Matt. 6:8,
and Je
"Your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of
Think what He says. Some of these
promises are found in the references
given, and there are many
more scat
tered through the Bible. "Call unto me,
and I will answer thee, and show thee
great and mighty
knowest
things which thou
(Jer. 33:3). "I am the
Lord thy God which brought thee out of
the Land of Egypt. Open thy mouth
wide, and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:10).
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield:
the Lord will give grace and glory: no
good thing will he withhold from them
that walk
(Ps. 84:11). "Ask,
and ye shall receive: seek,
and ye shall
find: knock, and it shall be opened unto
you"
(Matt. 7:7). "But my God shall
supply all your need according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil.
4:19). "If my people, which are called
by my name, shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways ; then will I hear
from heaven, and will forgive their sin,
and will heal their land" (II Chron. 7:
14). If we believe God, as Paul did
(Acts 27:25), then it would seem that
we could pray
dence.
with the utmost confi
Think what He has done. He supplied
the nation of Israel with manna in the
wilderness six days a week for forty
years (Ex. 16:35). He sent fire from
heaven down on Mt. Carmel to defeat
the prophets of Baal. He withheld the
rain for three and a half years, and then
gave it in abundance, in response to the
prayers of Elijah. The sun "stood
in the heavens :
hostile armies were de
feated again and again, and victories
won: a son was given to Hannah: blind
eyes were opened: sick folk were made
well : the dead (physically
and spiritual
ly) were raised to life. And He is still
abundantly able, for He is "the same
yesterday, today, and forever."
So, "this is the confidence that we
have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will He heareth us; and
if we know that He hear us, whatso
ever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of Him" (I
John 5:14-15).
II. CONFIDENCE IN THE ONE
THROUGH WHOM WE PR AY-
JESUS CHRIST
The Bible makes it very plain that
the only bridge between a
Holy God and
sinful man is the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is the one by whom we are reconciled to
God (Col. 1:20-22) (II. Cor. 5:18-19).
He is the one "in whom we have bold
ness and access with confidence
(Eph. 3:12). Paul reminds
Timothy that
"there is one Mediator between God and
COVENANTER WITNESS
"