Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

name."earth."people."gods.'name."afraid."Lesson Helps for the Week of November 21, 1954C.Y.P.U. TOPICfor November 21, 1954A. W. Smith, D.D.WITH ALL MY HEART MY THANKSPsalms:I'LL BRINGPsalm 138; 2 Cor. 9:15136:1-4, 12, 13, page 334.103:1-4, page 246.146:1-2, 5, 7, page 353.138:1-3, 6, page 338.References:Deut. 8:7; Psa. 67:3; 92:1; 95:2; 113:1;147:12; Luk. 17:17, 18; Luk. 22:19; Eph.5:20. Give others from memory.Five Minutes Acknowledgement.Here it is, Thanksgiving Season oncemore and we have been spared to experience it. Take time now in the meeting to testify and recount PersonalBlessings for thanksgiving, also theSocial and National; the Spiritual compared with the Temporal. The Lord isgracious. Let the redeemed of the Lordsay so.Psalm 138: A Thanksgiving Meditation.It is a help for us to begin with theassumption that David was the authoror agent through whom the Holy Spiritwrote this. Furthermore it is a helpfor us to know that this is an expression of praise and thanksgiving for God'smercies in answer to David's prayer,for God's mercies in carrying out the divine promises beyond expectation.The time or the occasion may havebeen when David ascended the throneafter the death of Saul, or toward theclose of his reign after his escape frominnumerable perils. We will do well toread in this connection David's prayeras recorded in 2 Samuel 7:18-29.A Noble Example in Divine PraiseWith our Bibles lying open at Psalm138 let us profit by what we observefrom David's example:I. He praises God. David did it. Hedid not forget or take God's merciesfor granted. The Lord was grieved overIsrael's ingratitude. Jesus was grievedthat nine out of ten lepers whom Hemade clean failed to turn back andglorify God.David showed his gratitude in a waywhich pleased God."I will praise thee.""I will sing praise unto thee.""I will worship toward thy holytemple.""I will praise thyGod has said in Psalm 50:23, "Whosooffereth praise glorifieth me:''It is human nature for us to feel pleased when282others compliment us or speak well ofus to others. How much more the Lordis honored when we acknowledge Hisgoodness.II. He praises God wholeheartedly. Inthe spirit of Psalm 103:1 "Bless theLord, O my soul, and all that is withinme, bless His holyThis was nothing formal, or grudging,or halfhearted. But rather it was action sincere and purposeful and intelligent.III. It was Praise in Public. (Not forshow but for devout testimony).a. Before the gods will I sing praiseunto thee. "Before the great ones oftheBefore his fellow rulers overthe nations. See Psalm 119:46.President Eisenhower serves as anoble illustration of this. He openlyconfessed Jesus Christ as his Saviourand united with the church. Then on theday of his inauguration he offered prayer to God before the actual presenceof a great assembly and in the hearingof a listening world. He let it be knownthat his dependence, as president, wasand is upon the grace and mercy of Almighty God. He makes no secret of hisattending the early breakfast prayermeetings, and of his attending servicesof public worship on the Sabbath. Bypresidential appointment also, September 22 was set aside and observed asa dayof prayer.There is another sense to be considered: 'before the"Before or in thepresence of the gods of the heathen;that is, in scorn of, in sight of, theidols, who can do nothing, I will praiseJehovah, who does miracles for me andfor HisGod speed the daywhen before the unbelievers of theUnited Nations, before the atheists ofthe Soviet and before the leaders ofheathen nations, the professed Christians of the United States who aredelegates to the UN, will rise and offerprayer unashamedly, in the name ofJesus Christ, the Sovereign Lord andMediator.b. "Toward thy holy temple." This ismost appropriate in observing anotherThanksgiving Day. Taking time out togo to God's house, on a week day. Thisshould take precedence over The Dinner of Feasting and/or sports in theafternoon.IV. God's Lovingkindness and HisTruth Are the Subjects of Praise. Daviddid not forget what it was all about.He kept things in right proportion. Hewas not telling God how great and howgood a man he was. Some thanksgivingproclamations in the past have read so.In coming to the Lord in 1954 weshould take thought to review God'smercies of which we have been so undeserving. In fact, David is testifyingthat God's goodness had gone beyondall expectations, v. 2b.Lack of space forbids taking up theremaining parts of the psalm in detail.Note the result of David's example andits affect upon the other kings of theearth. The psalm ends with confidentexpression of trust in God's continuedprotection and prayer for the completion of His work of grace. We maywell pray in the same spirit as weanticipate the future.Questions:I. Why is 2 Cor. 9:15 so appropriatefor Thanksgiving time?II. How does thanksgivingwith thewhole heart include consideration forthe needs of others?III. How large a place should thanksgiving fill in the prayer life?JUNIOR TOPICNovember 21, 1954by Mrs. Wilbur J. KeysJOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH'SDREAMScripture: Genesis 41Memory Verse: "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not beIsa. 12:2a.Psalms to sing:Psalm 106:1-4, page 260Psalm 147:1-4, page 354Psalm 103:1-4, page 246Psalm 136:1, 2, 12, 13, page 334 (singfrom memory)Since Thanksgiving is this week, Ithought we would use verses that defineThanksgiving. Prepare flannel or feltto spell THANKSGIVING. Give eachchild a letter and the verse to go withhis letter. Have the child place his letteron the flannel board and tell what he isthankful for and give his verse. Itwould be nice to hand them out aheadof time so they could memorize theirverse. Here is the acrostic:I am thankful forMy Trust in God. Isa. 26:4My Heavenly Home. Ps. 23:6God's Abounding Grace. II Cor. 9:8The Name of the Lord. Prov. 18:10God's Kindness. Isa. 54:8My Salvation. Isa. 12:2God's Guidance. Ps. 48:14My Inheritance. I Peter 1:4Victory. I Cor. 15:57An Intercessor. Heb. 7:25COVENANTER WITNESS