Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

vanity,"man"Is the pleasure-of-the-moment the"value"for which I should live and die?In gaining pleasure have I reached thehighest notch in the scale of true value?Is the height of my potentialities as achild of God exhausted in this? A manwho has no higher aim in life than tohave fun is like a structural engineer,capable ofbuilding a skyscraper, whois content to play with his children'sblocks. Man can never fulfill the demands of his whole nature in immediate pleasures, because man is capableof something more.But even if onecould be supremely happy living forthe sake of sports or nite-club floodshows,the most he could sayat theend of his day is, "Well, I had a goodtime."Isn't that a high achievement foran immortal soul made in the image ofGod!The day will come sooner or laterwhen the body will no longer be ableto engage in recreations and pleasuresof-the-moment.Old age will marchsteadily on,and it will be a burdeneven to hold up one's head. But theheart, no longer able to participate inthe game of life, will be left empty.The heart will then cry out, "All isas a protest against the lifecommitmentthat failed to satisfy itpermanently. In old age the heart willnot fail, however, if an earlier commitment has left spiritual deposits inthe soul. Hence Qoheleth counsels us:"Remember now thy Creator in thedays of thy youth, before the evil dayscome, and the years draw nigh, whenthou shalt say, I have no pleasure inthem"(12:1).After testing each worldly option,Qoheleth comes to the conclusion thatnone of them can fulfill the demandsof man's entire being. Life here andnow is not the whole of man."Letus hear the conclusion of the wholematter: Fear God and keep his commandments for this is"duty"the whole of("whole duty" is not accurate;is not in the original Hebrew)."Man's chief end is to glorify God, andto enjoy him forever." Nothing less thanthis can properly claim man's wholelife.I have learned that money is not themeasure of a man, but it is often themeans of finding out how small he is.Oswald J. Smith.In regard to the great Book, I haveonly to say that it is the best gift whichGod has given to man.Abraham Lincoln.PRAYER MEETING TOPICDecember 29, 1954Prayer and Scripture ReadingHebrews 4:11-15; Nehemiah 8:1-18Comments by Rev. Philip W. MartinPsalms:147:8, 11-13, page 35512:3-6, page 21138:1-4, page 338141:1-5, page 34485:1-3, 5, 8, page 207References: Isaiah 56:7; 55:8-11; I Kings8:12-15, 28-30; 2 Chronicles 30:27; Acts16:13; 12:5; 13:14, 15, 44; Luke 4:16,17. See also "Prayer" and "Reading ofScripture," pages 308-310 in "The Constitution of the Reformed PresbyterianChurch of North America," The Westminster Larger Catechism questions178-196 and the Shorter Catechism,questions 97-107.For the last prayer meetingof eachquarter this year we have been studyingthe parts of Public Worship. It is inthis light that we take up these twoimportant subjects. However, our dutiesin public and private Scripture Reading and Prayer are closely related.There is no spiritual exercise in orout of the pulpit to which the Biblecalls us which is more difficult thanprayer. Remember that our Savioursweat, as it were, great drops of blood,Luke 22:39-46. Yet so often we thinkthat the child's definition of prayer("Prayer is talking with God") is allthere is to it.How many of us have really experienced the awfulness of holy conversewith the living God,coming throughthe only Mediator between God andman? It is easy to discourse upon thisheaven-inspired and heaven-directedconversation, but it is quite a differentthing to learn the holy art of prayerin life and pulpit.Precious are the opportunities andpromises for the pastor and people asthey come before the Throne of Gracein the CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER.Yet so often we complain that theprayer is too long, the minister didn'tpray for me, or the work in which Iam especially interested or for this workor that work of the Kingdom of God.In these days ofices""stream-lined servthe pitfalls of the minister areincreased. Not all ministers have anequal gift in prayer.In the prayers in time of public worship the pastor comes before Godthrough Jesus Christ, our Mediator,in behalf of himself, the congregationwith its children, the kingdom of God,the various departments of the churchat home and abroad, and the unsavedof the community and world. However,the congregation is never just a groupof passive listeners to the prayer of theminister,but they are each to praywith the minister; congregational prayers are prayers of the whole church,every worshiper actively and reverently,by faith, laying the petitions before God.The view we take of the congregational prayers determines their contents.The minister appears before Godthe undershepherd remembering thesheep and their needs, spiritual and temporal, in light of the Covenant promisesof God our Saviour. With holy reverenceand care the pastor chooses the wordsof adoration and thanksgiving. He bearsin heart and mind each member of thecongregation and their needs. It is hisduty to humbly lay hold, by faith, onthe many rich and precious covenantpromises which He has made for Hisfavored covenant people. Thus the prayer will be filled with quotations fromScripture applying them to the presentneed, occasion and concern.Central in the worship service of theReformed Churches is the Word of God.When the pastor is READING THESCRIPTURE lesson for the worshipservice, God is truly speaking to Hispeople. When we consider this wereadily see the importance of the reading of the Bible in our Church services.In Nehemiah 8 we see the reverencedisplayed by the people and the preparation which was made by the pastor. InHebrews 4 we are told of the power ofthe Word and in Nehemiah 8 we see theeffect of the Word on the people ofGod. Great preparation should be madefor the Scripture lesson by both thereader and the worshiper.There are a few lessons on our subject which we should learn from thepresent Scripture lessons and assistingpassages :Nehemiah 8:1, 18 Worshippers assembling as one man Acts 2:41-47;Acts 10:33, 44Nehemiah 8:2, 3, 8, 13 Minds of worshipers applied to the Word Acts 17:10-12Nehemiah 8:5 Reverence for theWord Acts 20:28-32Nehemiah 8:8-11asSorrow for sin andjoy in God our strength Romans 7:18-8:4Nehemiah 8:12-18to action Acts 13:46-49Hebrews 4:12Worshipers movedPower of the Word ofGod Isaiah 55:11; I Peter 1:23-25;Matthew 5:17-19Hebrews 4:13-15Greatness of Christour Intercessor and Hearer of our PrayersEphesians 3:14-21; Col. 1:9-18Hebrews 4:16Call to prayer and encouragement in prayer Romans 8:26,27; James 5:14-20December 8, 1954 363