Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

sing.".people,"A Father's Prayer For His ChildrenPsalm 28Rev. Roy BlackwoodThere's a beautiful wartime painting entitled,"A Farewell To Father," depicting a scene that wasrepeated in hundreds of homes in communities allover the world. The young man and his wife hadwalked in silence to the little white picket gate. Hecarried his bags and she carried one baby in herarms while another little tike tugged anxiously athis father's khaki trouser leg. He kissed her goodbye, the baby whimpered a moment,and then he wasgone.He was gone in body but not in mind because hewas responsible for those two children and thatyoung mother and their new home. He was responsible but there was also a job to be done over onthe other side of the world and he had to leave hisfamily to do it !But whether it's a soldier-father going off towar, or a business-man father going off to anotherday of business, or an immigrant father going outto a strange country to build a new home, or a fatherlying on a deathbed awaiting the final parting, thescene and the feelings are much the same and there'sa lesson to be learned from it. The one who mustleave his loved ones behind him, with a God-givensense of responsibility, can look to God for theirsafetyand salvation.David, as the father or God annointed Kingover all Israel, was knowing this same sense of responsibility for the family of Israel when he wrotethis prayer. And God has returned this particularprayer to us, He has put it into the Bible, as a modelfor any parent forced to leave loved ones behind.He begins his prayer by asking God to save hislife:"To thee I call, O Lord my rock;O answer thou my cry;Lest by thysilence I becomeAs those in grave that lie."And he states his trust, his own firm relianceon God:"He is my strength and shieldOn Him my heart relied:I have been helped, my heart is glad ;My song of praise I'llBut all through all the first part of his prayer,David's mind seems almost preoccupied. He keepsthinking of his loved ones, the ones he is responsiblefor, the ones he has left behind. He seems to be wondering what he can do for them. Then suddenly,near the end of the prayer, the light dawns."Jehovah is their saving strength,Messiah is their king!"He suddenly realizes that the only thing hecan do is the best thing he can do thrust themwholly into God's own hands for safekeeping. Andin the final words of his prayer he does exactlythat:"0 Thine own people do thou save,And bless Thine heritage;Attend them with a shepherd's care ;age."Uphold from age to388He's saying to God, they're "Thine own people,"now care for them as such. Again and again Davidhad led the people of Israel to dedicate themselvesto God and because they had done that, he couldnow remind God that they were His own people.I have recently been reading the diary of a 19thcentury father who dedicated each one of his children on the day of their birth, dedicated them tothe service of the Lord. On their birthdays yearafter year as long as he lived, he rededicated them.Only after his death did the family discover hisrecord but God had known it all along. In his will,when he was ready to leave his family, he wrote;"My will is: first, that my wife and children shallcontinue to walk in the ways of truth and godliness,resting their hope of eternal salvation on the finished righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Son of Godand the alone Saviour of Sinners . .Following thathe went on to apportion his worldly goods.Almost everyone approves of making a will, buying insurance, establishing an endowment to provide for our dependents when we leave them buthow many parents, aside from baptism, have everdedicated or rededicated their children and lovedones to God's care and service?The whole point to David's prayer lay in thefact that he could refer these people to God as"Thine own asking that God care for whatwas His own. And if our loved ones and dependentsbelong to Him, then we too can say:"Jehovah is their saving strength,Messiah is their King.0 Thine own people do Thou save,And bless thine heritage;Attend them with a shepherd's care;age."Uphold from age toTHE COVENANTER WITNESSIssued each Wednesday by the Publication Board of theREFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOF NORTH AMERICAat 120 West fith Street, Newton, Kansas orthrough its editorial office at 1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka, Kansasto promote Bible Standards of Doctrine. Worship and LifeFor individuals, churches and nationsOpinions expressed in our columns are those of the individual writer,not necessarily the views of the Covenanter Church or of the Editor.Dr. Raymond Taggart, D.D., Editor1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka KansasContributing EditorsFrank E. Allen, D.D.Prof. William H. RussellWalter McCarroll. D.D.Remo I. Robb, D.D.Departmental EditorsRev. John O. EdgarMrs. J. O. EdgarMrs. Ross LatimerSubscription rates: $2.50 per year; Overseas, S3. 00 ; Single Copies,10 cents.British Isles.R- B- Lyons, B.A., Limavady, N. Ireland, Agent for theEntered a3 second class matter at the Post Office in Newton. Kansas,under the Act of March 3, 1879.Address communications to the Topeka office.COVENANTER WITNESS