Bowling Green Covenant Church

Continuation of the Galatians series, on Galatians 5.25-6.5

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Easter Sunday, 2008. HE IS RISEN! (He is Risen Indeed)

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

O God of my Exodus,

Great was the joy of Israel’s sons,
when Egypt died upon the shore,
Far greater the joy when the Redeemer’s foe
lay crushed in the dust.

Jesus strides forth as the victor,
conqueror of death, hell,
and all opposing might;
He bursts the bands of death,
tramples the powers of darkness down,
and lives forever.

He, my gracious surety,
apprehended for payment of my debt,
comes forth from the prison house of the grave free,
and triumphant over sin, Satan,
and death.

Show me herein
the proof that His vicarious offering is accepted,
that the claims of justice are satisfied,
that the devil’s scepter is shivered,
that his wrongful throne is leveled.

Give me the assurance that
in Christ I died,
in Him I rose,
in His life I live,
in His victory I triumph,
in His ascension I shall be glorified.

Adorable Redeemer,
Thou who wast lifted up upon a cross
art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, who as Man of sorrows
wast crowned with thorns,
art now as Lord of life wreathed with glory.

Once,
no shame more deep than Thine,
no agony more bitter,
no death more cruel.

Now,
no exaltation more high,
no life more glorious,
no advocate more effective.

Thou art in the triumph car
leading captive Thine enemies behind Thee.

What more could be done than Thou hast done!

Thy death is my life,
Thy resurrection my peace,
Thy ascension my hope,
Thy prayers my comfort.

–from The Valley of Vision

Heavenly Father,

Thou hast led me singing to the cross
where I fling down all my burdens and see them vanish,
where my mountains of guilt are leveled to a plain,
where my sins disappear, though they are the greatest that exist,
and are more in number than the grains of fine sand;

For there is power in the blood of Calvary
to destroy sins more than can be counted
even by one from the choir of heaven.
Thou hast given me a hillside spring
that washes clear and white,
and I go as a sinner to its waters,
bathing without hindrance in its crystal streams.

At the cross there is free forgiveness
for poor and meek ones,
and ample blessings that last forever;
The blood of the Lamb is like a great river of infinite grace
with never any diminishing of its fullness
as thirsty ones without number drink of it.

O lord, for ever will Thy free forgiveness live
that was gained on the mount of blood;
In the midst of a world of pain
it is a subject for praise in every place,
a song on earth, an anthem in heaven,
its love and virtue knowing no end.

I have a longing for the world above
where multitudes sing the great song,
for my soul was never created to love the dust of earth.

Though here my spiritual state is frail and poor,
I shall go on singing Calvary’s anthem.

May I always know
that a clean heart full of goodness is more beautiful than the lily,
that only a clean heart can sing by night and by day,
that such a heart is mine when I abide at Calvary.

–from The Valley of Vision

God of all Good,

I bless Thee for the means of grace;
teach me to see in them Thy loving purposes
and the joy and strength of my soul.
Thou has t prepared for me a feast;
and though I am unworthy to sit down as guest,
I wholly rest on the merits of Jesus,
and hide myself beneath His righteousness;
When I hear His tender invitation
and see His wondrous grace,
I cannot hesitate,
but must come to Thee in love.

By Thy Spirit enliven my faith rightly to discern
and spiritually to apprehend the Savior.
While I gaze upon the emblems of my Savior’s death,
may I ponder why He died, and hear Him say,
‘I gave My life to purchase yours,
presented Myself an offering to expiate your sin,
shed My blood to blot out your guilt,
opened my side to make you clean,
endured your curses to set you free,
bore your condemnation to satisfy divine justice.’

O may I rightly grasp
the breadth and length of this design,
draw near, obey , extend the hand,
take the bread, receive the cup, eat and drink,
testify before all men that I do for myself,
gladly, in faith, reverence and love, receive my Lord,
to be my life, strength, nourishment, joy, delight.

In the supper I remember His eternal love,
boundless grace, infinite compassion, agony cross, redemption,
and receive assurance of pardon, adoption, life, glory.

As the outward elements nourish my body,
so may Thy indwelling Spirit invigorate my soul,
until that day when I hunger and thirst no more,
and sit with Jesus at His heavenly feast.

–from The Valley of Vision

Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service 2008

 

 Standard Podcast [36:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Incomprehensible, Great and Glorious God,

I adore Thee and abase myself.
I approach Thee mindful that I am less than nothing,
a creature worse than nothing.

My thoughts are not screened from Thy gaze.
My secret sins blaze in the light of Thy countenance.
Enable me
to remember that blood which cleanseth all sin,
to believe in that grace which subdues all iniquities,
to resign myself to that agency which can deliver me
from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

Thou hast begun a good work in me and canst alone continue and complete it.

Give me an increasing conviction of my tendency to err,
and of my exposure to sin.

Help me to feel more of the purifying,
softening influence of religion,
its compassion, love, pity, courtesy,
and employ me as Thy instrument in blessing others.

Give me to distinguish
between the mere form of godliness and its power,
between life and a name to live, between guile and truth,
between hypocrisy and a religion that will bear Thy eye.

If I am not right,
set me right,
keep me right;

And may I at least come to Thy house in peace.

Message given by Pastor Malanga 3-09-08, based on Galatians 5:22-23

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

To those who know me well, it should come as no surprise that when it comes to singing the only key I know is the one I use to start my car. This dearth of singing ability was, until my recent service as pastor of Bowling Green Covenant Church, a significant liability since I was responsible for choosing the hymns to be sung each Sunday during worship.

Armed with only a limited knowledge of familiar hymns with familiar tunes my only other means of choosing hymns was to read the lyrics. Hymns with lyrics like liquid bread immediately attracted my attention. The problem with this method of hymn selection soon became painfully obvious as more often than not the tune of the hymn did not always match the grandeur of the lyrics.

Hymns I thought would sound triumphant and majestic had tunes ponderous and dirge-like.

Hymns I thought would be contemplative and meditative, had tunes so jolly and sugary-sweet I found it difficult to keep from chuckling as I tried to sing it.

Eventually, I humbled myself and sought the counsel of the more musically inclined talents of my wife and daughter, but until then most Sundays were an adventure in hymnody which, I believe, remains unrivaled in the history of the church in America—or close to it.

Today I serve a church where a talented team of creative, skilled, and dedicated musicians choose our worship songs. I give them the Scripture text I will be preaching on and they select songs appropriate to the text. Still, old habits die hard and I still like hymns with lyrics like liquid bread. So for this week’s post I have selected a hymn with lyrics that are as challenging to read as they are sobering to the soul. I do not know the tune. However, that may be irrelevant in view of the stoutness of the lyrics.

The hymn is “Adore and Tremble, for Our God is a Consuming Fire,” written by Isaac Watts. Watts (1674-1748) was a prolific writer of hymns such as “Come, We That Love the Lord,” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” to name just three.

Arguably, any hymn that begins with the words, “Adore and tremble, for our God is a consuming fire,” is quickly revealed as a seeker-unfriendly hymn. Nor is such a hymn likely to be found in our modern hymnals. Pity. The scene painted by Watts’ lyrics is that of the ordered chaos of God’s vengeance—His divine justice poured out in consummate and perfecting judgment. Here there is no image of Jesus calling to us softy and tenderly. Here we see the Jesus of Revelation 19—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Here also, we see the power of grace on behalf of those who worship Jesus who is called Faithful and True. Here we see the promise of future grace extended to those who take refuge in Him for where grace abounds refuge is found. The hymn exhorts the faithful to worship God with holy fear and Spirit-inspired hope. He will not always suffer His foes to succeed. I am reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4, that for as long as we live in the body “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies,” (2 Corinthians 4.8-10).

Further into the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews expresses our hope this way, “Therefore let us be grateful for we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire,” (Hebrews 12.28-29).

In describing God’s triumph over His foes using multicolored imagery Watts’ point is not that we should delight in the defeat of our enemies as much as to rejoice, finally, in the triumph of God’s holiness over all that is evil. The vengeance of God is the vindication of His glory, His honor, and His holiness. We rejoice because, at last, the whole world sees God as we, the faithful, have only beheld Him by faith—as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, “the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God,” to whom is due honor and glory forever and ever, (1 Timothy 1.17).

So the hymn rightly exhorts us to adore and tremble for our God is a consuming fire! I leave Watts to occupy the stage.

Adore and tremble, for our God
Is a consuming fire!
His jealous eyes His wrath inflame,
And raise His vengeance higher.

Almighty vengeance, how it burns!
How bright His fury glows!
Vast magazines of plagues and storms
Lie treasured for his foes.

Those heaps of wrath, by slow degrees,
Are forced into a flame;
But kindled, oh! how fierce they blaze!
And rend all nature’s frame.

At His approach the mountains flee,
And seek a watery grave:
The frighted sea makes haste away,
And shrinks up every wave.

Through the wide air the mighty rocks
Are swift as hailstones hurled;
Who dares engage His fiery rage
That shakes the solid world?

Yet, mighty God, Thy sovereign grace
Sits regent on the throne;
The refuge of Thy chosen race
When wrath comes rushing down.

Thy hand shall on rebellious kings
A fiery tempest pour,
While we beneath Thy sheltering wings
Thy just revenge adore.

Our only response can be simply this, “Our Lord, come!”