Psalm 100:3
The psalmist states in Psalm 100:3, "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Plainly He is not referring to the work of creation but of bringing the church into being. For note that he speaks of us as being God's people and the sheep of His pasture.
Truly that is an undeniable reason for coming before His presence with praise and singing. His work of creating calls for praise when we see the smallest creature that is made so delicately, or when we look up into the vast expanse of the heavens. But to come before Him as our covenant Father in Christ, as well as our Creator, calls for boundless joy and songs.
He has given us church buildings to use, even as He gave Israel a temple where they could meet Him. That should fill us with gladness. But what He says there in His house should overwhelm our souls with the truth that He loves us and sent His Son to make us His people, who by nature are Satan's slaves. Indeed there is reason to come before His presence with singing. And that He cares for us as such a wonderful shepherd should move us to make a joyful noise.
Have this in mind when you enter His courts today, tomorrow, or whenever the next Sabbath arrives. Commit to memory and take with you, as you leave home to come before His presence in His house, these words:
Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take (PRC Psalter).
What a truth and what a comfort we have in those words! Almighty in power, not in the least dependent upon us, as God He can and will fulfill every word of every promise that He has given us. As sheep of His flock there is nothing we need to fear. We have absolute protection and supply of all that we need and really counts. Make then a joyful noise as you enter His courts. May the confidence of the truth that our Shepherd is the almighty God, upon Whom all creatures depend, move you to sing with gladness His praises in His house.
Read: Psalm 23
Psalter versification: #268:2
Daily Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #130
Sing along!!
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 16:29-34 ; Leviticus 17 ; Leviticus 18:1-30
Mark 7:24-37 ; Mark 8:1-10
Psalm 41:1-13
Proverbs 10:15-16
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Quote for Reflection:
On Philippians 4:8 - “It is hardly necessary to repeat that the virtue of which the apostle speaks is the fruit which grows on the tree of salvation. The trunk of this tree is faith, and its roots are imbedded in the soil of God’s sovereign, saving grace (Eph. 2:8-10 ; II Peter 1:5 ). To be sure, the believer is not at all blind to the fact that “there remain in man, since the fall, the glimmerings of natural light, whereby he retains some knowledge of God, of natural things, and of the difference between good and evil, and shows some regard for virtue and for good outward behavior” (Canons of Dort III/IV, article 4)….But surely when Paul told the Philippians to be constantly thinking about anything that is virtuous and worthy of praise, he, great idealist that he was, could not have been satisfied with anything that was less than goodness in the highest spiritual sense (that proceeds from faith, is done according to God’s law, and to his glory).” -- William Hendriksen
Additional Info
- Date: 25-February
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.