REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE: SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2005: MORNING SERVICE

Sing before:   Hymn 1-1:2+6

Let us commence this meeting with God by declaring openly to one another and to God:

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  Beloved grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Psalm of praise: Psalm 18:1+11

Confession of faith: Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, or us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.

And we believe one holy catholic* and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

After the reading of the Law we confess our guilt and pray for forgiveness and a new life before God with Psalm 4:2

Law
Psalm 4:2
Prayer:

• Doxology
• Worship
• Confession of sins
  • Forgiveness
• Gratitude
• Prayer for the need of the congregation for the church, the authorities and the sinful world and appeal to God's promises.
• General prayer
• Enlightenment from the Holy Spirit for the sake of the ministry of the Word.

Amen

Psalm: 139:1
Scripture: Psalm 139
Text: Psalm 139:23

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts."

Who is the Lord whom we worship and how close is He really to us?

This Psalm deals with two kinds of people and deals especially with the different relationships these people have with the Lord.

• The one is the righteous – and here David describes his own relationship with the Lord.
• The other is the unrighteous and of this group David describes their contempt of the Lord and the difference between them and the faithful.

This morning we consider the difference between the relationship of the Lord with the righteous and the Lord with the unrighteous.
1.         The Lord and the righteous

The man who lives close to the Lord knows the Lord in His majesty and serves Him in the wealth of His glory. On the other hand the man who does not know the Lord intimately and personally hates the Lord in his words and works and ultimately is lost.

The poet of this Psalm felt that he was close to God.

• So close that the light of God's Spirit shone on his soul.
• Filled with wonder he worships and adores the Lord.
• His song of praise exalts the Lord's everlasting knowledge.

He knows how intimate the personal relationship between the Lord and himself is.

• Hence he begins his Psalm with a confession – "O Lord, You have searched me and you know me."
• The Lord is personally present in his life.
• In this personal relationship the Lord is the Almighty from whom nothing can be hidden and whose eyes see through body and soul.

The Psalm begins with a confession that the Lord knows all and provides completely.

• The Lord's knowledge is not something vague.
• The poet feels that the knowledge of the Lord uncovers his innermost person.
• Even those matters he would prefer to keep secret the Lord uncovers in His light.
• The true believer knows that it is impossible to hide anything from the Lord and that there is nowhere he can flee to escape the Lord.
• The Lord knows your deepest thoughts even before you have thought them.

The Lord reveals the relationship between Himself and mankind.

• The Lord is always with man – not far away.
• He protects man completely – behind and before His protecting hand is on man.

The realization of these truths amazes the poet.

• Who can understand the Lord?
• When he thinks of the Lord's omnipresence he is even more struck with wonder.

Note how actual these truths are to David.

• He does not wonder about the omnipresence of the Lord.
• He has experienced it in his own life in all the wars and battles he fought that there is no place where you can flee to escape the Spirit of the Lord.
• Often he planned to do something and was he prohibited by the Lord from doing it that way and told to do something else – remember when he captured the city of Jebus.

That is why he says that there is no place in creation where he is not before the eyes of the Lord.

• The Lord is in heaven for that is His dwelling.
• But even should he die the Lord would still be with him – for the realm of the dead is also subject to the Lord.

2.         The Lord and the unrighteous

            What about the unrighteous?

• They believe that the dark will hide their crimes.
• That is why David poses the question – "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, could I then sin without the Lord knowing it?"
• He quickly concludes that the darkness creates no difficulty for the Lord because when the Lord comes His presence changes the darkest night into daylight.
• David explains this quite practically – he says that the Lord created him in his mother's womb. There it was light enough for the Lord to bring about his body and soul.

David gives another example to prove that the Lord is not limited by darkness.

• Before they were there the Lord had already written in His book all the days that were ordained for him.
• His creation and birth were written down.
• The Lord reigns in His omnipresence from eternity to eternity.

At once David knows what this means for mankind.

• The unrighteous people who try to hide their misdeeds in the dark will be found out.
• The greater and the more adorable the Lord is so much greater will be the troubles for those who do not want to see and admit the working of the Lord in their lives.
• Such people sometimes present themselves as believers but in fact are ungodly.

David calls them that:

• They are evil people and evildoers who shed blood.
• They are not afraid of rising up against the Lord.
• They refuse to obey the laws of God.
• This they do in secret. David says that they profess to worship the Lord but in reality they misuse His name showing that they do not fear the Lord.

David hates such people.

• He calls on the Lord to slay them, that He takes them away from him.
• He does not want such people with him – they disturb the peace and harmony of those who love the Lord.
• David says that his love for the Lord compels him to stand up against such people – people who are enemies of the Lord are also his enemies.

3.         The Lord's grace

• But what of David himself? Is his life so pure as it should be? May he judge these people as if he were so well acquainted with the Lord's judgment?
• Hence the searching of himself. The same introspection that we should do and that should be in every true believer who has a vibrant relationship with God.
• David examines his own self and prays the Lord to test his innermost self.
• He does not want to be an enemy of the Lord. He does not want to be on the road that leads to hell.

The Psalm ends with a call on that which David confessed to in the beginning.

• The Lord is almighty and ever present and cannot be excluded.
• His prayer is that the Lord should examine his thoughts and give him the true and correct answers.

What does David want the answer for?

• He wants to be sure that his close relationship with the Lord is correct.
• He wants to be lead along the road of life eternal with the Lord, his Creator.

David reflects on all these matters.

• In doing so he confesses the Lord's omnipresence and almight. Then he prays for insight and repentance.
• We too must live like that – especially because the Lord Jesus saved us from all our sins and even more because He poured His Spirit out on us.
• It is not only before Holy Communion that we should reflect on our relationship with the Lord. We should do so also in between and all the time.

Our salvation demands of us that we continually consider whether we live a life true to the Lord.

• That also demands perseverance in the faith and our belief that through the reconciliation effected by Jesus Christ we share in God's grace.
• Because we are inclined to be like the enemies of God in this Psalm of David the Lord sent His Son to make propitiation for our sins.
• On the one hand this means that Jesus bore the punishment for our sins so that we could be reconciled with God.
• On the other hand this means that His death changed us. The Holy Spirit guides our thoughts and our faith so that we too may in awe confess the might and majesty of the Lord.

After the Son's ascension the Lord moved into the church through His Spirit.

• It means that all true believers are guided by the Holy Spirit.
• In Him the Lord is with each of us.

We must now live vigorously a life of gratitude to the Lord.

• We should know that the Lord knows us inside out and there is absolutely nothing that is hidden from Him.
• At the same time we should know that this does not mean that the Lord knows us in order to condemn us. He knows us in His grace and mercy because He has saved us from the eternal death.

Go and live in this grace and know the intimate presence of the Lord and with it His everlasting peace.
Amen

Closing Prayer
Closing Psalm: 8:1+2+4

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be merciful to you.
The Lord turn His countenance to you and give you peace.
Amen

Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
11 December 2005 (morning)
Scripture NIV