GATHERING
THE CALL | Matthew 26:36-38
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
CONFESSION | Psalm 130 [ESV]
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
ASSURANCE | Luke 24:1-6 [ESV]
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
(If you are gathered in a group, you could read the following call and response.)
Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!
Alleluia!
Alleluia!
WORD
Day #64 – “Holy is He!”
First reading Psalm 99
Second Reading Psalm 100
As we continue our meditations through this rich and exalted section of the psalter, we encounter in Psalm 99 a repeated emphasis on the holiness of God. At three points in the psalm (v.3,5,9), the writer ends a stanza with an affirmation of this truth: “Holy is he! Holy is he! …for the Lord our God is holy!” In the first two stanzas (v.1-3,4-5), the psalmist describes the Lord and His character in exalted terms, then calls for a response from the people, then declares “Holy is he!” In stanza three (v.6-9), we are given truth about Yahweh via the history of Israel during the wilderness wanderings and early sojourn in the Promised Land, before the establishment of the monarchy and building of the temple. A covenant relationship is described in this section, in which the holy God dwells with and communicates with His people. He gives testimonies and statutes to them, and they call upon Him and relate to Him via the priesthood. Verse 8 foretells the work of the gospel; God in his absolute holiness is both the forgiver of his wayward people as well as the avenger of their wrongdoings. The language here is reminiscent of the Lord’s “self-description” to Moses at Mt.Sinai (see Exodus 34:6-7).
How is this possible?? At this juncture in the history of redemption, we are not told the full story. It is not until the cross and the dying of the sinless Son of God, Jesus the Christ, to satisfy justice and the holiness of God that we can fully understand this dilemma and the drama of redemption. May we ever praise Him for that story.
One way to do this is to sing a psalm of thanksgiving, which we have in the well-known Psalm 100. Here we as God’s people are called to active responses of singing/noise-making, serving, blessing, coming to Him. The reasons for such responses are given in verses 3 and 5: the Lord’s creative power, covenant love and care, faithfulness and goodness. We tend to think of holiness strictly as moral purity; these two beautiful psalms show God’s holiness as “otherness”; He is a being of perfection in every way, worthy of our adoration and praise, especially for His story of redemption in Jesus Christ. Holy is he! (Jim Partridge)
ABIDING
SING
- Psalm 130 | From The Depths of Woe (Indelible Grace version) [recording] [chord sheet]
- Psalm 130 (hymn version) [recording] [melody sheet] (this tune is used for “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”)
THURSDAY-Praying Psalm 130:6
This week, we will use Psalm 130 as a prayer template that we move through progressively each day.
“My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.” (Psalm 130:6)
In what trial or concern are you waiting for the Lord to answer? Express to Him that you are waiting. Ask him for patience to wait for His answer.
SENDING
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in the God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary;
suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the dead;
and the life everlasting. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:2,4-6 [ESV]
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.