Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
The cup of blessing pertains to the cup of grape juice that we used for our Lord’s Supper. In partaking the cup, we remember the Lord’s death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. Spiritually the believer is nourished and strengthened in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. He does so with prior self-examination, confessing his sins before God in prayer. Amen.
Hymns: RHC 542 Saved by Grace, O Love that Will Not Let Me Go, Help Me Lord, I Plea (See Below)
Psalm 42
Balm for the Depressed
1 To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
The Apostle Paul addresses his audience as enlightened men who understands his concern for their spiritual prosperity and he asks them to make their educated assessment of his exhortations thus far. He has exhorted them to flee idolatry, seek holiness and to yield not to the temptation of a discontented and murmuring spirit. The Israelites were chastised by God for their unbelief, idolatry and immorality. God’s instruction is plainly taught in His Word and therefore for our admonition.
God’s people are exhorted by a loving entreaty to put Him first in their lives, to put God first in their hearts, to put God first in their actions. An idol is that which displace the due honour and worship accorded to our God. All that we have and are comes from Him. By seeking other affections, we forfeit God’s blessing in our lives. The word “flee” is given as a command for habital action.
The Lord provides a way of escape for His people in every temptation. He will always provide for His people the escape route so that His people might be saved from the pitfalls of sin. Do not be alarmed when you are sorely tempted. God allows it to test you. He also provides a way out. God is faithful. He will not let you down.
Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians Knowing Your Privilege in Christ “The Calling of the Christian” (Ephesians 4:1-16) 1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and …
Beware of self-confident. Be rather God-confident as warns the Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. The Apostle Paul warns here against self-conceit. Pride blinds the heart giving one a sense of delusion of having good one’s standing before God. The reality is that such a one has crossed the line, the boundary of God’s will and faces the chastisement of God!The verb “take heed” is a command for continual action. It literally means “to see”, “to perceive correctly”.
Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?
Matthew 27:45-49 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Does God abandon His children? In life, there are times when God allows us to go through such heavy afflictions we feel as if God has abandoned us. When the burden becomes so heavy, so real and painful, a sense of abandonment can come upon us and cause us to struggle to keep our faith and trust God.
But God is faithful. He will not abandon His children. When He saves us, we are saved and “safe” and “secured” for all eternity.
The Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ secured our salvation when He took upon Himself the full weight of all our sins on the cross. When Jesus Christ went to the cross, He was our sin bearer. “Him who knew no sin, God hath made to be sin for us.”
The examples which the Apostle Paul has given are for our learning that we may avoid the pitfalls of idolatry, immorality and rebellion against God as a result of unbelief, inordinate lusts and discontentment. The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life are of this transient world.
The Israelites in the wilderness were constantly murmuring, dissatisfied with their present state, grumbling and complaining. Their murmurings were against God. For He brought them out of Egypt by reason of their bondage and showed them the way to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. The murmuring of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron is highlighted here – Numbers 16:1-3 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?