Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 7 April, 2024
“My covenant was with him of life and peace” (Mal. 2:5)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
The Necessity of Prayer for Believers [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Psalm 50
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 45
I. It Is the Chief Part of Thankfulness
II. It is the Way of Receiving Grace
Psalms: 36:5-11; 94:1-8; 116:7-16; 50:9-16
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Phinehas, Israel’s Third High Priest (5)
Phinehas and Israel’s War Against Benjamin [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Judges 20:12-28
Text: Judges 20:27-28
I. The Dark Background to the War
II. The Early Stages of the War
III. The Third Battle of the War
Psalms: 44:1-8; 94:9-15; 106:28-33; 68:24-29
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Prof. Herman Hanko: “Prayer is to the Christian what breathing is to a healthy person. Without breathing a person cannot live. Without prayer a Christian dies. Breathing is spontaneous; in many ways so is prayer. Prayer is like a river that returns to its source, for prayer has its power in the Spirit of Christ working life in the heart of God’s child; that life returns again in prayer to God who gave it. It is the expression of the thirst for God that make a stag panting after water brooks an apt simile (Ps. 42:1) … I wonder sometimes whether we really appreciate what a blessing prayer is. We need not make an appointment to come to God—as we do when we want to see a doctor. We are never told that the earliest we can come to our Father in heaven is three weeks from tomorrow. We do not have to wait until God has some time available for us and then learn that he can give us only a 15-minute appointment … Every moment, in every hour of the day, he is there ready to hear and answer. He gives us all the time we need. His answers to our prayers are always exactly the right ones. He is ever near to them who call upon him. How much richer our lives would be if they were lives of prayer!” (When You Pray, pp. 1, 5).
Dale Ralph Davis on Judges 20: “In spite of her problems, in spite of her setbacks, Israel has access to divine guidance through the high priest. Theologically speaking, Israel has the means of grace. Yahweh directs them through his appointed servant, the high priest. Benjamin—and we must view Benjamin in light of this contrast—has none of this. No ark, no priest, no direction from Yahweh, no word from heaven, no light in turmoil. In this Benjamin already stands under judgment, for what judgment can be worse than having no counsel from God, no access to his presence, no way through divine silence?” (Judges: Such a Great Salvation, p. 222).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Catechism classes tomorrow:
5:00 PM: Corey, Jason, Katelyn, Maisie & Sebastian (Seniors NT)
5:45 PM: Felicity, Grace, Jonas, Keagan, Liam, Lucas, Sammy & Sophie (Beginners OT – Book 1)
6:30 PM: Eleanora, Hannah, Jorja, Penelope & Xander (Juniors NT)
7:15 PM: Angelica, Bradley, Jack, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Essentials)
Tuesday Bible study will not meet this week but will resume next week.
Belgic Confession class will meet at 7:30 PM to consider further Scripture’s teaching on the great tribulation.
Ladies Bible Study meets this Friday at 9:30 AM at church to discuss Psalm 25 using A 30-Day Walk with God in the Psalms.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Prof. D. Kuiper is entitled, “The 10th Commandment: The Righteousness That God Requires.”
The catechism tests for this season will be next Monday, 15 April.
The Council meets next Monday, 15 April, at 8 PM.
Offerings: £1,324.10. Donations: £200 (England), £500 (New Jersey), £15 (England).
Translation Additions: 2 Polish and 3 Portuguese (videos).
PRC News: Rev. Decker (Grandville, MI) declined the call to Hope PRC (Redlands, CA). Rev. Brummel (Calvary, IA) is considering the call to Loveland PRC. Pittsburgh PRC has formed a new trio consisting of Revs. Decker, Eriks (Unity, MI) and Mahtani (Hope, MI). Lynden PRC called Rev. DeBoer (Edgerton, MN).
The congregations and office-bearers (current and past in good standing) of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines (PRCP) will hold a one-day get-together and fellowship on Tuesday, 9 April, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Federation of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines (FPRCP).
A few years ago, Prof Hanko said, “If I could preach one more time I would preach on that text in Jeremiah [6:16].” The following is an excerpt from an older article that he had written on that same text, published in the Standard Bearer, vol. 49, issue 2.
Walking in the Old Ways
… Perhaps what characterizes our times more than anything else is an incessant and sometimes even raucous clamour for change filling the ecclesiastical air. The password of those advocating change is “relevance.” The church, it is said, must be relevant to the times, for only in this way will the church be able to speak intelligently and effectively to our modern age. And so, the call for change touches upon every aspect of ecclesiastical life. Changes are introduced in the theology of the church and are sought in the confessions of the church. Changes are made in the liturgy of the church—both in the manner of the worship of God and in the liturgical forms. Changes are suggested for the calling of the church as she goes about seeking to be effective in today’s world. And, to meet these changes, changes are also made in the work of the seminaries—in the curriculum and in the instruction which is given.
I find particularly appropriate the Word of God as it appears in Jeremiah 6:16: “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”
Jeremiah was called to prophesy in Judah during evil days. Judah had departed from the ways of Jehovah. The text suggests very strongly that also among the people of Judah the cry for change was in the air. Judah had wearied of the old ways and the nation was looking for something new. The old ceremonies of the law had become an obnoxious burden and the complaint was made that the worship of God according to the old ways was no longer meaningful. These ways of worship were conducive to formal lip service and stifling of any genuine worship of the heart. These ways were unattractive to the youth of the nation and no longer attracted them to the temple. New ways of worship and new methods of expressing the faith of the church had to be discovered, if the nation was to be relevant to the youth and to the heathen surrounding Canaan. And so the nation had struck out into new paths, experimenting and blazing new trails through uncharted lands, attempting to find different paths to walk in their worship and faith.
To them the Word of God came with force and power: “Stop! Stop walking in the way you are going. Pause for a moment and consider what you are doing. Take inventory and examine the course you have chosen to follow. Inquire concerning the ancient paths. Learn anew of them. And, having learned of them, walk in them.”
Obviously, the text uses a figure of speech. It is a figure of speech which is quite common to Scripture. The text describes the life of the people of Judah in terms of a “way” and a “path.” The former word is more or less a general word which is often used to describe either the whole of man’s life or one particular aspect of it. It defines man’s life or an aspect of it in terms of a journey which begins at a certain time and continues on until death. Here this general word “way” is used to describe that aspect of man’s life which is particularly characterized by his worship of God.
The latter word, “path,” denotes rather a well-trodden and deeply worn path clearly marked because many people have walked that same way in times past.
The latter word is of particular concern to us. This “path” is defined in the text by the word “ancient.” It is called “ancient” for various reasons. In the first place, the word “ancient” literally means “eternal.” And the word suggests that this path is above all marked by God. It is the path prescribed by God from all eternity which God defines that His people may walk in it. Secondly, it is called “ancient” because it is not a new path, recently discovered or made, but it is, as a matter of fact, very, very old. And, thirdly, it is called “ancient” because many people have walked that way before. This is why it is so well-worn and so deeply beaten.
No doubt, this is also why the text calls this path “good.” It is good because it has been defined by God Himself; and many, having walked this path, have found it good.
There is no doubt about the reference as far as the nation of Judah was concerned. These paths were the ways prescribed by the Law of God which was given to Israel through Moses, God’s servant. The body of Mosaic legislation prescribed precisely for the nation of Israel how Israel was to walk as God’s people in a way pleasing to Him. It described particularly the whole way of the worship of God in the temple with the ceremonies and types which set Israel apart from all the nations under heaven.
Nevertheless, these paths were essentially defined by the promise of the coming of Christ. That promise shone through all the prescriptions of the law; and in the hope of that promise Israel and Judah were called to walk.
In these paths Israel had walked in ancient times.
There is a comparison here to our own life which we ought not to overlook. The ancient paths for us are still the paths prescribed by God Himself and expressive of His will for us. These paths are clearly and unmistakably defined in God’s infallible Word. They define the fundamental principle; which govern all our life and conduct. They define the truth which is the content of our confession. They define the manner of our worship of God both as individuals and as church. They define all our life and walk in the world as we are called to be children of our Father in heaven.
But these paths are also ancient because we have spiritual fathers who have walked in these ways before us. Today, too, the path is well-defined because it has been trodden down by the feet of countless thousands who have come this way before. They are therefore the paths of our confessions and liturgical forms drawn up in ancient times, defining the ways in which our fathers have walked.
The command which came to Judah is very sharp and contains even an awful indictment. Judah had begun to walk in new paths—uncharted and unmarked—experimenting with new forms of worship and new theologies. But, the text suggests, Judah had forgotten the ancient ways. This is quite obviously the implication of the command: “Ask for the old paths.” Such asking presupposes that there was a need to know. And this could only be because the ancient paths had been forgotten.
This is usually the way it goes. It is true, of course, that the longer one pursues new paths, the more he forgets the ancient paths. But the fact remains that the clamour for change, the incessant appeal for something new most often arises out of appalling ignorance of the ancient ways. There is something ironical about this. Those who shout the loudest for changes in theology and worship scarcely know what the ancient paths are. The plea for change arises out of ignorance of both Scripture and the confessions of the church.
Judah had forgotten the old paths. This was reminiscent of the days of the judges when a generation arose which knew not the Lord nor the wonderful works He had performed for Israel. It was an echo of Hosea’s bitter complaint: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” These were the days when Josiah and his workers found the book of the law in the temple, and no one in the whole of Judah even recognized what it was …
