Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 10 September, 2023
“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed,
and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Nehemiah, a Man Who Sought the Welfare of Israel (19)
Nehemiah’s Cleansing of the Temple [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 12:44-13:9
Text: Nehemiah 12:44-13:9
I. The Sin of Eliashib
II. The Application of Deuteronomy
III. The Purification of the Chambers
Psalms: 1:1-6; 74:18-23; 84:4-11; 93:1-5
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
All Our Righteousnesses as Filthy Rags [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 64
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 24
I. The Meaning
II. The Consequences
III. The Hardening
Psalms: 14:1-7; 75:1-4; 50:16-21; 143:5-11
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
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 13:8: “[Nehemiah] fears not disobliging [Tobiah], fears not his resentments, or Eliashib’s, nor excuses himself from interposing in an affair that lay within the jurisdiction of the high priest; but, like one zealously affected in a good thing, he expels the intruder, by casting forth all his household stuff. He did not seize it for his own use, but cast it out, that Tobiah, who it is probable was now absent, when he came again, might have no conveniences for his reception there. Our Saviour thus cleansed the temple, that the house of prayer might not be a den of thieves. And thus those that would expel sin out of their hearts, those living temples, must throw out its household stuff and all the provision made for it, strip it, starve it, and take away all those things that are the food and fuel of lust; this is, in effect, to mortify it.”
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 12:44: “They had a great deal of comfort in their ministers, and were glad of them. When they observed how diligently they waited, and what pains they took in their work, they rejoiced in them. Note, The surest way for ministers to recommend themselves to their people, and gain an interest in their affections, is to wait on their ministry (Rom. 12:7), to be humble and industrious, and to mind their business. When these did so the people thought nothing too much to do for them, to encourage them.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
We welcome Colin, Kim and Cheryl Lim from the Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church, our sister church in Singapore, to our worship services today.
Immediately after this evening’s service, we will have a vote by male confessing members to approve/disapprove of Ivan Reid for a 3-year term as elder and David Crossett for a 3-year term as deacon.
Catechism classes will start tomorrow, 11 September.
5:00 PM: Corey, Jason, Katelyn, Maisie & Sebastian (Seniors NT)
5:45 PM: Felicity, Grace, Jonas, Keagan, Liam, Lucas, Sammy, Somaya, Sophie & Yossef (Beginners OT – Book 1)
6:30 PM: Eleanora, Hannah, Jorja, Penelope & Xander (Juniors NT)
7:15 PM: Angelica, Bradley, Jack, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Essentials)
8:00 PM: Alex & Nathan (Pre-confession)
Tuesday Bible study will meet this week at 11 AM to continue our consideration of the local church.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Bruinsma is entitled, “The Man of Sin Revealed” (II Thess. 2:3-4).
Sven Kuhs’ baptism is scheduled for next Lord’s day morning, 17 September.
The Council meets next Monday, 18 September, at 8 PM.
The Annual General Meeting is planned for Wednesday, 20 September, at 7:30 PM.
Belgic Confession class will begin again on Wednesday, 27 September at 7:30 PM.
Offerings: £2,420.80. Donations: £50 (Dublin), £35 (Scotland), £200 (England), £130 (Shropshire).
Translation Additions: 1 Chichewa, 6 Hungarian, 2 Polish and 2 Russian.
PRC News: Cand. Matt Koerner accepted the call to Hosanna PRC in Edmonton.
Learning Wisdom From the Ant
Brian D. Dykstra
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Prov. 6:6-8).
God, through Solomon, continues to instruct his son in matters which could lead him to ruin. He warned about the consequences of being involved with godless women. He also warned about the effects of foolish business deals. Being a sluggard also leads to ruin. Now Solomon directs the sluggard on where to seek wisdom to avoid disaster.
The sluggard is one who has no desire to work. His laziness does not allow him to provide for himself. If the sluggard is to live, he must rely of the efforts of others. He is a burden to those around him. He brings shame upon the church for he disobeys God’s command to labour six days of the week. God calls us to be good workers. It is likely the time will come when others will not supply the sluggard with what he needs.
Rather than going to his friends with his hand out, Solomon tells the sluggard to go to the ant and think about how they live. Although God created man as head of creation and made man in His image, we are not to think so highly of ourselves that we cannot obtain instruction even from the lowliest of God’s creatures. We can gain wisdom from creation’s elegant book (Belgic Confession 2), even the smallest of its characters.
Ants live in nearly all areas of the world. Ants in the Middle East seek out and store seeds in underground nests. Scientists note these ants bite off the germ of the seed so that, if moisture reaches their store because of a heavy rain, the seeds do not sprout. Ants will even take their seeds and spread them out on the ground to dry them before they return them to the nest. Ants are diligent in providing for their daily food needs but have wisdom enough to store a food supply for the coming winter. All this wisdom, diligence and foresight God places in a brain containing about 250,000 neurons. The sluggard, with his brain of 86 billion neurons, lacks all this.
The sluggard must notice how hard the ant works. Although ants do rest, they take turns. While there are individuals at rest throughout the day, there will also be ants at work. There is always activity in the nest. Ants, therefore, represent constant diligent work. The sluggard expends little energy in work. He is a lay-about and thinks only of how to obtain more rest. God commands the sluggard to go to the ant and follow its example.
The sluggard must note something about the ant community. No one seems able to rouse the sluggard out of his lethargy and set him to work. It is different with ants. They have no guide. There is no hierarchy among ants as there is in military organizations. There is no small group of ants scattered in the nest or outside on the ground directing the ants where to find food. They are self-guided. They have no overseer. During their time of hard bondage in Egypt, the Israelites were very well acquainted with the manner of overseers. They would drive the slaves to their work using force and physical suffering. Though the ants work very hard, they do not do so under threat of an overseer who might inflict some form of torture. Ants also have no ruler. In our society, nearly all of us labour under a boss. Even those who believe they have no boss because they are the owner of their own company, will soon discover that the customer is the boss. The idea here of the ruler is that there is no “head ant” to whom the ant must give an account. At the end of the work day, the ant will not have to appear before its ruler to report on how it spent its time that day. Although the ant has no guide, overseer or ruler, it diligently and industriously goes about its labour. The sluggard can learn from the ant.
The ant’s work provides for its need during the summer. The ant gathers some food which will be used immediately. For ants to perform that much work, they must take in nutrients for the day. Ants need their daily bread. Part of our labour is dedicated to meeting our daily needs as well. The sluggard does not work, so he must rely on others to supply his daily need.
It is surprising that the ant has enough foresight to gather its food in harvest. The ant knows winter comes. Ants must lay up food for the time when food cannot be found. There comes a time of scarcity. There must be enough in the storehouse to supply the nest until food is available once again.
The sluggard must learn to make provision for the future, as do we. I always feel a little strange when I meet with my financial advisor. We know Christ is coming. We pray for His Kingdom to come. Yet we lay up our stores for the future should our Lord’s return not be for some time. We also know all our stored assets could be frozen by Antichrist. Still we know that good stewardship demands preparation for the future. We must labour now to prepare for that time when we will no longer have the strength, stamina or energy to do so.
There’s a spiritual aspect to this laying up for the future too.
We have many opportunities to enjoy God’s Word. We can still gather for worship on Sunday to hear the gospel preached to us. We have Bible societies and catechism for our children and young people. We have the book of Psalms to sing. We have no shortage of Bibles and good Reformed publications to read. There are many places where it is possible for godly parents to operate Christian schools. For how much longer will we have these opportunities? The Antichrist is coming.
There may come a time for us or our children when the only religious materials available to us are those which we have stored in our hearts. We must gather what God currently makes available to us while it is yet spiritual summertime. The sluggard has made no effort to gather what was available. He will have nothing. Follow the example of the ant. We must lay up the harvest of the gospel in the storehouse of our hearts to prepare for the coming winter.
