Lord Prayer

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This Day in Presbyterian History:  

Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

Most of us in worship and hymn-sings have sung this stirring song to take our stand for our Lord and Savior.  But how many of you know the background to the popular hymn?

Upon his birth on September 12, 1818, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, George Duffield inherited a rich spiritual heritage. Both his grandfather and father were Presbyterian ministers.  It is no wonder then that after graduating from Yale in 1837 and Union Theological Seminary in 1840, he too became a Presbyterian minister.  For the remainder of his life, he served as pastor for eight Presbyterian churches, from 1847 until his death in 1888.  But  it was during his ministry in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1852 and 1861, that he wrote this hymn which we remember to this day.

The Rev. Dudley Tyng was a close friend of his, who served as rector of the Epiphany Church in Philadelphia.  Rev. Tyng took a strong position against slavery in his preaching, and regularly preached abolitionist messages from the pulpit.  There was only one problem with his preaching in this particular church. Many of the leading families of the church were slave owners.  Eventually, they forced  his resignation from the church.

Rev. Tyng went on preaching at Jayne Hall before the Young Men’s Christian Association in Philadelphia, before very small crowds at first, but eventually larger and larger crowds. Soon the numbers typically reached five thousand men, often with as many as a thousand men coming to sign pledges that they had been converted to Christ.

During a break in that preaching series, Rev. Ting went to his farm for further study.  Taking a break during  his studies, he went out to the barn to check on a mule harnessed to a corn shucking machine, but somehow his sleeve was caught in the machine.  His arm was mangled in the process and a few days later, he died.  His last words were spoken to our subject of this devotional, the Rev. George Duffield, who asked him if he had any final words to say.  He replied, “Tell them to stand up for Jesus.”

The following Sunday, Pastor Duffield preached before his Presbyterian congregation on Ephesians 6:13, which reads, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (KJV)  For the application of his message, he then read a poem which he had composed that week, entitled “Stand up, stand up for Jesus.”  Music was added later, and Christians the world over have been challenged through the years with this message to stand up for Jesus.

Words to live by: In addition to the four stanzas which we regularly sing, Pastor Duffield had added two others stanzas.  Stanza 2 originally read,

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword  hear;
If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without,
Charge for the God of battles; and put the foe to rout.” 

Stanza 5 originally read,

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his power,
Close up the broken columns, and shout through all the host.
Make good the loss so  heavy, in those that still remain,
And prove to all around you, that death itself is gain.” 

We can see why this hymn was a favorite in both North and South during the Civil War.  But it has endured the test of time to remind us all in Christ that we are in a spiritual battle, and need to take our stand for Christ.  Are you standing for Jesus?

Through the Scriptures:   Ezekiel 4 – 7

Through the Standards: The third petition of the Lord’s Prayer, according to the Larger Catechism

WLC 192 — “What do we pray for in the third petition?
A.  In the third petition, (which is, Thy will be done in earth as it is in  heaven,) acknowledging, that by nature we and all men are not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God, but prone to rebel against his word, to repine and murmur against his providence, and wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh, and of the devil: we pray, that God would by his Spirit take away from ourselves and others all blindness, weakness, indisposedness, and perverseness of heart; and by his grace make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all  things, with the like humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy, as the angels do in heaven.”

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This Day in Presbyterian History:

The Whole Earth Trembled When he Walked

Our title was the conclusion of an individual regarding Brig. General Andrew Lewis upon seeing him.  Fully six feet tall, there was a ruggedness about him that arrested every man’s opinion.  He was just the person needed to settle accounts with those native Americans who were troubling the Scot-Irish settlers in Virginia, and making it hard to not just live in this new land on their farms, but also worship the God of their fathers in colonial America.

Andrew Lewis was born in Ireland in 1720.  When he was eleven years of age, his parents, John and Margaret Lewis, came  first to  Cumberland County in Pennsylvania, and then south into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  They were the first settlers in Augusta County, Virginia, and Presbyterian to the core.  Andrew grew up on the farm and somewhere in the 1740’s married Elizabeth, from which seven children were born over the years.  He was involved in the defense of the homeland in that he was an officer of the Augusta militia.

When the French and Indian war came, he became a captain in Col. George Washington’s regiment.  Wounded at Fort Necessity south of present day Pittsburgh  when it surrendered with Col Washington as commanding officer, he continued on after being exchanged.  Promoted to Major, he oversaw the frontier fortifications along the river of Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Against Fort Duquesne, he was captured again, and sent as a prisoner of war to Quebec, where he was not released until 1759, when he went home to Virginia.

The rising threat of war with Great Britain brought him into a position of importance again.  Assigned by the Continental Congress to protect Virginia, he was raised in rank to Brig. General.   These colonial warriors fought on two fronts.  Not only did they fight the British on the coast of Virginia, but they also fought the Indians on the west of Virginia.

In the fall of 1774, General Andrew Lewis raised the largest number of men — over one thousand militia — ever raised up to that time in American history.  Their purpose was to once and forever stop the Indian raids against American settlers during this vital period of history.   It would be no easy task.  Starting on September 11, 1774, this collection of regiments from Virginia began a forced march of over one hundred miles to the Ohio River.  In what has been billed the first battle in the American War for Independence, the great majority of troops under General Lewis were Presbyterians from congregations of the Presbytery of Hanover.  It was like the church militant going out to do battle.

The results of this battle will be told in a future devotional on October 11.  But for now, it is clear that only a fearless leader like Andrew Lewis could lead such a mighty force into the wilderness to give liberty and freedom once and for all time for the Presbyterian pastors and people of Virginia.

Words to live by:  Colonial America was very much of a trowel and sword project.  One the one hand, it was necessary to build up the land.  On the other hand, it became necessary to defend what you had started to build.  Some settlers had found it too difficult to build and fight at the same time, so they were leaving to find fertile ground closer to Philadelphia.  Pastors like Samuel Davies were calling upon them to rise up and fight the good fight of faith.  Sword and trowel; trowel and sword — both were needed in the present battle.  And Andrew Lewis was God’s man for both of these endeavors.  God continues to need leaders who will stand in the gap.  Will you offer yourself as one?

Through the Scriptures:  Ezekiel 1 – 3

Through the Standards:  The second petition of the Lord’s Prayer as found in the Shorter Catechism

WSC 102 — “What do we pray for in the second petition?
A.  In the second petition, (which is, Thy kingdom come,) we pray, That Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be  hastened.”

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This Day in Presbyterian History:  

Faith Wholly and Only in Christ

With nothing of great significance in historic Presbyterianism on this  date of September 8, we return to the heart of evangelical and Reformed religion, that is, “What is faith in Jesus Christ?”  That question and answer is number 85 in our Westminster Shorter Catechism.  It answers “Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as  he is offered to us in the gospel.”

The Confession, first of all, clearly tell us by the change of topics from that which has gone before, that we are in a new section of the subordinate standards.  Being convicted by the law of God and shown to be sinners, facing nothing but the wrath and curse of God for that sin, and those sins, we now see what God requires of us, namely, faith in Jesus Christ. This is the path unto salvation, indeed, this is salvation itself. Here is eternal life for all those who rely upon  Jesus Christ for eternal life.

We are told first that it is “a saving grace.”  Not only is it a divine disposition of undeserved favor towards us, it is a divine gift in us, an inclination in our soul by the Holy Spirit working in us. In every sect and cult which has ever been in existence, there is the fundamental idea that human beings earn salvation, rather than simply receiving the free favor of God for that salvation.  Eternal life is never deserved or earned, according to the Scriptures.  This is a saving grace.

This faith in Jesus Christ speaks of receiving and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation.  Both of these verbs are the acts of faith in Christ Jesus.  We first of all “receive” Jesus Christ.  John 1:12 speaks of “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name.” (NASB)     We must receive Christ.  Then we speak of “resting” upon Him alone for salvation.  It is faith alone which is the key phrase in the Scriptures, to say nothing of the Protestant Reformation.  It is faith plus nothing.  If even a scintillate of works, righteous works are found in the formula, than we are left with the terrible idea that Christ did not finish the work of redemption during His perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross.  Paul says it all when in Galatians 2:21, he writes, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (NASB)  It is as we renounce our own righteousness, and so laying hold on Christ, relying upon him, putting all confidence in Him, and in Him alone, for eternal life.

How do we receive and rest upon Christ?  Is is only “as he is offered to us in the gospel.” He is the Sin-bearer, Substitute, fully satisfying God’s justice against sin, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and the Savior of mankind.  This is the one in Whom we can trust for our salvation.

Words to live by:  Think of all things which Christ means to you for a moment.  What came to your mind and heart when He first revealed Himself to you?  What answers did He give to your questions at that time?  What solace did He offer to your troubled heart then?  Think about how He was offered in the gospel to you in time past.  Then rejoice anew in the gospel message which you received and rested upon at that time, or even period of life.  And memorize this catechism answer, for it can be a powerful reminder of the salvation which you experienced when you possessed faith in Jesus Christ.

Through the Scriptures:  2 Chronicles 26 – 29

Through the Standards: The first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, in the Larger Catechism

WLC 190 — “What do we pray for in the first petition?
A.  In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed be thy name,) acknowledging the utter inability and indisposition that is in ourselves and all men to honor God aright, we pray, that God would by his grace enable and incline us and others to know, to acknowledge, and highly to esteem him, his titles, attributes, ordinances, word, works, and whatsoever he is pleased to make himself known by; and to glorify him in thought, word, and deed: that he would prevent and remove atheism, ignorance, idolatry, profaneness, and whatsoever is dishonorable to him; and, by his over-ruling providence, direct and dispose of all things to his own glory.”

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This Day in Presbyterian History

More Alive than I have ever Been Before

The veteran preacher was speaking about his translation to heaven from the pulpit one Sunday morning.  As he spoke of his pine box being brought in at his funeral, Dr. D. James Kennedy warned against any weeping at the sight.  Instead, he said “I want you to begin with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah chorus, because I am not going to be there, and I am not going to be dead.  I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life.  I will be alive forever, in greater health and vitality and joy than ever, ever, I or anyone has known before.”

The above quotation was on his funeral bulletin after his death at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 5, 2007. He had returned from the medical facility just ten days before, after being stricken with a heart attack the previous year. His last sermon had been preached on December 24, 2006, with his retirement from the pulpit of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church for the last  forty-seven years.

Much has been written on the man and his ministry.  His twin themes of the Great Commission and the Cultural Mandate characterized his messages and ministry in Fort Lauderdale, the state of Florida, the nation, and the world.  Certainly, the lay-witnessing methodology for sharing the gospel impacted countless Christians, including this writer in his pastorate of forty years.  Taking every thought captive to the Lord Jesus and reclaiming the culture of our once blessed nation and people, enabled the cultural mandate to become practice instead of mere theory.   For all this, we can thank the Triune God for D. James Kennedy.  No wonder can the funeral hymns be started with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah Chorus.  The sovereign God deserves all the praise for the spiritual gifts He had given to His servant, Dr. Kennedy.

Words to live by:  Jesus once said that we were to pray that laborers be literally thrust out into the harvest, for it was ready to be gathered.   When is the next D. James Kennedy to be raised up for the ripe harvest?  Indeed, where is the next generation of pastors and teachers, missionaries, evangelists, helpers, administrators, and you can add all the spiritual gifts here, going to step forward and be counted for labors in the kingdom of grace?  The harvest is there.  The church is there.  The culture is there.  Where are the laborers?  Pray for a mighty calling today for service in our day.

Through the Scriptures:  2 Chronicles 17 – 19

Through the Standards:  A Pattern for prayer  

WLC 187 “How is the Lord’s Prayer to be used?
A.  The Lord’s prayer is not only for direction, as a pattern, according to which we are to make other prayers; but may also be used as a prayer, so that it be done with understanding, faith, reverence, and other graces necessary to the right performance of the duty of prayer.”

WLC 188 “Of how many parts does the Lord’s Prayer consist?
A.  The Lord’s prayer consists of three parts: a preface, petitions, and a conclusion.”

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