Meditations in Psalm 119
Shin (LITV)
161 Princes have persecuted me without cause; but my heart has feared at Your word. 162 I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil. 163 I hate and despise lying; but I love Your law. 164 I praise You seven times a day because of Your righteous judgments. 165 Great peace is to those who love Your law, and there is no stumblingblock to them. 166 O Jehovah, I have hoped for Your salvation, and have done Your precepts. 167 My soul has kept Your testimonies, and I love them very much; 168 I have kept Your commands and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.
“Princes have persecuted me without cause; but my heart has feared at Your word.” Psalm 119:161
When the apostles of Jesus were commanded by the Jewish rulers not to preach in the name of Jesus, they continued to do so because, as they stated, “It is right to obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). They were persecuted without just cause but their hearts trembled in awe and respect of God’s Word for it revealed to them their Messiah and Savior, Jesus.
We too can expect to be persecuted by rulers and authorities when we hold fast to God’s Word and proclaim it without compromise (cf. Matt. 5:10-12; 2 Tim. 3:12). Yet, with the psalmist, our hearts fear at God’s Word. We so respect and honor God’s Word that we suffer indignation, persecution and death rather than departing from it.
Jesus said, “And you should not fear the ones killing the body, but not being able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him being able to destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matt. 10:28). And so, though we may be afraid of those who persecute us and even kill us for our testimony to Jesus Christ and His Word, we hold Jehovah God and His Word in such honor and respect that we suffer all, even death, rather than yield one letter of God’s truth. We know that, in the end, God’s Word will stand and all other words will fail and pass away.
Of course, such respect for God’s Word only comes as a fruit of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit – through the Word – brings us to know our sin and the judgment of God upon sin and to know the grace and mercy of God won for us and offered and given to us for the sake of Messiah Jesus and His holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead, He also works in us a love for God’s Word and an honor and respect for that Word as the true and unerring Word of God.
We know, too, that the world will be judged by the Word of God. Those who ignored and rejected God’s Word will be condemned to the torments of hell because they did not repent and believe on the name of the only-begotten Son of God. But those who, by the grace of God, heard the Word and turned from their sinful ways of life to Christ Jesus their Savior will not be condemned but will be given life everlasting (cf. Mark 16:15-16; John 3:18, 36; John 5:24).
O LORD God, Your Word is truth. I have sinned against Your Word and come short. Have mercy upon me and forgive me for the sake of Christ Jesus and His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the world. In His name I pray. Amen.
“I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil. I hate and despise lying; but I love Your law.” Psalm 119:162-163
God’s Word is a great treasure, for it reveals to us the truth – the truth about us and our sinfulness and the truth about the LORD God and His grace and mercy in Christ Jesus.
The world is full of lies and deception. Satan, through cults and even heterodox churches, seeks to deceive the souls of men and keep them from the knowledge of the truth.
Jesus said to the Jews who believed on Him, “If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
When we continue in Jesus’ Word, we will quickly see our own corruption and utter sinfulness. We will learn of the wrath of God which we justly deserve on account of our sin. But we will also learn of the grace and mercy of God. We will hear of His great love for the world in sending His only-begotten Son to fulfill all righteousness and then to suffer and die for the sins of all mankind and rise again on the third day.
That Word will convict us of sin but assure us that God forgives our sins and accepts us as His own dear children for the sake of Messiah Jesus and His bitter sufferings and death on the cross.
That is why we, with the psalmist, hate the lying and deception of the world but love God’s Word. We rejoice at it as one who finds great treasure. Jesus said, “The kingdom of Heaven is compared to treasure hidden in the field, which finding, a man hid; and for the joy of it, he goes and sells all things, as many as he has, and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44).
What greater treasure could we find than the Word of God which reveals to us Christ Jesus our Savior and His everlasting kingdom!
I rejoice at Your Word, O God, for it is the truth. Though I have sinned and deserve nothing but Your wrath and punishment, Your Word assures me of forgiveness and life eternal in Christ Jesus, Your Son and my Savior. Amen.
“I praise You seven times a day because of Your righteous judgments.” Psalm 119:164
The Bible enjoins us to “Sing to Jehovah; bless His name, bear news of His salvation day by day” (Psalm 96:2).
The psalmist praised God seven times a day because of His righteous judgments. Even if we don’t observe specific daily times of prayer and praise, we have every reason to join with fellow believers of every place and time in praising the LORD God for His grace and mercy toward us.
Our God condemns the rebelious and unbelieving sinner but has mercy upon those who, by the gracious working of the Spirit through the Word, hear and repent, receiving in faith God’s pardon and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus and His holy and righteous blood shed for for all when He suffered and died upon the cross.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous that He may forgive us the sins, and may cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God is faithful and righteous when He pardons and forgives us because “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation relating to our sins, and not relating to ours only, but also relating to all the world” (1 John 2:1,2).
O Jehovah God, I praise You continually because You have judged and acquitted me of all my sin and all my guilt for the sake of the atoning sacrifice of the Son and my Savior, Messiah Jesus. Amen.
“Great peace is to those who love Your law, and there is no stumblingblock to them.” Psalm 119:165
Since God’s Word is truth and reveals the way of God in truth, it is no surprise to us that it brings peace to those who love it and keeps them from the stumblingblocks placed before them by the devil, the world and their own corrupt and sinful flesh (cf. Psalm 1).
Psalm 37 says: “Watch the perfect and behold the upright one; for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors are destroyed together; the end of the wicked is cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from Jehovah; He is their strength in the time of distress. And Jehovah helps them and delivers them; He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in Him” (Psalm 37:37-40).
God’s Word reveals to us the holy and perfect will of God and warns against the lies and deceit of the devil, which lead to misery and eternal ruin. It reveals to us God’s mercy and forgivness in Christ Jesus and guides us in living for Him as His redeemed children.
Those who heed God’s Word, acknowledge their sins and trust in Christ Jesus know the peace (shalom) of God. “Being justified by faith, [they] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
And guided and directed by God’s Word, they are not deceived and misled back into sin and unbelief. They are preserved in the truth and kept by the Holy Spirit’s teaching through the Word.
Those who heed the Word and walk with Christ in faith know peace. Those who neglect the Word or reject it, know no peace and are misled by the stumblingblocks of the devil.
Graciously grant that I would love Your Word, O God, and heed its message, repenting of my sinfulness and trusting in Messiah Jesus for pardon and eternal peace. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
“O Jehovah, I have hoped for Your salvation, and have done Your precepts. My soul has kept Your testimonies, and I love them very much; I have kept Your commands and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.” Psalm 119:166-168
The hope of the psalmist was in Jehovah God and in the salvation He provided, and that too is our hope. We place all our hope and trust in Messiah Jesus, God’s only-begotten Son come into this world to redeem us. We trust and believe that God forgives and accepts us as His own people and children because Jesus fulfilled all righteousness for us and suffered and died for our sins and the sins of all the world.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, graciously enlightened and brought to faith by the working of God the Spirit through the words and promises of God, we also seek to keep God’s precepts and His testimonies. We love God’s Word – very much – and seek to live our lives according to it, repenting of all our sinfulness and trusting in our gracious God to forgive us for Jesus’ sake and lead us in the way everlasting.
In obedience to the testimony of God’s Word, we have been brought to see and acknowledge our sins and receive through faith God’s pardon and forgiveness. As a fruit of that faith, we then also seek to live all our lives in accord to God’s Word.
And, indeed it is true that all our ways are open before the Lord our God. He knows our hearts. He sees our actions. Thus, we also pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if any wicked way is in me; and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
O Jehovah, I too hope in the salvation You have provided in Christ Jesus. Move me to love Your Word and live according to it. Make known to me my sins and grant me forgivenss in Jesus. Lead me in the way everlasting. I ask this for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
From the Lutheran Confessions
Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration
IV. Good Works
1] A disagreement has also occurred among the theologians of the Augsburg Confession concerning good works, one part employing the following words and manner in speaking of them: Good works are necessary for salvation; it is impossible to be saved without good works; likewise, no one has been saved without good works; because, they say, good works are required of true believers as fruits of faith, and faith without love is dead, although such love is no cause of salvation.
2] The other part, however, contended, on the contrary, that good works are indeed necessary; however, not for salvation, but for other reasons; and that on this account the aforecited propositiones, or expressions, which have been used (as they are not in accord with the form of sound doctrine and with the Word, and have been always and are still set by the Papists in opposition to the doctrine of our Christian faith, in which we confess that faith alone justifies and saves) are not to be tolerated in the Church, in order that the merit of Christ, our Savior, be not diminished, and the promise of salvation may be and remain firm and certain to believers.
3] In this controversy also the following controverted proposition, or expression, was employed by some few, that good works are injurious to salvation. It has also been argued by some that good works are not necessary, but are voluntary [free and spontaneous], because they are not extorted by fear and the penalty of the Law, but are to be done from a voluntary spirit and a joyful heart. Over against this the other side contended that good works are necessary.
4] This [latter] controversy was originally occasioned by the words necessitas and libertas, that is, necessary and free, because especially the word necessitas, necessary, signifies not only the eternal, immutable order according to which all men are obliged and in duty bound to obey God, but sometimes also a coercion, by which the Law forces men to good works.
5] But afterwards there was a disputation not only concerning the words, but the doctrine itself was attacked in the most violent manner, and it was contended that the new obedience in the regenerate is not necessary because of the above-mentioned divine order.
6] In order to explain this disagreement in a Christian way and according to the guidance of God’s Word, and by His grace to settle it completely, our doctrine, faith, and confession are as follows:
7] First, there is no controversy among our theologians concerning the following points in this article, namely: that it is God’s will, order, and command that believers should walk in good works; and that truly good works are not those which every one contrives himself from a good intention, or which are done according to traditions of men, but those which God Himself has prescribed and commanded in His Word; also, that truly good works are done, not from our own natural powers, but in this way: when the person by faith is reconciled with God and renewed by the Holy Ghost, or, as Paul says, is created anew in Christ Jesus to good works, Eph. 2:10.
8] Nor is there a controversy as to how and why the good works of believers, although in this flesh they are impure and incomplete, are pleasing and acceptable to God, namely, for the sake of the Lord Christ, by faith, because the person is acceptable to God. For the works which pertain to the maintenance of external discipline, which are also done by, and required of, the unbelieving and unconverted, although commendable before the world, and besides rewarded by God in this world with temporal blessings, are nevertheless, because they do not proceed from true faith, in God’s sight sins, that is, stained with sin, and are regarded by God as sins and impure on account of the corrupt nature and because the person is not reconciled with God. For a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit, Matt. 7:18, as it is also written Rom. 14:23: Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. For the person must first be accepted of God, and that for the sake of Christ alone, if also the works of that person are to please Him.
9] Therefore, of works that are truly good and well-pleasing to God, which God will reward in this world and in the world to come, faith must be the mother and source; and on this account they are called by St. Paul true fruits of faith, as also of the Spirit. 10] For, as Dr. Luther writes in the Preface to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: Thus faith is a divine work in us, that changes us and regenerates us of God, and puts to death the old Adam, makes us entirely different men in heart, spirit, mind, and all powers, and brings with it [confers] the Holy Ghost. Oh, it is a living, busy, active, powerful thing that we have in faith, so that it is impossible for it not to do good without ceasing. 11] Nor does it ask whether good works are to be done; but before the question is asked, it has wrought them, and is always engaged in doing them. But he who does not do such works is void of faith, and gropes and looks about after faith and good works, and knows neither what faith nor what good works are, yet babbles and prates with many words concerning faith and good works. 12] [Justifying] faith is a living, bold [firm] trust in God’s grace, so certain that a man would die a thousand times for it [rather than suffer this trust to be wrested from him]. And this trust and knowledge of divine grace renders joyful, fearless, and cheerful towards God and all creatures, which [joy and cheerfulness] the Holy Ghost works through faith; and on account of this, man becomes ready and cheerful, without coercion, to do good to every one, to serve every one, and to suffer everything for love and praise to God, who has conferred this grace on him, so that it is impossible to separate works from faith, yea, just as impossible as it is for heat and light to be separated from fire.
13] But since there is no controversy on these points among our theologians, we will not treat them here at length, but only explain ourselves, part against part, in a simple and plain manner regarding the controverted points.
14] And first, as regards the necessity or voluntariness of good works, it is manifest that in the Augsburg Confession and its Apology these expressions are often used and repeated that good works are necessary. Likewise, that it is necessary to do good works, which also are necessarily to follow faith and reconciliation. Likewise, that we necessarily are to do and must do such good works as God has commanded. Thus also in the Holy Scriptures themselves the words necessity, needful, and necessary, likewise, ought and must, are used concerning what we are bound to do because of God’s ordinance, command, and will, as Rom. 13:5; 1 Cor. 9:9; Acts 5:29; John 15:12; 1 John 4:21.
15] Therefore the expressions or propositions mentioned [that good works are necessary, and that it is necessary to do good] are unjustly censured and rejected in this Christian and proper sense, as has been done by some; for they are employed and used with propriety to rebuke and reject the secure, Epicurean delusion, by which many fabricate for themselves a dead faith or delusion which is without repentance and without good works, as though there could be in a heart true faith and at the same time the wicked intention to persevere and continue in sins, which is impossible; or, as though one could, indeed, have and retain true faith, righteousness, and salvation even though he be and remain a corrupt and unfruitful tree, whence no good fruits whatever come, yea, even though he persist in sins against conscience, or purposely engages again in these sins, all of which is incorrect and false.
16] But in this connection the following distinction must also be noted, namely, that the meaning must be: necessitas ordinis, mandati et voluntatis Christi ac debiti nostri, non autem necessitas coactionis (a necessity of Christ’s ordinance, command, and will, and of our obligation, but not a necessity of coercion). That is: When this word necessary is employed, it should be understood not of coercion, but only of the ordinance of the immutable will of God, whose debtors we are; thither also 17] His commandment points that the creature should be obedient to its Creator. For in other places, as 2 Cor. 9:7, and in the Epistle of St. Paul to Philemon 14, also 1 Pet. 5:2, that is termed of necessity which is wrung from one against his will, by force or otherwise, so that he acts externally for appearance, but nevertheless without and against his will. For such specious [hypocritical] works God does not want [does not approve], but the people of the New Testament are to be a willing people, Ps. 110:3, and sacrifice freely, Ps. 54:6, not grudgingly or of necessity, but are to be obedient from the heart, 2 Cor. 9:7; Rom. 6:17. 18] For God loveth a cheerful giver, 2 Cor. 9:7. In this understanding and in such sense it is correctly said and taught that truly good works should be done willingly or from a voluntary spirit by those whom the Son of God has made free, even as it was especially for [confirming] this opinion that the disputation concerning the voluntariness of good works was engaged in by some.
19] But here, again, it is well to note also the distinction of which St. Paul says, Rom. 7:22f.: [I am willing] and delight in the Law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, that is not only unwilling or disinclined, but also warring against the law of my mind. And as regards the unwilling and rebellious flesh, Paul says, 1 Cor. 9:27: I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, and Gal. 5:24; Rom. 8:13: They that are Christ’s have crucified, yea, slain, the flesh with its affections and lusts. 20] But it is false, and must be censured, when it is asserted and taught as though good works were free to believers in the sense that it were optional with them to do or to omit them, or that they might or could act contrary thereto [to the Law of God], and none the less could retain faith and God’s favor and grace.
21] Secondly, when it is taught that good works are necessary, it must also be explained why and for what reasons they are necessary, which reasons are enumerated in the Augsburg Confession and Apology.
22] But here we must be well on our guard lest works are drawn and mingled into the article of justification and salvation. Therefore the propositions are justly rejected, that to believers good works are necessary for salvation, so that it is impossible to be saved without good works. For they are directly contrary to the doctrine de particulis exclusivis in articulo iustificationis et salvationis (concerning the exclusive particles in the article of justification and salvation), that is, they conflict with the words by which St. Paul has entirely excluded our works and merits from the article of justification and salvation, and ascribed everything to the grace of God and the merit of Christ alone, as explained in the preceding article. 23] Again, they [these propositions concerning the necessity of good works for salvation] take from afflicted, troubled consciences the comfort of the Gospel, give occasion for doubt, are in many ways dangerous, strengthen presumption in one’s own righteousness and confidence in one’s own works; besides, they are accepted by the Papists, and in their interest adduced against the pure doctrine of the alone-saving faith. 24] Moreover, they are contrary to the form of sound words, as it is written that blessedness is only of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Rom. 4:6. Likewise, in the Sixth Article of the Augsburg Confession it is written that we are saved without works, by faith alone. Thus Dr. Luther, too, has rejected and condemned these propositions:
25] 1. In the false prophets among the Galatians [who led the Galatians into error].
26] 2. In the Papists, in very many places.
27] 3. In the Anabaptists, when they present this interpretation: We should not indeed rest faith upon the merit of works, but we must nevertheless have them as things necessary to salvation.
28] 4. Also in some others among his own followers, who wished to interpret this proposition thus: Although we require works as necessary to salvation, yet we do not teach to place trust in works. On Gen. 22.
29] Accordingly, and for the reasons now enumerated, it is justly to remain settled in our churches, namely, that the aforesaid modes of speech should not be taught, defended, or excused, but be thrown out of our churches and repudiated as false and incorrect, and as expressions which were renewed in consequence of the Interim, originated from it, and were [again] drawn into discussion in times of persecution, when there was especial need of a clear, correct confession against all sorts of corruptions and adulterations of the article of justification.
30] Thirdly, since it is also disputed whether good works preserve salvation, or whether they are necessary for preserving faith, righteousness, and salvation, and this again is of high and great importance,–for he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved, Matt. 24:13; also Heb. 3:6-14: We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end,–we must also explain well and precisely how righteousness and salvation are preserved in us, lest it be lost again.
31] Above all, therefore, the false Epicurean delusion is to be earnestly censured and rejected, namely, that some imagine that faith and the righteousness and salvation which they have received can be lost through no sins or wicked deeds, not even through wilful and intentional ones, but that a Christian although he indulges his wicked lusts without fear and shame, resists the Holy Ghost, and purposely engages in sins against conscience, yet none the less retains faith, God’s grace, righteousness, and salvation.
32] Against this pernicious delusion the following true, immutable, divine threats and severe punishments and admonitions should be often repeated and impressed upon Christians who are justified by faith: 1 Cor. 6:9: Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, etc., shall inherit the kingdom of God. Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5: They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Rom. 8:13: If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. Col. 3:6: For which thing’s sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience.
33] But when and in what way the exhortations to good works can be earnestly urged from this basis without darkening the doctrine of faith and of the article of justification, the Apology shows by an excellent model, when in Article XX, on the passage 2 Pet. 1:10: Give diligence to make your calling and election sure, it says as follows: Peter teaches why good works should be done, namely, that we may make our calling sure, that is, that we may not fall from our calling if we again sin. “Do good works,” he says, “that you may persevere in your heavenly calling, that you may not fall away again, and lose the Spirit and the gifts, which come to you, not on account of works that follow, but of grace, through Christ, and are now retained by faith. But faith does not remain in those who lead a sinful life, lose the Holy Ghost, and reject repentance.” Thus far the Apology.
34] But, on the other hand, the sense is not that faith only in the beginning lays hold of righteousness and salvation, and then resigns its office to the works as though thereafter they had to sustain faith, the righteousness received, and salvation; but in order that the promise, not only of receiving, but also of retaining righteousness and salvation, may be firm and sure to us, St. Paul, Rom. 5:2, ascribes to faith not only the entrance to grace, but also that we stand in grace and boast of the future glory, that is, the beginning, middle, and end he ascribes all to faith alone. Likewise, Rom. 11:20: Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Col. 1:22: He will present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight, if ye continue in the faith. 1 Pet. 1:5. 9: By the power of God we are kept through faith unto salvation. Likewise: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
35] Since, then, it is manifest from God’s Word that faith is the proper and only means by which righteousness and salvation are not only received, but also preserved by God, the decree of the Council of Trent, and whatever elsewhere is set forth in the same sense, is justly to be rejected, namely, that our good works preserve salvation, or that the righteousness of faith which has been received, or even faith itself, is either entirely or in part kept and preserved by our works.
36] For although before this controversy quite a few pure teachers employed such and similar expressions in the exposition of the Holy Scriptures, in no way, however, intending thereby to confirm the above-mentioned errors of the Papists, still, since afterwards a controversy arose concerning such expressions, from which all sorts of offensive distractions [debates, offenses, and dissensions] followed, it is safest of all, according to the admonition of St. Paul, 2 Tim. 1:13, to hold fast as well to the form of sound words as to the pure doctrine itself, whereby much unnecessary wrangling may be cut off and the Church preserved from many scandals.
37] Fourthly, as regards the proposition that good works are said to be injurious to salvation, we explain ourselves clearly as follows: If any one should wish to drag good works into the article of justification, or rest his righteousness or trust for salvation upon them, to merit God’s grace and be saved by them, to this not we say, but St. Paul himself says, and repeats it three times, Phil. 3:7ff , that to such a man his works are not only useless and a hindrance, but also injurious. But this is not the fault of the good works themselves, but of the false confidence placed in the works, contrary to the express Word of God.
38] However, it by no means follows thence that we are to say simpliciter and flatly: Good works are injurious to believers for or as regards their salvation; for in believers good works are indications of salvation when they are done propter veras causas et ad veros fines (from true causes and for true ends), that is, in the sense in which God requires them of the regenerate, Phil. 1:20; for it is God’s will and express command that believers should do good works, which the Holy Ghost works in believers, and with which God is pleased for Christ’s sake, and to which He promises a glorious reward in this life and the life to come.
39] For this reason, too, this proposition is censured and rejected in our churches, because as a flat statement it is false and offensive, by which discipline and decency might be impaired, and a barbarous, dissolute, secure, Epicurean life be introduced and strengthened. For what is injurious to his salvation a person should avoid with the greatest diligence.
40] However, since Christians should not be deterred from good works, but should be admonished and urged thereto most diligently, this bare proposition cannot and must not be tolerated, employed, nor defended in the Church [of Christ].
Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday
Scripture Readings for Sunday are: Psalm 119:161-168; Ezekiel 34:11-31; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; and Matthew 25:31-46. Please read them in their context as you prepare for worship on Sunday.
The Adult Bible Class is studying St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, at chapter 5, verse 13ff.
Remember to Pray
Remember to pray for our church and for all our members, that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We pray for God’s healing and strengthening of our congregation, as well as for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us – for Sam Rusch who was hospitalized; for Bonnie Hawes, who is recovering from heart surgery; for those who have been absent from us, for our extended families and for believers who are alone and have no congregation. Continue to pray for Lutheran congregations and believers around the world who are persecuted or suffering for their faith in Christ Jesus.
Events and Announcements
Thanksgiving Worship is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Come and give thanks to the LORD God for all His blessings.
Advent Worship begins on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Worship will be held at 7 p.m., with a soup and sandwich supper at 6:20 p.m.
On-line video of worship services can be found at: http://goodshepherdrogers.org/blog/worship-service-video.
Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at goodshepherdrogers@yahoo.com.
Psalm 13 – To the chief musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Until when will You forget me, O Jehovah? Forever? Until when will You hide Your face from me? 2 Until when shall I set counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? Until when shall my enemy be lifted up over me? 3 Look! Answer me, O Jehovah, my God! Make my eyes gleam, lest I sleep the death; 4 lest my enemy say, I have overcome him and my foes rejoice when I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in Your mercy. My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to Jehovah, because He has rewarded me.
[Scripture taken from Green's Literal Translation (LITV), Copyright 1993 by Jay P. Green Sr., All rights reserved.]