Chairman’s Welcome and Devotions

Welcome to the sixth annual association meeting of Reformed Believers Publishing. It is an absolute delight to see so many gathered here this evening—so many wounded, poor, blind, and lame—those who are the outcasts of Israel. Your presence is a great encouragement to the editor, the regular writers, and the board of Reformed Believers Publishing. And we all need that encouragement, especially in the face of ridicule and fierce opposition and the defection this past year within our own ranks. It is exhilarating to know that you are gathered here to give witness to the truth, that you are here for the support of and the confession of that truth through Sword and Shield, the media of Reformed Believers Publishing.

Scripture Reading from Jeremiah 30

7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

8. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

9. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

10. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

11. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

12. For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.

13. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.

14. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.

15. Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

16. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

17. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

18. Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.

19. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

20. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.

21. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

22. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

23. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

24. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

 

Prayer

Our gracious God and heavenly Father, we call upon thy holy name at the beginning of our meeting to ask thy blessing upon our gathering this evening and that thou wilt guard and defend our cause of defending and proclaiming thy word of truth through the printed page. We thank thee, O God, for this meeting of Reformed Believers Publishing and for the many believers gathered here and online in support of this cause. We pray that in all our work, words, and praise, thou alone may receive all honor and glory and that in our celebration tonight we might magnify thy most holy name.

How excellent is thy name, for the whole earth and the heavens are full of thy glory. Who is so great a God as our God? Thou hast declared of thyself, “I am Jehovah, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” We confess that honor and majesty are before thee and that there is no God besides thee. Thy voice shakes the earth and the heavens, but thou hast determined and wilt establish an everlasting kingdom that cannot be moved and where thy name is all in all. Thou hast prepared thy throne in the heavens, and thy kingdom rules over all. Thou dost sovereignly reign over and govern all things by thy Word and Spirit. Thou art clothed in honor and majesty; thou hast robed and armed thyself with strength. Thou art the beginning and the ending of all. Thou hast declared of thyself, “i am that i am, Jehovah, the first and the last, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

Thou, O Lord, art righteous in all thy ways and holy in all thy works. Thou art a God of infinite goodness and justice. Thou art holy and without iniquity, just and upright in all thy judgments. Thou only hast immortality, dwelling in the light unto which no man can approach, whom no man has seen nor can see. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and can behold no iniquity. Thou art arrayed in all righteousness and holiness, so that the seraphim, who carry out thy will, with two wings must cover their faces, with twain cover their feet, and with twain do they fly, crying aloud to one another, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

“To whom, then, will ye liken me, or to whom shall I be equal?” saith the Holy One.

And so that all men might know, from the rising of the sun even from the west, that there is none besides thee, thou hast formed the light and created darkness. By the Word of thy power, thou hast created the heavens and stretched them out and dost command all their hosts. Thou hast made the clouds thy chariot and dost walk upon the wings of the wind. Thou hast commanded the morning since its birth and caused the Dayspring to know his place. Thou hast spread forth the earth and every creeping thing. Thou canst measure the waters in the hollow of thy hand and mete out heaven with a span. Thou waterest the hills from thy chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

Thou givest breath unto the people upon that earth and spirit to those who walk therein. For thine invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even thine eternal power and Godhead, so that those who change the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the creator are without excuse. Father, creator, let thy name be holy and divine in all the earth, and let thy word of truth and thy cause be made glorious and victorious in the world.

Who are we, then, who seek thee, the Holy One of Israel, who seek the light of thy face or dare to come into thy presence? We confess that in our natural state we have no desire to seek thee nor a right to thy blessings. For most miserable of all men are we, who were shaped in iniquity and in whom dwells no good thing. We are liars, murderers, harlots, and blasphemers, for we are as unclean things, so that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Cause us always to confess that we are ungodly, damnworthy sinners who have an unpayable and inexhaustible debt. We have no acts of obedience to offer, no good works with which to merit, no faithful keeping of thy antithesis, no repentance or sorrow over sin to justify, and no faith as our act. Truly from our sins and misery and in and of ourselves, there is no way out.

And yet while we were sinners, thou didst come to us and say, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob and ye people of Israel, for I will help thee. I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. There is no condemnation for thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy savior. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore, will I give men for thee and people for thy life. I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west, bringing my sons from far and my daughters from the ends of the earth—even every one who is called by my name, for I have created him for my glory.”

And so we seek thee, O God, not with a worth or righteousness of our own but clothed with the righteousness of another and with holiness that is outside ourselves and otherworldly. For thou hast decreed before the worlds were framed to savingly reveal thyself in the light and countenance of Jesus. Although no man has seen thee at any time, yet thou hast purposed to manifest thyself and to fulfill all thy sovereign counsel through the wonder of the incarnation of thine elect Seed, so that thy chosen ones might believe and know thee.

Cause us ever to rejoice then in the miraculous and wonderful gift of the in-fleshing of thy Son, Jesus, whom we confess to be God of God, Light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, and of the same essence with the Father; Jesus, who made himself of no reputation but for our salvation came down from heaven and was manifest in the flesh and dwelt under the curse that was ours, so that in our stead he hallowed thy name and lived in perfect love for thee; Jesus, who was meek and lowly of heart and was not rebellious, neither turned back from thy counsel to be condemned by Pontius Pilate; Jesus, who gave his cheeks and his back to the smiters and hid not his face from their shame and spitting, so that all who saw him laughed him to scorn and shook their heads; Jesus, who knew no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who took upon himself the condemnation of thy righteous judgment that was our due; Jesus, who being found in fashion as a man became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, where thy rebuke broke his heart, and he looked for some to have pity on him but found no man to comfort him. And in the blackness of that cross, thy Son felt pressed down upon him the full weight of thy wrath and curse for our infinite debt. On the accursed tree he gave his life as a ransom price and made an end of thy wrath against the sins of all thy covenant people and justified them.

But thou didst not leave his soul in hell; neither did thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption, for he has gone up on high, led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea, even for thine enemies. Wherefore thou hast highly exalted him and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It is Jesus, the Christ, who died and was risen, who is the captain of Jehovah’s hosts and the holder of the book of seven seals, who is the unfolding of thine eternal counsel, the goal and head of all, and who is now the absolute Lord who sits at thy right hand of power as the judge of the living and the dead.

O God, let this gospel-truth always be the cause and banner of Reformed Believers Publishing. Be pleased to continue to use Sword and Shield to set forth and declare the truth of thine absolute sovereignty in election and reprobation. And against all opposition cause our magazine to shout the glorious gospel of pure grace, the absolutely unconditional covenant to the utter abasement of man, and that God justifies only the ungodly!

Preserve and strengthen the writers of Sword and Shield to wage war against the devil and the dark workers of iniquity who seek to steal away that gospel. Cause our magazine to battle against the false church, against the Protestant Reformed Churches and her lie that if a man would be saved, there is that which he must do, against her heresies of assurance through works, justification through faith and repentance, and man-first dogma. Use Sword and Shield to fight and expose any doctrine that strips thee of thy glory and any lie that displaces the perfect work of thy Son. And let us ever joy and take comfort in the beautiful sound of free grace—grace that flows not from human efforts or merit but of the pure love and mercy of our heavenly Father. With every article, every meditation, every instructive and defensive word, use Sword and Shield to declare thy sovereign, particular, and pure grace.

Use our magazine and our speeches this evening to give witness to all thy people that our deliverance does not consist in any noxious mixture of faith and works or any Christ-plus doctrine, but that they are justified freely by thy grace alone, through faith alone, in the redemption of Christ alone. Speak unto thy people of their living union with Christ, their savior. Through these means convict thine elect that we, who possess Jesus Christ through faith alone, receive all things and have complete salvation in him. Being justified by faith alone, we have all blessedness, happiness, forgiveness, hope, and peace. Let this gospel, this truth, always be the battleground and fight of Reformed Believers Publishing. We pray that thou wilt confound and destroy the efforts of the powers of darkness that work to harm our cause and silence our witness and testimony to the pure gospel of grace.

We thank thee that thou hast continued to uphold and strengthen our editor and writers. Give them courage, wisdom, and everything that they need to write for the cause of the truth. Preserve them in the truth. We pray that thou wilt use Sword and Shield as a powerful instrument to set forth, defend, and spread the gospel of pure grace and that it may give a sharp, antithetical witness against all error that defiles thy truth.

Gather, defend, and preserve thy church, O Lord; and in thy Son bless thy church, the body and bride of Christ from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, the body that will be revealed in the day of Jesus Christ to be an innumerable throng as the stars of heaven. And yet, as that body exists here on earth and is represented by this little band, it is always a remnant—thy remnant, which is always and forever in thy care and precious in thy sight.

We pray, O God, for thy coming and fulfillment of thy decree, when the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood; when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works therein shall be consumed with fire; and when the Son of man will come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him and all the wicked of the earth shall wail because of him. For on that great and notable day, he shall come to gather to himself his church so that all his people might reign with him forever and ever. Send forth thine angels with a great sound of a trumpet to gather together thine elect from the four winds, from the uttermost parts of the earth to the uttermost parts of heaven. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

For thine, O Lord, is the greatness, the majesty and the power, the glory and the victory, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth are thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Amen.