This post has been provided by Dr Alan C Clifford, Minister, Norwich Reformed Church.
WORSHIP
Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
(Ps. 124: 8)
PSALM 121
(Anglo-Genevan Psalter)
Unto the hills I lift my eyes.
From where comes all my aid
When troubled or afraid?
The LORD shall to my help arise,
He who made earth and heaven:
His aid is freely given.
2 Your Keeper slumbers not, nor shall
He cause your foot to fail
When dangers you assail.
Lo, he who keeps His Israel
Will neither sleep nor slumber:
Nought shall your life encumber.
3 The LORD your Keeper is for aye,
A shade on your right hand:
You shall securely stand.
The moon by night, the sun by day
Shall not afflict or smite you,
But with their radiance light you.
4 The LORD will guard and keep you when
You meet with harm or strife:
He will preserve your life.
When going out or coming in,
The LORD will you deliver
From this time forth, for ever.
THE WORD OF GOD
(The Geneva Bible)
Also we know that all things work together for the best unto them that love God, even to them that are called of his purpose. For those which he knew before, he also predestinated to be made like to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestinated, them also he called, and whom he called, them also he justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be on our side, who can be against us? Who spared not his own Son, but gave him for us all to death, how shall he not with him give us all things also? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s chosen? it is God that justifieth. Who shall condemn? it is Christ which is dead: yea, or rather, which is risen again, who is also at the right hand of God, and maketh request also for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter: Nevertheless, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8: 28-39)
PRAYER
(John Calvin)
...Moreover, we offer up our prayers unto Thee, O most Gracious God and most merciful Father, for all men in general, that as Thou art pleased to be acknowledged the Saviour of the whole human race by the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ Thy Son, so those who are still strangers to the knowledge of him, and immersed in darkness, and held captive by ignorance and error, may, by Thy Holy Spirit shining upon them, and by Thy gospel sounding in their ears, be brought back to the right way of salvation, which consists in knowing Thee the true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent...(Forms of Prayer for the Church).
GOSPEL SERMON
(John Calvin)
Introduction
The salvation brought by Christ is common to the whole human race, inasmuch as Christ, the author of salvation, is descended from Adam, the common father of us all (Institutes, II. xiii. 3). First, we must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us (Institutes, III. i. 1).
I
It is true that St John says generally, that [God] loved the world. And why? For Jesus Christ offers himself generally to all men without exception to be their redeemer...Thus we see three degrees of the love that God has shown us in our Lord Jesus Christ. The first is in respect of the redemption that was purchased in the person of him that gave himself to death for us, and became accursed to reconcile us to God his Father. That is the first degree of love, which extends to all men, inasmuch as Jesus Christ reaches out his arms to call and allure all men both great and small, and to win them to him. But there is a special love for those to whom the gospel is preached: which is that God testifies to them that he will make them partakers of the benefit that was purchased for them by the death and passion of his Son. And forasmuch as we be of that number, therefore we are double bound already to our God: here are two bonds which hold us as it were [closely] tied to him. Now let us come to the third bond, which depends upon the third love that God shows us: which is that he not only causes the gospel to be preached to us, but also makes us to feel the power thereof, so as we know him to be our Father and Saviour, not doubting but that our sins are forgiven us for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, who brings us the gift of the Holy Spirit, to reform us after his own image.
True it is that the effect of [Christ’s] death comes not to the whole world. Nevertheless, forasmuch as it is not in us to discern between the righteous and the sinners that go to destruction, but that Jesus Christ has suffered his death and passion as well for them as for us, therefore it behoves us to labour to bring every man to salvation, that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may be available to them (Sermons on Job).
Christ...was offered as our Saviour...Christ brought life because the heavenly Father does not wish the human race that He loves to perish...But we should remember...that the secret love in which our heavenly Father embraced us to Himself is, since it flows from His eternal good pleasure, precedent to all other causes; but the grace which He wants to be testified to us and by which we are stirred to the hope of salvation, begins with the reconciliation provided through Christ...Thus before we can have any feeling of His Fatherly kindness, the blood of Christ must intercede to reconcile God to us...And He has used a general term [whosoever], both to invite indiscriminately all to share in life and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the significance of the term 'world' which He had used before. For although there is nothing in the world deserving of God's favour, He nevertheless shows He is favourable to the whole world when He calls all without exception to the faith of Christ, which is indeed an entry into life (Comment on John 3: 16).
II
Christ...offers salvation to all indiscriminately and stretches out His arms to embrace all, that all may be the more encouraged to repent. And yet He heightens by an important detail the crime of rejecting an invitation so kind and gracious; for it is as if He had said: ‘See, I have come to call all; and forgetting the role of judge, my one aim is to attract and rescue from destruction those who already seem doubly ruined.’ Hence no man is condemned for despising the Gospel save he who spurns the lovely news of salvation and deliberately decides to bring destruction on himself (Comment on John 12: 47).
Moreover, let us remember that although life is promised generally to all who believe in Christ, faith is not common to all. Christ is open to all and displayed to all, but God opens the eyes only of the elect that they may seek Him by faith...And whenever our sins press hard on us, whenever Satan would drive us to despair, we must hold up this shield, that God does not want us to be overwhelmed in everlasting destruction, for He has ordained His Son to be the Saviour of the world (Comment on John 3: 16, cont).
This is His wondrous love towards the human race, that He desires all men to be saved, and is prepared to bring even the perishing to safety...It could be asked here, if God does not want any to perish, why do so many in fact perish? My reply is that no mention is made here of the secret decree of God by which the wicked are doomed to their own ruin, but only of His loving-kindness as it is made known to us in the Gospel. There God stretches out His hand to all alike, but He only grasps those (in such a way as to lead to Himself) whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world (Comment on 2 Peter 3: 9).
III
Since it is of very great importance to us to be so thoroughly persuaded of the fatherly love of God, that we continue to glory in it without fear, Paul cites the price of our reconciliation in order to confirm God’s favours towards us. It is a notable and shining proof of His inestimable love that the Father did not hesitate to bestow His Son for our salvation. Paul therefore draws his argument from the greater to the less--since He had nothing dearer, more precious, or more excellent than His Son, He will neglect nothing which He foresees will be profitable to us. This passage ought to admonish and arouse us to consider what Christ brings to us with Himself, for as He is a pledge of God’s boundless love towards us, so He has not been sent to us void of blessings or empty-handed, but filled with all heavenly treasures, so that those who possess Him may not want anything that is necessary for their complete happiness (Comment on Romans 8: 32).
I approve of the common reading [of Isaiah 53: 11], that He alone bore the punishment of many, because the guilt of the whole world was laid upon Him. It is evident from other passages...that ‘many’ sometimes denotes ‘all’ ...That, then, is how our Lord Jesus bore the sins and iniquities of many. But in fact, this word ‘many’ is often as good as equivalent to ‘all’. And indeed, our Lord Jesus was offered to all the world. For it is not speaking of three or four when it says: ‘God so loved the world, that He spared not His only Son.’ But yet we must notice what the Evangelist adds in this passage: ‘That whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but obtain eternal life.’ Our Lord Jesus suffered for all and there is neither great nor small who is not inexcusable today, for we can obtain salvation in Him. Unbelievers who turn away from Him and who deprive themselves of Him by their malice are today doubly culpable. For how will they excuse their ingratitude in not receiving the blessing in which they could share by faith? And let us realize that if we come flocking to our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall not hinder one another and prevent Him being sufficient for each of us...Let us not fear to come to Him in great numbers, and each one of us bring his neighbours, seeing that He is sufficient to save us all (Sermons on Isaiah 53).
Let us fall down before the face of our good God...that it may please Him to grant His grace, not only to us, but also to all people and nations of the earth, bringing back all poor ignorant souls from the miserable bondage of error and darkness, to the right way of salvation (Calvin's usual end of sermon prayer).
HYMN
Dedicated to Calvin & the Huguenots, and all who suffer for Christ in every age.
By the Author (Rev Dr Alan C Clifford), based on Romans 8. Tune: Psalm 68 (Anglo-Genevan Psalter)
ALMIGHTY Father, Lord and King,
Your suffering saints unite to sing
With holy jubilation!
We worship now before your throne,
Rejoicing since we are your own
By merciful adoption;
Predestined to behold your face,
Chosen to know such matchless grace,
Our souls rejoice with trembling;
Confiding in your sovereign power,
We are secure from hour to hour,
For God, our God, is reigning!
2 Almighty Saviour, Son divine
In whom the Father's glories shine,
Accept our adoration;
Holy Redeemer, you have died,
We by your blood are justified,
Freed from all condemnation!
Jesus, our Prophet, Priest and King,
Your ransomed ones rejoice to sing,
Despite our tribulation;
We conquer through your mighty love,
We have the victory from above,
Blest by your intercession.
3 Almighty Spirit, by your breath
All God's elect are raised from death;
Blessèd regeneration!
Spirit of Christ, come reign within,
Subdue we pray, our every sin,
Receive our supplication;
Help us in our infirmity,
Strengthen the sons of liberty;
In earnest expectation,
May we with joy, and patiently,
Wait for the glory yet to be,
Assured of our redemption!
FINAL PRAYER
(John Calvin)
GRANT, Almighty God, that since we are here exposed to so many evils, which suddenly arise like violent tempests, - O grant, that with hearts raised up to heaven, we may yet acquiesce in Thy hidden providence, and be so tossed here and there, according to the judgement of our flesh, as yet to remain fixed in this truth, which Thou wouldst have us to believe--that all things are governed by Thee, and that nothing takes place except through Thy will, so that in the greatest confusions, we may always clearly see Thy hand, and that Thy counsel is altogether right, and perfectly and singularly wise and just; and may we ever call upon Thee and flee to this port--that we are tossed here and there in order that Thou mayest nevertheless always sustain us by Thine hand until we shall at length be received into that blessed rest which has been procured for us by the blood of Thine only-begotten Son. Amen.
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