Sunday's Hymn: Come Thou Almighty King

Come, thou Almighty King,
Help us thy name to sing,
Help us to praise:
Father, all glorious,
O’er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of days.

Come, thou Incarnate Word,
Gird on thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend:
Come and thy people bless,
And give thy Word success;
Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.

Come, Holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour:
Thou who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart,
And ne’er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

To the great One in Three
Eternal praises be,
Hence evermore.
His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Not What My Hands Have Done at By Grace Alone
• All Beautiful the March of Days at Graces Daily
• Eternal Father, Strong to Save at The Happy Wonderer
• Lord, Help Us Understand the Times from Trevin Wax
• Knowledge vs understanding at Blogging Theologically
• Lifting Up Our Hearts - 36 at The Upward Call
• Love in Our Hearts at Tried With Fire
• Lord’s Day 33, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: “Tell them that again” at Pyromaniacs

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Thankful Thursday

Join me in thanking God for this past week’s blessings.

This week, I’ve been thankful 

• that my son has a laptop to lend me during the 7-10 days I’ll be without my own. 
• for the work my other son has done restoring the rotting sections of my fence. 
• for this summer, even with its mediocre weather; for time spent outdoors gardening, hiking, and playing with the grandchildren. 
• for joy.
• for a few problems solved and a few new opportunities.
• for health and energy and joy. The older I get the more I appreciate these gifts from God.
• for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; for one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

Also thankful today:

• Persis
• Kim Shay

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment with your thanksgiving, post your thanksgiving on your blog, or tweet it. Give me the link by email or in a comment and I’ll add your thanksgiving to the list in the post.

Theological Term of the Week

panentheism
“[T]he view that God encompasses everything that exists, including the universe we inhabit, yet there is more to God than just the universe,” so that “the universe is part of God.”1

• Scriptural evidence against panentheism:

… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … (Romans 3:23 ESV) (If God encompasses everything that exists including all of us, then he encompasses evil, since we have all sinned.)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV) (This verse says God doesn’t change, but a panentheistic god would change as the universe changes.)

• From the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 2, Section 2. (A biblical Christian view of the relationship between God and the universe.)

  God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them: he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open and manifest; his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature; so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain.

Click to read more ...