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Hi everyone! I trust you’re having a good week once again. It’s hard to believe this is the last full week of August—but I won’t say too much about that, because I know some of you are grieving the passing of summer and I don’t want to pour salt on the wound. Let’s just remind ourselves that it’s another day that the Lord has made, and there are plenty of things we can rejoice and be glad about.

This past Sunday we looked at Psalm 16, and I observed that this psalm is a great example of how a person prays when they love God “with all their heart.” When it came time to apply the message, I suggested that it’s a good practice to look through Psalm 16 and ask myself: “Can I really, honestly pray these things and mean them today?” I’ve been trying to do that, and have found it a very good spiritual exercise. After all, I do want to love my Lord with all my heart. This psalm is a useful diagnostic to see how it’s going. (I stand by my recommendation that it’s a good practice for all of us.) 

In the process my mind has been drawn to yet another old hymn. It’s been open on my desk for several days this week, and I thought it couldn’t hurt to share it with you. Here are some of the most relevant verses:

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart.
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art
And help me love Thee as I ought to love.

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasy,
No sudden rending of the veil of clay,
No angel visitant, no opening skies;
But take the dimness of my soul away.

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own – soul, heart, and strength, and mind!
I see Thy cross, there teach my heart to cling;
O let me seek Thee, and O let me find!

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The baptism of the heaven-descended Dove,
My heart an alter, and Thy love the flame.

Pardon the “thee’s” and “thou’s” from the old English, but the message is still a good one. We need the Spirit of God to work in our hearts if we’re really going to be all-in for our Lord, loving Him with every bit of heart, soul, mind, and strength. May it be true for all of us, more and more!

This coming Sunday we’ll finish the summer series in the Psalms with one last song from that wonderful collection. We’re going to look at one of the shortest: Psalm 133. It’s only 3 verses long! But it’s full of good things. I think it’s also a very appropriate Psalm for a baptism Sunday—though I’ll wait until Sunday morning to try to explain why. (Please do remember to pray for those who are going to be baptized when we gather.)

By all means, take a look at Psalm 133 again this week. For most of us it will be very familiar. In particular, people usually recognize verse 1, which talks about how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. That’s extremely important, and the reminder is always good for us. At the same time, we tend to ignore verses 2 and 3. So you will perhaps not be surprised to hear that I’m going to give them some attention in this week’s message.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a great week. May it be summery and enjoyable, whether we get rain or sun. Richest blessings, and we’ll see you soon.

—Pastor Ken