Many of the elements in this morning’s worship service focus on God’s care for the least of His people and our call to serve one another as the Church. We’ll sing from Psalm 146 that God daily gives food to the hungry and “helps the fatherless and widow” (Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah—Psalm 146), and we’ll hear His call from Psalm 82 for the powerful on the earth to “give justice to the fatherless, defend the poor, distressed” (Arise, O God—Psalm 82). We’ll read the requirements for a deacon laid out in the Scriptures (1 Timothy 3:8-13), as well as the establishment of the first diaconate (Act 6:1-7) to provide for the needs of widows in the Jerusalem church. One hymn will challenge us to “give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of Kings” (Rise Up, O Men Of God!), while another will function as a prayer for strength to serve our Lord and His church in practical, tangible ways (Awake, My Zeal; Awake, My Love). We’ll confess our need to lean on His gracious store in times of hunger (Calm Content), and we’ll give thanks that our Father has provided all that our hands might need (Great Is Thy Faithfulness). The service concludes in much the same way as the Acts 6 passage we read earlier: we’ll declare our hope that the Word of God shall continue to increase and the number of the disciples multiply. The weary shall find rest, and the sons of want shall receive blessing in a kingdom that stretches from shore to shore (Jesus Shall Reign).
—Henry C. Haffner