18th April 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 8v5-7) 


Message (Scott Woodburn)


The Shulammite had turned her back on Solomon and his hareem. The daughters of Jerusalem urged her to return but just like Margaret Thatcher, the lady wasn't for turning. It might surprise you then that the Shulammite didn't ride off into the sunset with her beloved never to look back, instead in the final section of the Song, she returned arm in arm with her beloved (8v5).


She had found him under the apple tree at the very place he had been born (8v5b) and now she and the man of her dreams returned to speak wisdom to end the song. The Shulammite was no longer faced with a future in the King's hareem. She had refused his calls and turned away from a life of ease and in the final verses she urged the Shepherd to set her as a seal upon his heart and arm (8v6). What did she mean? Do you remember when you were a child you wrote your name on your belongings? You were declaring to the world and mostly your younger siblings that this item belonged to you. In the same way the Shulammite and the Shepherd were sealed to each other - they belonged to each other.


Solomon could boast of one thousand women but did he know any of them? Did his multitude of women actually belong to him heart and soul? What bound the Shulammite and Shepherd together wasn’t a financial agreement between a King and a young woman from a village. Instead their love was described as strong as death, fierce as the grave and white hot (8v6). If Solomon’s love was transactional and temporary, the love between the Shulammite and the Shepherd was permanent between two people committed to one another and absolutely unchanging. Left to our own devices we cannot defeat death and the grave’s hold on us is so fierce that it beats back everyone except Christ. This was the manner of the couple's love.


Furthermore their white hot love was “the very flame of the Lord.” (8v6b). This is the only reference to the Lord in the Song and it fittingly speaks of Him as a God of white hot love. When lightning strikes it heats the air around it to five times hotter than the sun’s surface and it is this same language which describes the love between the Shulammite and the Shepherd and higher still, the love of God Himself.


Water cannot quench such love, floods cannot sweep it away and it cannot be bought (8v7). This is true love and it is this that the Shulammite has been longing for throughout the Song of Solomon.


Brothers and sisters, our love will never match that of the Lord but nevertheless, we are to love each other passionately, fiercely with commitment and constancy. The hard heartedness must go, the commitment until something better must end and the lukewarm must be swapped for the white hot. Do you remember what Jesus once said? “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13v34-35). May it be so.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q45 Which is the first commandment? The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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17th April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Hebrews 11:13-16 Genesis 12:1-20 and 22:1-19


Message Alan Burke 


When Abraham and Sarah were given promises by God, they only saw a small part of their fulfilment. Abraham and Sarah exemplify those who did not receive the promises that they were given, for they were promised innumerable offspring, and they had to wait and wait until finally they were given Isaac by the Lord, but they died before being able to see the fulness of that promise that was given to them. Others too, Abel, Noah, Jacob, Isaac, all of these were looking forward to the hope that there is in the Christ that was promised by God himself. They were shaped by their faith, living according to the promises of God and looking to the hope that they had in Christ. In this, they understood that the promises of God speak of a hope that is beyond this life. 


They understood that they were waiting for what lies ahead. They lived with hope, but that hope is not here; it is not in the things that this life offers, for this is not our home. For in Christ, as we are reminded in Philippians 3: “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Phl 3:19–21).


That was the hope of Abraham, as he looked to the promises of God. His citizenship was in heaven, through the saviour, the Christ, the promised serpent crusher of Genesis 3:15. When people come to saving faith in the Christ, the promised one of God, then it changes their priorities; it transforms our lives. We become less concerned about this life and what we have and experience. To know what lies ahead is our hope. The struggle is keeping our eyes fixed upon that hope that we have, for satan will do all that he can to move our focus to something else. 


Yet we are reminded of the wonder of that hope we have every day; the fall should make us long for it, fractured relationships, the toil we face, the way that our bodies age and decay should make us all long for that better country, that is, a heavenly one where there shall be no more death, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Rev 21:4). Think how good that heavenly country is when God graciously blesses us in this life much more than we deserve. 


Also, before we move on, often when people consider heaven it is more like that which is portrayed in the Tom and Jerry cartoons that we grew up with, clouds, the big pearly gates, angels and harps and white robes. But we actually believe that after Christ's return the heavens and the earth will be restored to their pre-fall glory. The church, God’s people, will dwell with Christ and we will live in the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness dwells. Equally, we won't be floating around as spirits with no body - when Christ returns He will raise us to life. We will dwell in heaven with body and soul reunited forever. We believe in the resurrection and Abraham believed it too. And one day through faith we will be with our God, we will meet our forefather Abraham whom we are among his many descendants through faith in the Christ that he looked to and has come and will come again.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us?
A. The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.
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16th April 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 7v11-8v4) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


Although the third scene saw the Shulammite leaving Solomon behind, she was still not enjoying her happy ever after. She ran from the King and life in the hareem and as she found herself in the wilderness, she started to call for her beloved. "Come" she said, "Come to the garden and there I will give you my love." (7v11-13). The Shulammite was ready for love to finally blossom with the Shepherd but as she left Solomon in her rear-view mirror her true love was still nowhere to be found.


Chapter eight begins with an odd cry with the Shulammite saying "Oh that you were like a brother to me who nursed at my mother's breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me." (8v1). What was she saying? Did she want a brother or a lover? Imagine for a second that this was a woman taken from her love, kept from her love and told that she would have to give her love to someone else. As she ran from Solomon looking frantically for her Shepherd and not finding him, she wished that their love could be publicly acceptable like the love between siblings. If only her love was acceptable then no one would despise her and she would be able to take her love further.


With that thought in her mind she continued to imagine her Shepherd placing his left hand under her head and his right hand embracing her (8v3). Was she about to find her Shepherd? Were this couple about to be together at last? As scene three draws to a close we are left with something of a cliffhanger. The Shulammite has run off into the wilderness wishing things could be different but as the curtain closes she adjures the daughters of Jerusalem one last time saying "I adjure you O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases." (8v4).


By way of reminder, this adjuration is the woman telling those around her that it is still not time for love to blossom. She says "Don't stir up love, don't awaken it before the time is right, let anyone who goes against this be cursed." This adjuration is repeated three times in the Song and brings to an end the first three sections. Then once the adjuration has been stated the next section begins and a new figure appears on the stage.


If the Song were a movie the credits would be rolling and you would be encouraged to wait for the next film. What will happen? Will the couple be together? Will Solomon finally bed the Shulamite? We'll have to wait and see how the Song finishes but isn't that also the way in life? Where will we be in ten years? What will become of our family? Will we ever see an answer to those often repeated prayers?


We will certainly see a conclusion to the Song of Solomon but the conclusion to our own situation might take a little bit longer. Even so, as the Shulammite waited on her Shepherd, we wait on ours. Jesus is His name and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. Brothers and sisters, I do not wish to patronise you but I do promise that in Christ there will surely be a happy ever after.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q43 What is the preface to the ten commandments? The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
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15th April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Hebrews 11:8-10 Genesis 12:1-20 and 22:1-19


Message Alan Burke 


Let’s summarise where we were on Monday, just to jog your memory. Abraham, by faith, obeyed; he heard and followed the word of God. Faith is seen in obedience. Now, things weren’t plain sailing for Abraham when he tried to do a bit of DIY and, instead of looking to God, took things into his own hands. His own decision saw Pharaoh and his house greatly afflicted because of Abraham. Instead of being a blessing, Abraham became a curse. The reason why I wanted to take you through this is so that we understand that Hebrews isn’t about being like Abraham; rather, it is to “trust in the promises of God”. And Abraham’s indiscretions actually look quite tame to many of those who are listed here in Hebrews 11, but we will get to that at a later stage. 


It was by faith, Abraham nonetheless, through the many highs and lows, obeyed. Abraham went as God had called him; by faith, he went as God had called him. To the ‘Promised Land’. Though when he got there, what we are told is that he built an altar to the Lord (Gen 12:8), and when he came back from Egypt, he went to the place where his tent had been in the beginning (Gen 13:3). He didn’t start building a city to live in, nor did he go off like Lot and live in a city which worked out so well for Lot. No, Abraham lived in the Promised Land as one who was a sojourner, who was a nomad, a pilgrim, an alien, a stranger, one without a place to call home. 


The reason why he lived this way is a wonderful one, as we are told, that Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (Heb 11:10). Abraham had been given a wonderful promise by God, but his focus was not set on his earthly destination, what he would attain or accumulate over his lifetime; for Abraham knew that this world was not his home. The promised land was not his final destination; he understood more of the wonder of the promises of God than many of us do or want to. Abraham knew the hope of the one who followed God and how it was far greater than any fulfilment in this life. It was far greater than anything in this world has to offer. The hope of God’s people, those who by faith are His, is of a heavenly city. That is what we look forward to, the city whose foundations will never be shaken for it has been designed and built by God. 


You know the grand total of the promised land that Abraham received in this life? Well, it was his tomb where he was buried. He had flocks and servants, he had wealth, but he lived as one without a place to call home because he lived by faith and knew it’s not where he lived; what he owned was what mattered. How many of us live like this? We may not want to hear it, but there is an application here for us, one that we often miss: our lives here are but temporary; we are strangers, aliens in this world; it is not our home. As surely as we come into this world, we are going out of it. What matters is more than what we will attain or accumulate over this lifetime. By faith, instead, we are to look to what lies ahead more than we look and long for the things here; let’s stop building our own little kingdoms and look to build the Lord’s, all the while looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q42 What is the sum of the ten commandments?
A. The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.
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14th April 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Solomon 6v4-7v10) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


If I have understood the Song of Solomon correctly then in the third scene Solomon arrived from the wilderness to take the Shulammite as his new bride. He tried to woo her with smooth words and flattery with the daughters of Jerusalem also encouraging her to move on from her obsession with her beloved. The pressure on the Shulammite was great and even as she fell asleep her dream told her that her beloved was beyond her reach. What was she going to do?


When the morning came the Shulammite was still far from her beloved and Solomon was still outside the hareem calling her to his love carriage. The King told the Shulammite once more that she was beautiful, as beautiful as Jerusalem and as awesome as a mighty army (6v4). Indeed as far as he was concerned out of all the women he had ever loved she was the best. There were sixty queens and eighty concubines but she was the perfect one and his only one (6v8-9). I'm not sure how the daughters of Jerusalem felt when hearing this but perhaps it wasn't the first time that Solomon had told a woman she was his favourite.


The Shulammite wasn't swept away by the King's seduction but instead her reply hinted at how she found herself in the hareem in the first place. She was in the valley enjoying the beauty of nature when suddenly she found herself amongst the chariots of a prince (6v11-12). Was the Shulammite reminding the King that she was there against her will? Had Solomon's men swept her away to present her to their King? Whatever we are supposed to think about these verses the Shulammite has heard enough and she started to turn away from Solomon and life in the hareem. 


If the Song of Solomon was a play on a stage the Shulammite would be slowly but surely fading from view. How do we know? Because the daughters of Jerusalem begin to call upon her to return to them. They said "Return, return, O Shulammite, return, return, that we may look upon you." (6v13). But she doesn't listen. She has heard all that Solomon has had to say and she chooses her beloved.


It isn't desperately clear who answers the daughters of Jerusalem but I wonder if it is her beloved who rebukes the women saying "Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance before two armies?" (6v13b). In plain terms he reminds them that his love is not a show to be watched, not a painting to be viewed and not a notch to be added to a bedpost. It seems that she hears her beloved's voice and chooses to go to him.


Even so, Solomon tried one last time to convince her. He spoke of her feet, thighs, navel, neck and breasts (7v1-9). The King wanted this woman and she was about to slip through his fingers. But the Shulammite wouldn't be turned and as she left to find her beloved she reminded Solomon "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me." (7v10).


It is never easy to go against the grain and never straightforward to make a choice that everyone else thinks madness. Yet, the Shulammite did exactly that and gives us encouragement to refuse the seductive calls of this world. I'm reminded of Eric Liddell who refused to compete at the 1924 Olympics on a Sunday. His stance was seen as madness but he took great encouragement from a message passed to him which read "In the old book it says: 'He that honours me I will honour.' (1 Samuel 2v30) Wishing you the best of success always."


Brothers and sisters, honour Christ even when everyone thinks you are mad. May His call silence the world's seductive voice.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q41 Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.
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13th April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read - Hebrews 11:8-10 and Genesis 12:1-20


Message Alan Burke 


How’s the diary looking this weather? I remember the days when I had a physical diary. I even have a mate who still uses one, and he went all out and got what I thought was a novelty oversized diary to make a point. Although I learnt that it was purchased online and it was simply a mistake. I’m not wanting to start by taking about mistakes, but we all like, in a sense, to know what is ahead. A diary is a useful tool in helping you plan, yet we all know that our plans often don’t work out the way we intended. How could you cope though if you were told to throw the diary away, to leave everything you were doing, most of those whom you knew and loved, leave most of what you had behind, and not even be told to go and not even told where you were going? I’d say that most of us would reject it outright. After all, who’s going to feed the dog, what about the electric bill and the lawn? 


The faith of Abraham is remarkable. He was one who was called by God, and by faith, he obeyed. He was one that lived without any certainties about what tomorrow would bring, yet he didn’t live his life preoccupied with the now and the future of this life. He was far more concerned with something far better. He could see through faith something far better for all those who believe in Christ. 


Today I want us to think of how ‘faith is seen in obedience’. For that is the first thing that we are told about Abraham here in Hebrews 11. He obeyed, he went out not knowing where he was going. For Abraham obeyed when he was called by God, he heard and responded to the word of God. In this, we are reminded of what the nature of faith is. It is not just trusting in God, trusting that He will keep His word. It is seen in how someone responds to the word of God, what they do with the word of God. Faith is seen in obedience. Hearing and obeying the word of God.


Now, that isn’t that surprising, or it shouldn’t be that surprising, that faith means obedience, living in response to the word of God. That is how we are to live, to be those who hear and respond, those who hear and obey. Not only in those things that are easy for us but in the things that are hard. For those who have faith, those who trust in God, act on the word of God. Abraham was commanded to go, and he had no idea where he was going other than it was where God told him to go, so he went.


Now, the reason why I keep mentioning how the message of Hebrews 11, which is often known as the Heroes of the Faith, is not “be like” rather it is to “trust in the promises of God” is because, well, if you know anything of the account of Abraham, you’ll know that immediately after he was called by God, that yes, Abraham went, but when the rubber hit the road and Abraham’s faith was tested for the very first time, instead of turning to God, he tried some DIY, to do it himself. He went to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan (Gen 12:12-20). There was seeking the Lord in the decision, and then when he gets there, he passes off Sarah, his wife, as his sister and says nothing about it.


In that whole affair, the issue is that Abraham did it his way, in his own strength, without God. In the end, while God promised Abram that he would be a blessing to the nations, Abraham’s own decision saw Pharaoh and his house greatly afflicted because of Abraham. Rather than a blessing, Abraham becomes a curse to the nation of Egypt. In the situation he found himself, he took the easy way out, rather than turning to God. Abraham trusted in his own wisdom and knowledge, thinking up a plan where he would be alright. And the good news is Abraham learnt from all of this, and he didn’t do it again. Actually, he did the same thing all over again with Abimelech (Genesis 20). In spite of it, though, there is the wonderful assurance that God still keeps His promises. That is not an excuse to live as we see fit but the knowledge that God’s plans are fulfilled in spite of human failures and disobedience. God is faithful when we are faithless. This is a recurring theme throughout scripture, but what we are called to is obedience, to faithfulness, and our faithfulness matters not only to us but to all people.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q40 What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?
A. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law.
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11th April 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 5v10-6v2)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


I've tried to suggest over the past few devotions that the Song of Solomon teaches us that our relationships with others should be built on friendship and the marriage relationship alone should enjoy passion in the bedroom. But there is something much more fundamental and foundational to our relationships.


Many years ago I knew a young man who turned his back on the faith. When I spoke to him to find out a little bit more of his story, he told me that he had left the faith behind when his friendship with another Christian ended. The other Christian had been hugely influential in the young man's life and eventually helped the young man come to Jesus. Even so, when the friendship changed, the young man saw no further need to continue with the Lord. His relationship with Christ was dictated by his relationship with a friend. It should never have been like that and sadly the last I heard of the young man suggested he had walked away and never turned back.


So before the friendship develops and the physical intimacy blossoms, allow me to suggest that you ask a simple question - "Does this person love the Lord more than they love me?" Before you are captivated by that handsome guy who threatens to sweep you off your feet - how much does he love Christ? Before planning to propose to the woman of your dreams in Lapland this Christmas - how much does she love Christ?


If our relationships are to develop as we all would like, we must consider the state of our own relationship with Jesus. If Mrs Woodburn deserves my best then it must begin as I do regular business with the Lord. The heart that is captivated by the beauty of Christ is one which is ready to love others well.


Does this mean that those outside the faith can't have excellent marriages? Does this mean that non-Christians can't be faithful friends? No to both of these questions. God is good and He extends His common grace throughout the world - we see the Lord's fingerprints when even pagans act rightly (Romans 2v14-16). We should celebrate good marriages and relationships when we see them. 


But you and I are Christians and we are well aware of our sinful natures. Therefore, I think our primary relationship is the one that we have with Christ and when this relationship is right our other relationships benefit. Brothers and sisters, strive to be the most faithful friend you can be, ensure that your husband or wife always feels loved and enjoy the gift of sex within the marriage bed. But in marriage or friendship ensure that you keep the main thing the main thing - love Christ more than anyone else.




Pray (acTS)


Sing


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Q39 What is the duty which God requireth of man? The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.
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10th April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 Samuel 23:1-14 focus v14)


Message (Alan Burke)


Today we’re just going to focus on one verse, v14. Remember what is going on: David had intervened to save the people of Keilah from the Philistines. If Saul knew about their plight, he didn’t do anything about it. David, though, did; that was only after he inquired of the LORD before he went out against the Philistines, and the LORD told him to go, and he did. Through David, by the LORD’s leading, the people of Keilah were saved. The only thing was that because of it, Saul became aware of where David was, and he saw it as a God-given opportunity to finally put an end to David. He called up all his forces; remember, David had four hundred men when he entered Keilah, who were a motley crew of those who were in distress or in debt or discontented (1 Sa 22:2). He left Keilah with six hundred men, but Saul had three thousand; that’s a five-to-one advantage. Again, David inquired of the LORD, and it led him to leave Keilah and move from place to place. 


When Saul heard that David had escaped from Keilah, he searched for David, and it is the words “but God did not give David into his hands” that should stick out to us. David faced insurmountable odds against Saul, and the Lord saved David from the hand of Saul. In all that was unfolding, the Lord was sovereignly in control of all that was unfolding; David’s destiny was in the hands of the Lord. They had been led by the LORD himself.  Saul was king, but he wasn’t fit to be king; consumed by paranoia and hatred for David, he would have been unable to see that David was being protected by the LORD, that the LORD was at work even in the midst of all that was unfolding, that he was sovereignly directing all. For David, he had looked to the LORD, he had trusted in the word of the LORD, he had been saved by the LORD who was sovereignly at work in the midst of it all, but his life was far from rosy. He was a hunted man by a king who was consumed by paranoia and hatred. While David was the LORD’s anointed, he was king elect, yet he faced much hardship; do not miss this. 


Jesus taught his disciples, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you (Jn 15:18-19). David was a man of faith in the LORD through his promised Christ, and he faced anything but a life of ease. The Lord who numbers the days could have returned Saul to dust, but he didn’t, and through it all, David grew and grew in his relationship with the LORD, seeing that he needed to rely on him above all, inquiring of him in all that he faced. David was saved from Saul by the sovereign LORD, but David was saved for all eternity through his greater son. You know we can look at David, we can hold him up in this passage as an example, but the message of scripture and this passage is not to look to David; David made a right mess of many things. We must look to Christ Jesus, David’s greater son. The one in whom we are saved, not from the hands of Saul but from death and the pains of hell. For all who trust in the Christ, the word incarnate, they will know the LORD’s salvation.


Pray (acTS)


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Q 38 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A. At the resurrection, believers, being raised up to glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

9th April 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 5v10-6v2)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


In the last devotion I made the claim that physical intimacy is not the be all and end all. I suspect the world we find ourselves in might ask "What else is there?" Perhaps you know where I'm going with this and you have already noticed what else the Shulammite said about her beloved. She certainly wanted physical union with him but she also described him as her friend (5v16).


Why do we not extol physical intimacy above all things? For various reasons. Firstly, there comes a time in any marriage that there needs to be more than the physical act of sex. All of us get older and as we do the desire for physical intimacy lessens. Solomon would speak of this in Ecclesiastes 12 where he instructed us to remember God in our youth before we get older and "desire falls" (Ecclesiastes 12v5). A relationship should not be founded upon physical desire because eventually physical desire disappears.


Secondly, if marriage is where we should enjoy the gift of sex we must admit that not everyone will be married. Some people desire marriage and it never comes, others will get married and for all sorts of reasons the marriage ends and there are more still who are happily single and do not wish to be married or even in a relationship. None of this is wrong and we should not treat any of these circumstances with contempt.


So the Shulammite wanted to know the Shepherd physically but she also wanted his friendship and I put it to you that friendship should trump the physical in any relationship. Why? Because there will come a time that you are old and grey and the last thing on your mind will be taking your spouse to the bedroom.


As the daughters of Jerusalem asked "where has your beloved gone?" (6v1) we realise that the Shulammite was looking for more than a quick bit of fun in the bedroom. She wanted both physical and emotional intimacy and so she described her relationship in this way   "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." (6v3). Friends, take walks together, put away your phones and talk to one another, plan date nights and let nothing change them - strive to invest deeply into your partner who is also your best friend.


Brothers and sisters, may we enjoy such relationships in our lives. Marriages which are physically charged but built primarily on a friendship that will last throughout the ages and wider relationships with friends and family which we do not take for granted but work hard so that they are long lasting friendships. But there is something else which I think is the key to excellent relationships and by the grace of God we'll look at that next time.  


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Q37 What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection.
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8th April 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 Samuel 23:1-14 focus 2b-13)


Message (Alan Burke)


I was sitting in at the dentist not so long ago, and the person beside me was there with a glossy magazine, and they were reading their horoscope. You could tell they were nervous, and whatever the horoscope said, they were thinking through what it meant in light of the fact that they were about to go sit in the dentist chair. For a laugh, I thought I’d read through my horoscope for today for the entertainment value, and wow, it’s like some of the prophetic words I’ve heard about me by charismatics, vague, and I could, if I was gullible, be excited about it because everything this month is going to be amazing, but I know already it’s not. People look for direction in all kinds of things; we seek counsel and advice from those around us, maybe a financial adviser, or a travel agent, estate agent, family, friends; some people even turn to the horoscopes for all the good that does them. 


David, though, sought the Lord and his will; he looked to the word of the Lord. He enquired of the LORD, and the answer was given: David was to “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” It may not have been what David wanted to hear, but it was definitely not what his men wanted to hear. So David once more inquires of the LORD. The Word of the LORD was against what seemed wise to David’s men. From a human point of view, it was total foolishness, madness. It is the same today; the Word of the LORD declares the way of salvation, but the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18). David went; he trusted in the word of the LORD, and he and his men had the victory. 


Notice how we are told in v6 (Now Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah). Well, remember Saul had slaughtered the priests and inhabitants of Nob because of the aid they gave to David. Well, one of those priests was Ahimelech; he had helped David. And here we are told that his son Abiathar had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah. He hears of what David has done and he comes to him. 


An ephod was a fine linen garment that the priests wore over their garments. What Abiathar brought was the ephod of the Chief Priests, with the Urim and Thummim that were used to determine the LORD’s will. - The Urim and Thummim were some sort of sacred lot and were part of the high priest’s equipment that were used to discern the will of the LORD  (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; 1 Sam. 14:41–42). Not only did David have Gad the seer, but he also had the Urim and Thummim. The LORD was equipping David with everything he needed to rule as king, and he was stripping away everything from Saul, the rejected king, because of his own sinfulness. David was trusting in the LORD, and Saul was trusting in himself. And when Saul learns David had gone to Keilah, he sees it as a God-given opportunity, that God has handed David over to him, but he was wrong. 


We do not have a prophet like David had in Gad, we do not have an ephod with the Urim and Thummim. Hebrews 1 reminds us: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son… (Heb 1:1–2). God has spoken to us through his Son. His revelation is complete; we do not need anything more to determine the will of God. If you have your Bible, then you have the word of God, the word of God which is our only rule and guide, which teaches what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Look to it, trust in it, let your path in life be guided by it, for it will teach you the way of wisdom, to trust in God, to trust in his Christ (Jn 14:1).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q 36 What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
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