Well, this evening we're going to look at a catechism lesson from the larger catechism. We're going to look at question 108. 108, you can find that in the back of your hymnal on page 953. Larger catechism question 108 on page 953. What are the duties required in the second commandment? The duties required in the second commandment are the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire all such religious worship and ordinances as God has instituted in his word, particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ, the reading, preaching, and hearing of the word, the administration and receiving of the sacraments, church government and discipline, the ministry and maintenance thereof, religious fasting, swearing by the name of God and vowing unto Him, as also the disapproving, detesting, opposing, all false worship, and according to each one's place and calling, removing it along with all monuments of idolatry. In a world that offers endless forms of spiritual expressions, it can be tempting to believe that any way of worshiping God is acceptable so long as our intentions are sincere. But God's word, and especially the second commandment of God's holy law, reminds us that God not only cares who we worship, he cares how we worship. And question 108 provides us some really helpful biblical instruction about what God requires in worship, especially through the second commandment. At the heart of this lesson, at the heart of question 108, is the central truth that worship is not something we are free to define or free to work out according to our own preferences. God himself is the one who determines how he's to be worshiped. Now, notice the first thing our catechism teaches us is that the means of grace function as anchors in faithful worship, prayer, the Word, and sacrament. Let's look at those. First, it mentions prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ. Prayer is essential to Christian worship. Prayer is one of the most basic ways we relate to God. God breathes his word out to us. We breathe our word back to him. God speaks to us in the preaching of the word. We speak to him in prayer. It's central to our communion and fellowship with God. And the way we approach God in prayer, is not in our name or by our merits, but in the name of Jesus Christ. It's through Christ that we approach God, and it's in Him that we offer thanksgiving for all the good grace gifts we've received. And then again, it necessarily goes on to tell us that true worship will have the reading, the preaching, and the hearing of the Word. As I said, the Word of God is the foundation of our faith and therefore has to be the centerpiece of our worship. And if you look at our liturgy, you'll see how the Word of God functions and structures our covenant dialogue with God so that it's grounded in God's Word. And specifically, it's through the faithful reading and preaching of Scripture. that we understand God speaks to his people. And it's our duty to listen attentively. Any worship that's not word-centered is not true worship at all. And then there's administration of the sacraments, which, by the way, are visible words for us. And the sacraments we have in the New Testament are the two prescribed by Christ, baptism and the Lord's Supper. These are the visible signs and seals of God's covenant of grace. Baptism, it marks our entrance into the covenant community, and the Lord's Supper continually nourishes the faith of those who are in the covenant community as we partake spiritually of Christ's body and blood. That's why we do it every Lord's Day. And remember, the administration of the sacraments, it's more than just a ritual. It's more than just a memorial. It is a means of grace. It's that channel through which God communicates grace to us that he uses in such a way to strengthen and encourage our our hearts. Again, as I said, that's why it's important, we believe as a church, to practice the Lord's Supper regularly and reverently. Well, then the catechism mentions church, government, and discipline. We may not often think of these as aspects of worship, but they're critical to the life and health of a church. We've been talking about that a good bit in our morning sermons. God's ordained that His church be governed according to His word, and that includes the faithful discipline and exercise of God's people when they're wayward. The purity of the church matters. Purity matters in our personal lives, and it matters in our corporate life as a body of believers. And when church discipline is rightly practiced, it not only restores fallen sinners, but it preserves the holiness of God and keeps His worship undefiled. Well, this is a summary, really a wonderful summary. of what we ought to be doing in worship, what's biblically faithful worship. But notice the catechism doesn't stop there. It also tells true worshipers, those who worship in spirit and in truth, that we should actively oppose false worship. We're called to disapprove, detest, and oppose all false worship, and according to each one stationed in life, to work to remove it and to tear down all monuments of idolatry. And this aspect of the second commandment often gets overlooked in our age of tolerance and pluralism. But the truth is, dear, when God hates false worship, I have to say that again, because even though we're few, that doesn't resonate with people. God hates false worship. And here's the kicker for us. God expects us to hate it too. We can't be indifferent. to the errors of idolatry or the corruption of worship that would seek to blend paganism or human tradition with God's appointed means. Whether that involves bowing to images or mixing in superstitions or adopting some sort of man-made practice, it's the responsibility of God's people to stand firm for the purity of worship. This evening, when we return to our study of Israel's kings, we're going to be introduced to a fine Presbyterian named Josiah. Or at least we're going to see he was a fine Presbyterian regarding that last part of question 108, because his reign will begin with the disapproving, detesting, opposing of all false worship, and we're going to see in a very young king, a radical commitment to remove or destroy all monuments of idolatry. In 1537, Henry VIII and Jane Seymour gave birth to a son and gave him the name Edward, making him Edward VI. At the age of six, Young Edward began receiving a rigorous education, which, interesting enough, was overseen by a reformer named Thomas Cranmer. When Henry VIII unexpectedly died in 1547, Edward VI was made king. And what's interesting about that fact is that means he began his reign at the ripe old age of nine. Of course, at that point, he was still under the tutelage of advisors. And one of his chief advisors was his uncle Edward Seymour, who was Jane's brother. Edward Seymour, who bore the title of the first Duke of Somerset, was another who played an integral role in educating young Edward, and most importantly, in discipling him to be a committed Protestant. And from the earliest age, young Edward absorbed the teaching of the Reformation like a sponge. And so he zealously sought to advance the cause of Reformation, so much so that the meager six years in which he reigned are often described by historians as the period of the Edwardian Reformation. Amazing what a young, zealous man for Reformation. can accomplish. I want to take just a moment and mention a few of the reforms that took place during the reign of this young king. One of the first reforms is known as the Sacrament Act. When Catholic priests celebrate the Mass, only the priest drinks the communion wine. Congregants get the bread. They don't get the wine. That was what was going on pretty much in the history of the church in Europe. The Sacrament Act. said the church should offer both the bread and wine to God's people. Think about that. Prior to Edward, congregations didn't get the bread. After that, Edward ridded England of the Chantreys. Now, the Chantreys were actually religious organizations that provided religious education to the masses. The problem with these Chantreys is they taught false doctrines like purgatory, prayer for the dead, and other false teaching associated with Catholic dogma. And Edward shut them all down. The Chantreys had to go. Under the instruction of Thomas Cranmer, the first Book of Common Prayer was produced, which actually mandated that worship services in England would be in English rather than Latin. Again, we take that for granted, but that was a remarkable step in the process of Reformation in England. And he also took the first steps to see the mass reshaped more to what we would think of as the Lord's Supper. One final part of the Edwardian Reformation I'll mention is the push to rid the church of idolatry. Many Catholic churches were and still are adorned with statues of the Virgin Mary. And there was extravagant religious paraphernalia all over the landscape of Europe. And people used that for superstitious religious practices. And Edward had them all destroyed and removed. After that, there were several formal acts and injunctions that mandated the removal of any and all religious accoutrements that were in the public square if people were using them for worship or in some way venerating the images. It's interesting. Although it was written almost 100 years in the future, Edwards' reforms show us what an application of that latter part of Question 108 looks like. disapproving, detesting, opposing all false worship, and according to each one's place, in his case, he was the king, that was his place, removing all those forms of idolatry. That's what he did. And there are countless other areas where he sought reformation that time won't allow me to mention. But it is worth pointing out, I think, that Edward's reforms caught the attention of another reformer, who you are certainly familiar with, a fellow by the name of John Calvin. Calvin semi-regularly corresponded with Edward's uncle, the Duke of Somerset. And he wrote at least two letters directly to King Edward. And he dedicated three of his commentaries to this young king, commentary on Isaiah, his commentary on the general epistles, as well as his commentary on Psalm 78. And those letters and those dedications were to urge young Edward to stay the course of the Reformation. In one of his letters, he wrote to the king, here I expressly call upon you, most excellent king, charging you to proceed to the utmost of your ability and power and carrying forward the restoration of the church which had been so successfully begun in your kingdom." One of the greatest demonstrations of Calvin's affection and respect for Edward, though, was found in one of the ways he referred to Edward. He called him our Josiah. That's how he saw King Edward. Certainly, Calvin used this designation because he saw in Edward a young man zealous for reformation. And as we return to our study this evening, we're gonna see just what high praise that was for Edward because without a doubt, one of the things we're gonna learn about Josiah is this was a young man zealous for reformation. So let's seek the Lord's face and we'll get to work. Pray with me once more. Our great God in heaven, we thank you that throughout the history of your church you have raised up faithful men and women who sought the reformation of the church because they loved you. But this evening we get an opportunity to study an occasion that we know is perfectly true We don't have to question any historical details because it's in your word. And we get the opportunity to learn about a man, a young man, who was zealous for reformation. Help us to learn from that, oh God. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let me ask you to open up your copy of scripture to 2 Chronicles 34. 2 Chronicles, that's the part of your Bible that's still got a lot of gold on it. 2 Chronicles 34. We're gonna read verses one through seven. As I said previously, before we began this evening, we're gonna be bouncing back a little bit to get a comprehensive picture of Josiah's reign. This is the earliest part of it. that's recorded for us here in 2 Chronicles 34. We're going to begin reading in verse 1. This is the true word of the living God. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. And in the twelfth year, He began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down. And the wooden image, the carved images, and the molded images he broke into pieces and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and around with axes. When he had broken down the altars in wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. Well, the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. May it bless it to our hearts this evening. Well, dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our passage begins with a remarkable fact. Josiah was only eight years old when he became king. Certainly very much like King Edward, he would have had advisors helping him. One of the things we want to acknowledge is that when he took the throne, Judah was marked by idolatry and spiritual darkness. Josiah's father, Ammon, and his grandfather, Manasseh, were among the most wicked kings in Judah's history. Under Manasseh, there was gross idolatry, perverse worship, rampant immorality, and even child sacrifices performed by the king. And while we learned that Manasseh repented later in life, the damage had been done. Josiah's inheritance was a nation steeped in paganism and sin, yet despite this dark legacy, Young Josiah is going to engage in a spectacular work of reformation. He wanted all 31 of his years on the throne to bring glory to the name of Yahweh. And no doubt that's the catalyst behind the glowing word of commendation that he's given there in verse 2. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right hand. or to the left. Now, there are a couple kings previously in 2 Chronicles that are compared to David. One positive, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, another positive, and one negative, Ahaz. So it's not uncommon. But only Josiah has this designation. He didn't turn aside to the right hand or to the left. And this is important language. No other king has this designation. It's important language because in Deuteronomy 28, not turning to the right or left was a way of describing an uncompromising commitment to God's law. and even more significantly. You may remember, it's been some months back, but we've looked at it on and off as we've studied the kings. In Deuteronomy 17, Moses provides instructions about Israel's future kings. Moses tells the Israelites when they get into the land and they want a king, there's a number of things that the king has to do. One of the things the king was responsible to do when he took the throne was to write out his own copy of God's law. And this was in part so they could internalize it, but it was also, we're told in Deuteronomy 17, so that they could read God's law all the days of their life. That's how central God's law was to the kingship in Israel according to God's plan. And in Deuteronomy 17 20, it says that having written it out, this will be a way that will help the king not turn to the right hand or to the left. Again, that's Deuteronomy 17.20. Josiah is the first king in Israel's history that actually has this ascribed to him. So he's being presented here as a model king. And something we're going to see as we work through Josiah is in some spectacular ways, he points to the great king of kings, the greater Josiah, even Lord Jesus. Now, I want to mention something here. We're going to see next week that Josiah's reforms are not gonna deter God from judging Judah. Judah has exhausted God's patience. Here's what we need to know sort of upfront. Even when Josiah learns this, do you know what he's gonna do? He's gonna press on to reform worship. Think about that. He's going to be told that Judah and Jerusalem will be devastated. He's going to be told that they're going to be carried off into captivity. He's going to be told that nothing he does will change that. And yet his tender heart was so captivated for the glory of Yahweh, he still pursues reformation. Think about that. I mean, if you and I were in that situation, we might be inclined to say, well, no reason to put any real effort in these reforms. It's all over anyway. But that's not how a man like Josiah thinks, even as a boy. What a powerful picture of faithfulness and determination. Because his obedience isn't grounded in that moral climate he inherited. It's grounded in his passion to worship the true God according to truth. And as I was thinking about this throughout the week, I kept thinking, what a timely example for us. I regularly hear prominent church leaders say something to this effect. We're living in West Michigan, where the gospel's just been burned over in this land. There's no reason to think that serious efforts of evangelization will work. Or I've heard church leaders, very prominent evangelical leaders, and very prominent reform leaders say, you know, our community, or our region, or our nation, they're just going to hell in a handbasket. There's no reason to waste any time thinking about reformation. Just let it fall off the abyss. I'm baffled by that attitude for a couple reasons. First, they don't know it. Since God hasn't told us, it's not a foregone conclusion, and we shouldn't doubt that he can still work a great reformation through his faithful saints. And second, and this is the big issue, we're not called to obedience to get a desired outcome, right? There's no carrot at the end of our obedience other than adoring God. We're called to obedience because the one calling us to obedience is our God. He is our creator. He is our redeemer, right? Whether you're witnessing to the lost or promoting righteousness in your home and your family or promoting righteousness in the public square, our obedience and our responsibilities aren't conditioned upon being in the right moral climate. We obey. because we love Him, and we love Him because He first loved us. And if that doesn't motivate obedience, then we're in need of a heart check, aren't we? Oh, that God would raise up mighty men and women of God who'll not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Well, Josiah took the throne when he was only eight, but obviously his spiritual awakening took place some eight years later when he was 16. Look there at the first half of verse three. For in the eighth year of his reign, so again, that makes him 16, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. Again, this tells us we're dealing with a very special young man who's obviously the recipient of God's special sovereign grace. And one of the first things we notice. that's an evidence of God's grace at work in the life of a believer, is he's not pursuing some vague ideas of spirituality. He's not pursuing some inclination he has to be a little bit more religious. He's seeking the true God, the God of his father David, the one true saving God. That's who's on his heart. That's who he wants to reform for. Isn't it amazing? At an age when many young people are thinking about trivial matters, his heart longed to seek after and follow the true and living God. And let me just mention something sort of peripherally at this point. There are two errors we can fall into. One is to think, well, this is what a 16-year-old should be like. Well, no, this is a very special 16-year-old. But the other error is thinking that God doesn't still raise up young men who are powerful and mighty men of God at a very early age, and we shouldn't shy away from that very real possibility. One of the things we learn from Josiah is that moral conditions around us don't dictate how we respond to God. We also learn age doesn't dictate when a person will truly be sold out to serve his great king. At 16 years old, his priorities are in order. But it was at the age of 20, it was really at the age of 20 that he began developing his Presbyterian mojo. At 20, we see in King Josiah, the disapproving, detesting, opposing of all false worship, and a radical commitment to remove or destroy all monuments of idolatry." Look there at the rest of verse 3, in the 12th year. So now, he's 20 years old. He began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. So he's 20, and he intends to go on an idol-smashing rampage through the land. I love this guy, right? He begins to take bold action to cleanse the nation of her rampant idolatry. Again, you can see that Ammon, his father, had reinfested the land with every conceivable idol. It was like an idol supermarket. Just walk down the aisle and pick the one you want. And Josiah, his heart is intent on cleaning them all up. Now, I'm not gonna work through the specific idols. If you have questions, you can ask me, but I defined them about a month and a half ago when we were working through Hezekiah, and I actually defined them again a couple weeks ago in our study. But what's striking here is the decisiveness of Josiah's action. He doesn't just issue a decree or send officials to tear down the altars. No, he's personally involved in this process. Don't miss this. The text says, when they chopped down the altars of Baal, it was in his presence. And then if you read through the text, all this idol-smashing is going on. And he's right there leading the charge. And not until it's all finished does he go back to Jerusalem, right? So he's not a king who has some ideas. Let's think about some righteous ideas. No, he's out there doing the work. He's right there Johnny-on-the-spot smashing idols, right? This is not a passive act. for Josiah. He's on the front lines of the spiritual battle. He's overseeing and participating in the destruction of idolatry in his land. This is an important aspect, I think, of true reformation. What we see in Josiah, that is a courage to go out, confront sin, especially the sin of idolatry. Not to necessarily expect someone else to do it, but to actually do it, right? Whether that's proclaiming the gospel to someone whose heart is embracing an idol and they need salvation, or promoting Christ in the public square as the king. It's something we're called to do. Josiah, as the king, could have rightly said, you do it, and you do that over there, and you guys, you handle that. No, he was right there, destroying idols. And of course, when we think of idols, we ought not to just think about the idols that are out there in the culture. Idols aren't just made of wood and stone. They're anything that takes the place of God in our own hearts. And we all have those idols, whether it's the idol of material success that drowns out other important issues, the idol of people pleasing, the idol of wanting comfort more than anything else, or control. We all have high places in our hearts, and those have to be slain first. But Josiah, This guy is out and about destroying idols. And he didn't stop with simply removing the altars. We're told he broke them into pieces, he burned them, he scattered the remains. In a dramatic gesture, he scattered the dust of the idols over the graves of those who had worshiped him. And this was a powerful symbolic act showing that idols were not only powerless, but they belonged with the dead. This is what true reform looks like. destroying sin so thoroughly that there's no chance for it to be resurrection. But it's interesting, verse five where it says, he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. This is actually a fulfillment. of a prophecy that's found back in 1 Kings 13. You remember that unnamed prophet. You can go back and look this up later. In 1 Kings 13, there's an unnamed prophet who told Jeroboam that his experiment with idolatry was going to bring the Lord's wrath on Israel. And the prophet said to Jeroboam, this is a couple hundred years earlier, that a son and a king from the lineage of David named Josiah would be born and that he would sacrifice the priests of the high places who are making burnt offerings and scatter their bone, excuse me, and scatter the dust over their graves. That's being fulfilled in the reign of Josiah. When you move into verses six and seven, one of the most remarkable things about this reformation is that it's not simply confined to Judah and Jerusalem. And this really ought to tell us something of the zeal that characterized this young man's heart. He's not satisfied to simply reform Judah and Jerusalem. He takes this into the territories of the Northern Kingdom as far as Naphtali. And this is significant, right? Because we know the Northern Kingdom of Israel, it's already fallen to the Assyrians. Again, but this is his heart. It's for God, it's for faithfulness, not whether or not he'll be successful. Those lands were in ruins, much of the population had been exiled, but he doesn't see them as beyond hope. He goes, he labors, he extends his reforms to places that almost anybody else would have written off. Again, this teaches us something else that's important about the nature of reform, true reform. If we believe in God's power, again, at this point, Josiah doesn't know that none of these will be successful, but he will, and he'll continue doing this. This teaches us something important about the nature of biblical reform. It ought to know no boundaries. Josiah's heart was not content with purging idolatry just in his own country. He longed to see all of the promised land cleansed and restored to true worship. And oh, how we need that expansive vision in our day. Almost every morning, I pray for personal holiness for us. I think I did this evening, perhaps, because it's vital. We ought to be men and women of God whose lives and families are shaped by holiness. But we're not just called to seek personal holiness. We're called to see the gospel of the kingdom advance. to the ends of the earth. We're called to bring the hope of reformation to places that are spiritually desolate. And we can't afford to be content with half-hearted measures. Josiah didn't just tear down a few altars or trim back a few of the idolatrous practices. He demolished them. He beat the ashlarim into powder. His actions show us when it comes to sin and idolatry, compromise is not an option. And if we want to see reformation in our own hearts, our own lives of holiness, in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, we've got to be willing to pursue a radical thorough cleansing of anything that stands in the way of true worship. Well, this is a heart of a true reformer, isn't it? And look what it began with, his heart was seeking God. And it's the seeking that led to bold action. He tore down idols and then he returned to Jerusalem. Why is that significant? It shows us that true reform is always rooted in worship. After all that cleansing, Josiah goes back to the heart of God's city. the place where God's temple stood. Again, this is not just a political act, but a spiritual one. These reforms were not about just pure, mere moralism. They were about restoring the people of God to right worship of their holy God. Josiah's story, as we're going to find out, is one of courage, conviction, and passion for the glory of God. And even in this brief account this evening, you know what we see? A little picture of Jesus. One of Jesus' first acts was to go to the temple and cleanse it, to cleanse it of man-made practices and idolatry. One of Jesus' final actions of his earthly ministry will be to go back to the temple to cleanse it from idolatry. And ultimately, when Jesus went to the cross to die for us, it was to cleanse our hearts from idolatry. That's the great cleansing that we all need. And that's the cleansing we have in the Lord Jesus. Amen. Well, I'll give you a moment to ask any questions if you have any, or comments. Naftali's here. If you're looking, Manasseh's here. Ephraim is a couple different places, depending on different periods of history. Yeah, yeah. So Ephraim is the one that's, I wouldn't want to say it's right here, because Ephraim sometime is spoken of the northern kingdom, sometime it's spoken of, northernmost part of the northern kingdom, sometimes it's spoken of that area just above, just above the tribe of Benjamin. But the point was Neftali is pretty much tippy top north. That was the big issue, way up there. It's remarkable that he went up there too, I can say. Any other questions, comments? You guys have sons, Josiah's a good name. Just kidding. No, not really. It's a good name. What's that? It's on the list. It's on the list. There you go. Any other comments or questions? The groves yeah, I'm not sure what the groves means in the King James, but the wooden images here It's actually the Hebrew word Asherah right in it. So it's it's the goddess Asherah. This was the consort of Baal, the one who, you know, was Baal's romantic sexual partner. So, yeah, weird stuff. And again, I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, that that was one of the things they did at the Baal and Asherah temples. That's why they had ritual prostitution there. Basically, you would go there and you would reenact with one of those cult prostitutes what you wanted Baal and Asherah to do, and through their consummation it would produce whatever good thing you wanted. I don't know how familiar you guys are with Mormon. I'm trying to say it in a way that's delicate. I don't know how familiar you guys are with Mormon theology, but one of the teachings of Mormon theology is that, you know... Men can become as God is, and as God is, men once were, that sort of thing. And the whole idea of becoming a true saint in the Mormon religion is to be a God-like figure that has just a throng of brides with which you have celestial sex and repopulate your own planets. And I remember my wife said once very wisely, that's a religion thought up by men, right? And you can tell that's the case with the Baal and Asherahs too, so. Any other questions, comments? Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We're so thankful for the opportunity to see the life of a great reformer. We often think about the reformers of the 16th century, and we do praise you for them. But how much more do we learn from this great reformer? Those who labored, not necessarily for victory, but simply for your glory. What a lesson that teaches us. Again, we pray that we are blessed as we think on these sayings and that it encourages us to zeal. Grant us this we ask in Jesus' name, amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. And all of God's people said, amen.