Well, before we begin this morning, I think it would be honoring to God for us all to stand and sing that great Rolling Stones hit, I Can't Get No Satisfaction. You know, if you feel the Holy Spirit move, you can get up and dance, too. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. The sign out says it's the Presbyterian Church, right? We don't do those things. Well, why not? There are churches that do things like that. I once watched Robert Shuler's television show. I'm sure you've watched the Crystal Cathedral and all that. By the way, he was ordained in the Christian Reformed Church, I believe. He was ordained in what was at one time a conservative Reformed Church. But anyway, his televised service had a celebrity up there. Believe it or not, he was singing, I Did It My Way in the worship service. Now, if we're not to sing, I Can't Get No Satisfaction, is it because it's not a Christian song? Well, how about a song from a Christian rock group? Why can't we do that? I mean, there are a lot of churches that feature so-called Christian rock in their worship services. Well, maybe you don't even think Christian rock honors God. How about a Christian folk song? Kind of quiet, strumming along with the guitar. I mean those are basically what are called praise songs in a lot of churches. They focus almost exclusively on what God has done for the person singing. If you ever sang a praise song or are familiar with praise songs, you look at that and that kind of focus is on the person. But it's basically a Christian folk song. Even most churches that call themselves reformed churches, conservative, Presbyterian, reformed churches, sing them in their worship service. If you don't want to change our song, how about lighting some candles? Surely some candles wouldn't hurt. It would be pretty. Maybe next time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, to show our hard attitude, maybe we should kneel. Surely that would honor the Lord. There can't be anything wrong with kneeling before the Lord in a worship service. Now these are the kinds of decisions that church leaders face all the time. There are some churches that play rock music, some churches where people dance in the aisle, some where they speak in tongues, some where they roll around on the floor. Ever heard of the Toronto Blessing, where people laugh? The preacher will get up and he'll start laughing and some people will start laughing and they say, it's holy laughter, the Holy Spirit is moving us. At one time in this country, along the Kentucky border, they had an outbreak of what they called a revival, and it was characterized by people getting on all fours and barking like dogs. I'm not kidding you. So there are some churches where people handle poisonous snakes. They say that's honoring to God. Some kneel down, cross themselves, light candles, have holy water, burn incense. Some sing praise songs, some have guitars and drums and big speakers. Maybe this church has a calliope, I wouldn't be surprised. But a lot of churches do all sorts of things we don't do in Reformation Presbytery Church. Why is that? Is it just a matter of our worship style? You know, we're more conservative, we're stuffy, we're God's frozen people, not chosen but frozen. Maybe that's why we don't do those kinds of things. Should you choose a church based on their worship style? What do you find most comfortable? What do you like the best? Where do you feel the most spiritual? Lots of churches have a contemporary service and a traditional service. Many would have what they call a blended service of the two. Some add a youth service with rock music so you can kind of pick the one you feel most spiritual about. At least one church has a Generation X service, which they call it. They say it's edgier. It's what they say, edgier in the music and in the dress. Kerrville has a biker church. Kerrville has a cowboy church. They can get those two together for a rumble. But all of these are marketing techniques to attract the most people, aren't they? And that's really what it's all about. Now why aren't we doing things like that in this church? Wouldn't we have a lot more people here? Now the biker's taken and the cowboy's taken, so we're going to have to come up with something different. You know, the big thing in churches today, even in churches in supposedly conservative denominations like the Presbyterian Church in America, is having a praise team with microphones and speakers and tambourines and guitars and horns and such. Now where's our praise team? Wouldn't we get more people? I read recently about Philip Noble. He is an Anglican priest from Scotland. He is an evangelist. He is also a clown minister. I saw his picture. He dresses up in a clown suit with a big red nose and all the makeup and everything and conducts his service and does acrobatics. People flock to his church because it is almost as much fun as being at the service. And it's free, too. So maybe I should get a clown suit for next week. Aren't we supposed to do everything we can to reach people for Christ? Isn't that the bottom line? Get them in and reach them for Christ. Well, no. We are here to worship God. Yes, we are here to reach people for Christ, but our number one duty is to worship God. There is a whole industry of church growth consultants. People make a lot of money. to go around the country giving seminars on how to grow your church by these kinds of things. Jazz up the worship services with more exciting music and stage plays, puppet shows and having famous athletes as guest preachers and the like. Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, anybody ever heard of that one? Between 16,000 and 17,000 people worship there every Sunday. Their services have stage plays, they have multimedia, lighting, and it's very entertaining. One website bills itself as the idea source for developing creative church services. They have lists. You can pick and choose. Column A has the theme of the worship service for next Sunday. Column B, you can pick your music. This is for pastors now. You can pick your music. Column C, it will give you a sermon. Now the Internet can design our worship. Pastor doesn't have to do much of anything. It's also popular to have a church slogan. I know of one church that calls itself the church for hurting people. I think about that. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to go to a church unless it hurt me. Dr. Gordon Clark tells of a Christmas service in which part of the so-called worship was performed by a troupe of ballet dancers. Clark wrote, quote, when I remarked upon being pressed for an opinion that ballet was a bit incongruous with divine worship, one of the ministers replied that any exercise that stimulates love of humanity is appropriate in church. Then I tried to tell him of the Puritan principle, of the law of God, from which we should not turn aside either to the right hand or the left. And since this minister talked about love versus law, I quoted, if you love me, keep my commandments. But he concluded the conversation politely enough by saying that my viewpoint appeared legalistic to him. Well, there are two essential questions about worship that have been debated for hundreds of years. Two questions. What's the proper way to worship God? And what are the limits of church officers in imposing various forms of worship on church members. There are many Christians who believe that as long as you're sincere, God really doesn't care how you worship him. God doesn't care about the details. Maybe he did in Old Testament times, but we're living under grace now, not law, is what they say. Well, they forget that you can be sincere, but still be wrong. You can be sincerely wrong. Proverbs 14.12 says there is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. John 14.15 which Dr. Clark quoted, if you love me obey my commandments. Jesus said not everyone that says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which buildeth his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." So what is the proper way to worship God? What is the proper way to approach God? The kings of the earth have a strict protocol about how they are to be approached. You don't just walk up to Queen Elizabeth and give her a big wet kiss and say, How are you doing, Queenie? They require all this formality. In the ancient world, if you approach the king in a manner that was not proper, the penalty could be death. Remember in the book of Esther, when she approached the king without being summoned by him? Anybody who approached the king just came into his throne room, stood in the doorway, that he could see that he had not summoned that person, it was up to him to decide if they could come in or be executed. So people didn't show up at his doorstep. He didn't get Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on his door, let me tell you. So, kings of the earth have certain ways that you're supposed to approach them. Well, if earthly kings have such rules, how much more right does the king of kings have to establish his laws under which men may approach him? Should the Lord of lords be treated with less honor than his creatures? Yet many today have the audacity to come into God's holy presence under their own made-up worship, ignoring what God has commanded for how He is to be worshipped. Always remember, we don't have any right to worship God. We don't have any right to worship God. It's only because He permits us to worship Him that we can approach Him at all. God forbid that we approach Him on our terms, doing what we think is holy or proper, instead of on His terms. Now, the first question I said of the two questions, what's the proper way to worship God, is a question that's debated constantly. Well, we have a choice. There's really only two ways to go. We can create our own rules, or we can follow the rules in God's Word. That's really the only choice. 2 Timothy 3.16 says that, among other things, the Bible is given for our instruction in righteousness, that the man of God will be thoroughly prepared. So the man of God will look to the Bible as his rulebook in all things. Because it's given for our instruction in righteousness, that we'll be thoroughly prepared. So we look at the Bible as our rulebook for everything. Not only worship, for everything. And there's nothing more righteous, more important than the proper worship of God. Nothing. Of course, you know that we're forbidden to add to or subtract from the Word of God. Deuteronomy says, What things however I command you observe to do it, thou shalt not add thereto nor diminish from it. Proverbs 36 says, add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. Revelation 22.18 says, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. By the way, that's almost the last verse of the Bible. God closes the entire Bible. What do you think he would close it with? I mean, obviously something extremely important he'd want us to remember, right? Well, he closes it with this. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the holy city and from the things which are written in the book." You can't add to or take anything away from God's Word. Since the commandments in God's Word include how we are to worship Him, if we add to His worship our own ideas and our own ceremonies and innovations and traditions we're adding to God's word clearly condemned in scripture because God's word contains instructions on how we're to worship him and he says don't add anything to it don't take anything away from it in our text in Leviticus 10 we read of Nadab and Abihu brothers, Aaron's son Now, what was their sin? Well, we talked about it a little bit. It says so right in the text, And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before their lord, which he commanded them not. It doesn't appear that Nadab and Abihu were wicked men. It doesn't say that anywhere. It doesn't indicate that. At least, other than the sense that they did what they did in the ceremony, in the offering. It seems that they were sincere, from what we can tell, in trying to worship God. But they changed the form of worship that God had commanded. They took liberties with God's word. They used what the Bible calls strange, translated as profane, fire. They didn't use the holy fire that was on the altar, the fire that the Lord had just sent down from heaven. They used a man-made fire. They used some incense, possibly a different incense. Now, note one thing about this, they weren't punished for doing what he had forbidden. They weren't punished for doing what he had forbidden. They were punished for doing what God had not commanded. There wasn't anything that said, okay, now don't go and put strange fire on here. The commandment was, you're to worship me this way, put this fire, use this fire. They didn't break a prohibition. They did what God had not commanded. They added to it. They weren't commanded to make an offering, but they did anyway. And to compound their sin, they came up with their own idea. What they probably thought was better worship that would please the Lord even more. Just as most churches do today. Whatever they used, however they did it, We weren't there so we don't know exactly precisely whether they made up their own incense or used a different fire or whatever. We just know it was a strange or profane fire. One thing is crisp but clear. It was something they invented. Bull worship. It was really idolatry. And we know what happened to them before. Now, you might be saying, God doesn't strike people dead today for adding to His worship. So that proves under the New Testament He gives us more freedom. Now you're right, He doesn't immediately slay people, usually, who add to His word by bringing human ideas into worship. I mean, if He did, we'd have very few Christians. But He also doesn't slay people who lie to Him. Remember in the New Testament, Ananias and Sapphira lied to the apostles and were struck dead. But, okay, he doesn't strike people dead usually who lie. You lie to a preacher. Usually people aren't struck dead immediately. So does that mean, okay, it's okay now to lie to God? Or to lie to other people? Obviously not. You can't draw that conclusion from it. Romans 2, 4 warns us not to think that God's forbearance and longsuffering of our sins means that sins should be taken lightly. He's demonstrating the richness of his goodness toward us. And quote, the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. So never treat God's forbearance with your sin as an indication of his approval. Okay, the rule we have to remember. and really what this is all about today and next week, Lord willing, we'll continue this. The rule is, unless scripture commands it in worship, it's prohibited. Unless scripture commands it in worship, it's prohibited. This is what is called the regulative principle of worship. And that's something you ought to know, the regulative principle of worship. It's one of the foundations of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura. Latin for it, which means scripture alone. Scripture alone is our rule book. It's defined by the Westminster Confession of Faith in chapter 21, section 1, quote, The acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan under any visible representation or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture. So unless Scripture commands it, it's prohibited in worship. That's the regular principle of worship. If you remember nothing else from this morning's message, please remember this. Unless Scripture commands it, it is prohibited in worship. Use that litmus test and you'll avoid idolatrous worship. Now you can see that the regular principle of worship is the opposite of what is practiced in almost every church. The Roman Church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church, most every evangelical church ignores the rule that unless scripture commands it, it's prohibited in worship. Sadly, many conservative, reformed churches ignore it also. They give lip service to it, but in practice, they ignore it. in the 1989 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, which is the largest so-called conservative denomination, Presbyterian denomination in the country. It broke away, well, it's not part of the first Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, which is the mainline Presbyterian Church, which left the Scriptures years ago. But the PCA, Presbyterian Church in America, is an attempt to get back to the Scriptures in the Presbyterian Church. supposed to go. In 1989 at their General Assembly, which is their big national meeting of their ministers and ruling elders, at the worship service on the Lord's Day morning, which was under the auspices of the 17th General Assembly, elements of drama or stage play were used in the worship service. There's more on that I'll talk about later. But most every church approaches worship by twisting the rule to say that what is not prohibited in scripture is therefore permitted. See the difference? They look at it and say, what's not prohibited? Well, we can do that. And the regular principle says, what is not commanded is prohibited. Now, the way they twist it, of course, allows for a wide latitude of human inventions in worship. Almost anything goes in worship if you believe that what's not prohibited is permitted. Drama, clowns, rock music, dancing tongues, fainting, screaming. Even, while you're sitting down today, believe it or not, ignoring the songs that God commands us to sing. The Psalms, and replacing them with songs made up by men. I'm being a little humorous there. I know you won't be shocked if I do that. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to stand before God and tell him I thought I could write songs better than he could. I'd like to meet the man who thinks he can. The hymnals are full of them. Nor would I want to explain why I went to a church that threw his psalms in the trash and replaced them with songs of human origin. I don't know about that. It's not a sermon about psalmody, but it certainly fits in. I've heard things like, oh, don't be so narrow-minded. Drama has really been effective in many churches. It's entertaining. It attracts people. It's part of the church growth strategy. I've never heard a defender of drama or any of this other stuff in worship say, well God commands it in worship. Have you? Next time I ask somebody who believes in it, I ask them, oh so God commands that we do this? Well, no. The regulative principle of worship requires that men take up his cross, their crosses, crucify himself and follow Christ everything in worship must pass through the screen of God's word and find authorization there whether we happen to personally like it or not but if we don't like it we should realize that we're putting our own pleasure before God's commandment the Christian finds true pleasure in doing God's will the Christian finds true pleasure in doing God's will Now the first four commandments of the Ten Commandments are called the first table of the law. They have to do with our responsibility toward God directly. These four commandments state the regular principle of worship. The first commandment says, I am the Lord thy God, which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. You can see that putting human inventions into the worship service is putting another God, our own ideas, before the Lord. Putting our own ideas between us and the Lord. The second commandment forbids us to worship the Lord through graven images. It says, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments." Now a graven image means more than just a carved statue, although it does include that. It means anything that comes from the brain of man interjected into worship. Any human invention in worship is also a violation of the second commandment. Now how do we know that graven images include death? Am I just kind of making that so broad to fit in with everything else I'm saying? Well that's a real good question. We know that graven images include death the same way we know that Christ says in Matthew 6 that unlawful anger breaks the sixth commandment. Well the sixth commandment is about murder. It's not about unlawful anger, is it? Well, Christ says it is. It leads to murder. The same way that Christ said looking upon a woman lustfully breaks the seventh commandment, it leads to adultery. God says in the second commandment that when man brings what he has made, whether they're wooden statues that he made up out of his own brain, whether they're songs he made up out of his own brain, whether they're actions, whether they're gestures, whether they're ceremonies, traditions of man, he makes a kind of image. He makes a kind of image. And this will lead in time, just as unlawful anger will lead to murder, just as looking at a woman lustfully will lead to adultery, bringing your own inventions into worship will lead to the actual use of images in time. It would not surprise me at all if we see statues in evangelical churches, very much like you see in Roman churches today, in 10 years, 20 years, whatever it takes. takes our eyes off Christ, really. Many Protestant churches crossed that line a long time ago, and they used images in their churches. Pictures of Christ, stained glass images, in blatant violation of the Second Commandment. I was at G. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Anybody see him on TV or on the radio? He's a big national minister on TV and all that. He is with the Presbyterian Church in America. I went to his church and right outside the door where you go into church is a twenty or thirty foot high statue of what is supposed to be Jesus. It surprised me. Kennedy says a lot of good things. A lot he says I like, but that's all that I had to think. Westminster Larger Catechism question 109 asks, what are the sins forbidden in the second commandment? And the answer is in part, the sins forbidden in the second commandment are all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and any wise approving any religious worship not instituted by God himself. all superstitious devices, corrupting the worship of God and adding to it or taking from it, whether invented and taken up of ourselves or received by tradition from others, though under the title of antiquity, custom, devotion, good intent, or any other purpose. John Knox, the heroic reformer of Scotland, said all worshiping honoring or service invented by the brain of man in the religion of God without his own express commandment is idolatry. The third commandment says thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless to take of his name in vain. When we substitute our own ideas for the Lord's commandments in worship We're taking his name in vain. We're violating the third commandment. Christ said of the Pharisees in Mark 7, 6, who added to the worship of God, quote, Well has Elijah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Albeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Christ later says they make the word of God of no effect because they've added their own ideas to worship. Proverbs 28.9, a chilling verse. He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. He who turns away his ear from hearing God's law, even when he prays to God, God will regard that as an abomination. Because he has turned away from God's law. Jesus restated it when he said, if you love me, keep my command. Don't talk about love for me and ignore my command. The fourth commandment is remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gate. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord left the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Polluting the worship of the Lord's day with our own fallen ideas and corrupt innovations is not remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy, is it? No, it makes it unholy, and it violates the fourth commandment. So that means if you're instructed to kneel, or to light candles, or dance, or make the so-called sign of the cross, or have pictures of Jesus hanging in church, or speak in tongues, or pray to statues, or observe traditions in worship, or sing anything other than the Psalms that God has commanded, or do anything else in worship, check it against that litmus test, the regular principle of worship. Ask the church elders, to show you that what they're doing in worship is commanded in God's Word. You know, you'll also, with them, will be held responsible by the Lord if you engage in such idol worship. Remember the words of John Knox, all worshiping, honoring, or service invented by the brain of man and the religion of God without his own express commandment is idolatry. Now, God has a very interesting name for this idolatry. He calls it will-worship in King James. Will-worship. In Colossians 2.23, the first part of that verse says, These things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship and humility. They have a show of wisdom. They look like they're wise. Well, of course candles. How can candles be anything but honoring to God? How can this beautiful hymn How great thou art to be dishonoring to God. The person who wrote it wrote it in all sincerity. It's sung. We sing it in all sincerity. Well, that has a show of wisdom. These things might appear to be devout and holy. They might be pious. We might totally believe they are. We might believe they're very honoring to God. But God says, hey, that's just for show. When churches add to what God has commanded for worship, God says those who take part in such services are actually worshipping not Him at all, but their own will. Will worship. Now, God could have said, as long as you're sincere in what you're doing, that's what matters. He could have said, as long as you have love for me, that's the most important thing. He could have said, As long as your heart is right, the external forms don't matter that much. But he didn't say any of that. What he said, external forms do matter. He says, when you do what is right in your own eyes in worship, but it's not commanded in scripture, even though it seems very holy, very pious to you, God says what you're doing is worshiping your own will, your own ideas, your own pride. That's nothing more than idol worship, the same as if you bowed down to a statue. Jeremiah Burroughs, who was a writer several hundred years ago, a Christian author and pastor, in his book Comments on Hosea 4.15 says, He quotes John, the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And Reverend Burroughs says, true worship must be in spirit. It involves the inner man demanding sincerity and love. Worship includes more than the mere outward forms of devotion. Don't think I'm just focusing on the externals here. I'm not. I haven't gotten to the internals yet. Worship includes more than the mere outward form of devotion. Many times God has pronounced a curse against persons wedded to empty forms of religion. The unbelieving Jews had hearts far from the Lord, even though they were in the right place for external ordinances. Our worship must flow from hearts of sincerity and love toward God our Savior. Likewise, genuine worship must be in truth. That is, our worship must be in conformity to God's written revelation. There is indeed an outward measure for our worship. In the present day, it is common to hear comments that the heart is all that matters, a mistaken concept that sincerity of motive and fervent emotion are the substance of genuine worship. But Christ does not confine the essence of worship to worship in spirit. He adds the measure of truth. Acceptable worship is more than the gushy effervescence of a fervent heart. Without truth, such fervor is an offense before God. It is zeal, as it says in Romans 10.2, but not according to knowledge. You can have zeal without knowledge. Christ's statement implies it still borrows. Christ's statement imply a solemn warning. By his reference to true worshippers in John 4.23, we may perceive a distinction which sets them apart from other worshippers. In other words, there is a class of worshippers who are false in their worship, therein we must examine our own worship that we may discern to which class we belong. probably two or three part series on worship. But let's settle this issue of sincerity once for all. Can you worship God in any way that feels right as long as you're sincere? Remember what God said in Proverbs, there's a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 3.5, when I was a very young Christian young in the faith and young in age. One of my favorites, verses, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path. Proverbs 3, 5, trust in the Lord with all your heart, I'm going to take the first part of that, and lean not unto your own understanding. Just think about that. We trust in the Lord with all our heart, we don't lean on our own understanding, we don't do what we think is the right way to do it, even if it's to honor the Lord, if we're not commanded to do it that way. It's always God's objective words and not your subjective feelings that assure you of God's approval. Think about that. It's always God's objective words and not your subjective feelings that assure you of God's approval. Grasp that truth and you're well on your way to living the abundant Christian life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, take these four words of mine and use them to your glory, that we may all understand more perfectly how we should worship Thee. Father, may we truly worship Thee in spirit and in truth, never separating the two, and constantly search your words. to find the way that is acceptable for thy worship. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. We have Psalm 96, I believe. Psalm 96. which is on page 209 in the Psalter. And I'll read to you what John Brown comments on Psalm 96. This psalm was part of the hymn sung at the translation of the Ark, or the moving of the Ark. from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David in 1 Chronicles 16, but relates to the calling of the Gentiles to our Redeemer. We are going to sing the first eight verses, and he says in the first eight verses, Solemn calls to ascribe praises and glory to our high and great Emmanuel. While these high praises of God are in my mouth, let my heart be told of glory, believe the promises, and burn with desire after the enjoyment of Christ and of God in him. So please stand for the singing of this song. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes and videos at great discounts, is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email by phone at 780-450-3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Edmonton, that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Kelvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since He condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.