Father, long before creation

God’s compassion is my story,
Is my boasting all the day;
Mercy free and never failing
Moves my will, directs my way.
God so loved us, God so loved us,
That His only Son He gave,
That His only Son He gave.

Lord, thank You for having mercy on us. Thank You for reaching to us where we are, in the lowest condition and the farthest place, to have mercy on us. We are not qualified, but You qualify us by reaching us in Your mercy and bringing us to a place where we can enjoy Your love and mercy. We worship You, God, for Your mercy! We love you Lord Jesus 🙏

"Giving glory, giving glory,

To our God and to the Lamb."

Thank you Brother Richard Housel for that insightful back story of this song!

Father , the Love in my heart is not from me , it's Thine , ever Thine ! Oh How Lovely You are , for preparing us to be the Bride of Christ! 💖

THE SECTIONS OF THE MEETING

In order to have a good meeting, we need to learn how to meet, practice to meet, and know the sections of the meeting. According to our experience, a bread-breaking meeting can include eight sections. The first section is the opening. For the opening of the meeting, we need to seek what hymns to sing and what prayers to offer. The second section is introducing the subject. Every meeting has a purpose and center. The subject and the center need to be introduced at the beginning of the meeting. The third section is the strengthening. Sometimes the subject has been introduced, but the atmosphere is not strong. If the spirit is not high, there needs to be strengthening. The fourth section is uplifting the spirit. The fifth section is maintaining the spirit. The sixth section is filling up the time. The seventh section is the conclusion. The eighth section is the sending off. All these sections can be supported by hymns that reflect the emphasis of each section. For example, when we worship the Father, we might first sing “Father, to Thee a joyful song we raise” ( Hymns, #52) and follow this with several strong prayers. Then we might sing “Father, long before creation” ( Hymns, #33) and have more good prayers. If the feeling continues to linger, we can sing a stanza of this hymn again. If there is still a lingering feeling, we can have more prayer. This is the situation when the meeting is rich. If the meeting is poor, there will not be much prayer.

Concerning How to Meet

Chapter 1 (LSM)

CONCERNING HOW TO MEET

Prayer and meeting are two important means for a Christian to receive grace. Because we have many opportunities to pray and meet, we may not sense their importance. A Christian who does not pray or meet for about a year may fall into the hands of Satan and drift away. For this reason we have many meetings in the church. It is a pity that most of us do not understand how to meet and thereby become a distraction to the meeting. If we know how to meet, we can strengthen the meeting and bring in God’s blessing. Therefore, we need to practice how to meet.

THE PURPOSE OF THE MEETINGS

In order to learn how to meet, we first need to know the purpose of the meetings. The purpose of the meetings has four aspects: to God, to men, to Satan, and to ourselves.

To God—Worship

The first aspect of the purpose of the meetings is for worshipping God. Worship includes singing, praising, thanksgiving, and musing. We can use hymns or prayers to sing, praise, and give thanks. Musing is to ponder, to listen to others pray, to pray silently while others pray, and to follow the words of their prayer to consider various aspects of God.

To Men—Edifying

Christian meetings are not only for worshipping God but also for edifying men. There are many meetings that are only for worship without mutual edification. The prayers and testimonies of the attendants should mutually nourish each one’s spirit. This is the purpose of the meetings to men.

To Satan—Shaming

The meetings are not only for worshipping God and edifying men but also for shaming Satan. Our prayers, testimonies, and hymns present and display the grace we have received. Such an exhibition shames Satan. Our receiving grace proves that Christ is Victor and testifies of His victory in us. This shames God’s enemy. Ephesians 3:10 says, “In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church. ” Here through the church denotes the meetings of the church, that is, the gatherings of the saints. The meetings should shame the enemy.

To Ourselves—Building Up

The fourth aspect of the purpose of the meetings is for ourselves to be built up. The growth of our spiritual life depends not only on fellowshipping with the Lord, reading the Bible, and praying but also on meeting. Although we do not realize it, we are built up by going to the meetings. Even a weak meeting can build us up. If we do not meet for a year, we will suffer great loss.

Chapter 1 (LSM)

Father, long before creation,
Thou hadst chosen us in love;
And that love, so deep, so moving,
Draws us close to Christ above,
And will keep us, and will keep us,
Firmly fixed in Christ alone,
Firmly fixed in Christ alone~

Though the world may change its fashion,
Yet our God is e’er the same;
His compassion and His cov’nant
Through all ages will remain.
God’s own children, God’s own children,
Must forever praise His name,
Must forever praise His name.

This hymn is so beautiful! I love to sing it again every week!

God’s compassion is my story, is my boasting all the day!