Hello OCBC family,
“12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:12-14).

This is powerful passage from Isaiah, showing us that the Creator of the whole world, the one that can put the whole ocean in His hand and measure heaven with a span, is the same God that cares for us personally, knowing everything about us. Now, He is our Creator, like the rest of creation, including unbelievers, but for us, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, He is our Father. We can rest in this assurance and praise His holy name, and tell others, “Behold Our God.”

Yes, “Behold Our God” the hymn that we love to sing here at Oak Crest, is a contemporary hymn based on this same passage of Isaiah. Is a product of Ryan Baird, Jonathan Baird, Meghan Baird and Stephen Altrogge, three siblings and a friend. They composed this hymn during a retreat, and at the beginning some people didn’t like it. God proved that they were all wrong. They tested this hymn in their own church, just with the first two stanzas and the refrain, and their congregation loved it. The only correction they received came from the Baird siblings’ own father. "You need to write a verse about Jesus and his sacrifice." And so, the third verse was born.

This hymn is so rich in doctrine. For example, this hymn teaches us about God’s sovereignty – God rules over nations, kings, and the whole creation. Also, this hymn points to God’s incomparability – there is none like him. Christ-centered worship – the third stanza moves from God’s creation to Christ’ atoning work.

1 Who has held the oceans in His hands?
Who has numbered every grain of sand?
Kings and nations tremble at His voice
All creation rises to rejoice

2 Who has given counsel to the Lord?
Who can question any of His words?
Who can teach the One Who knows all things?
Who can fathom all His wondrous deeds?

3 Who has felt the nails upon His hands
Bearing all the guilt of sinful man?
God eternal humbled to the grave
Jesus, Savior risen now to reign!

So, the next time you sing this powerful modern hymn, declare to the whole world,
“Behold our God seated on His throne
Come, let us adore Him
Behold our King! Nothing can compare
Come, let us adore Him!”

In His service,
Israel

Hello OCBC family,
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.” (Psalm 95:1).

You are very familiar with this psalm, a psalm that invited you to sing praises to the Lord, a God that the psalmist called the Rock of our salvation. It is an anonymous psalm but for the reference of this psalm in the book of Hebrews 4:7, the author was David the sweet psalmist of Israel. He composed this psalm for the Feast of the Booths, or Tabernacles. The metaphor of God being the Rock of salvation is to remind the people of Israel when God provided water for them from the rock in the wilderness.

This passage was the inspiration for Christian H. Bateman to write his famous hymn, “Come, Christians, Join to Sing” in 1843 an English Congregational minister. Before he became part of the Congregational church, Christian Bateman was part of the Moravian Church, the oldest Protestant denomination in the world, tracing its roots to the 15th-century Bohemian Reformation and the teachings of the martyr Jan Hus.

“Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice:
Alleluia! Amen!”

Christian Bateman wrote this hymn with a different title, “Come, Children, Join to Sing.” You can notice that Bateman work is full of doctrine but in a simple language. Another particularity of this hymn is the repetition of the words “Alleluia! Amen!” after each line. In music this is called antiphonal response; a soloist might sing the first part of the phrase, and the congregation can respond with “Alleluia! Amen!”

In the second stanza, Bateman makes this hymn more personal and intimate, because, Jesus is our King seating on His throne, nevertheless, He is our Guide and Friend.

“Come, lift your hearts on high;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend;
To us He'll condescend;
His love shall never end:
Alleluia! Amen!”

But, what about the melody? The very familiar tune is called “Madrid” (Madrid, the name of the capital of Spain) commonly attributed to Felice de Giardini, an 18th-century Italian composer who worked in England.
The last stanza is the picture that our present worship will continue in heaven for all eternity, where we repeat for evermore “Alleluia! Amen!”

“Praise yet our Christ again;
Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain;
Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven's blissful shore
His goodness we'll adore,
Singing forevermore,
"Alleluia! Amen!"

Use this hymn to worship your Rock of Salvation during your quiet time.
In His service,
​
Israel

Hello OCBC family,
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10).
This verse is the beginning of a very familiar passage about the “Armor of God”, a picture that Paul is telling believers to be strong in the Lord, because they cannot do this in their own efforts. We are weak and we need a King to lead us during this spiritual warfare. And this is the picture, as well, that Ernest W. Shurtleff painted in his hymn, “Lead On, O King Eternal.”

“Lead on, O King Eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home:
Thro' days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong,
And now, O King Eternal,
We lift our battle song.”

This hymn was written by Shurtlett for his graduation day from Andover Theological Seminary, a Congregationalist seminary, that had a very strong focus, at that time, in evangelism. His idea was that his fellow seminarians sing this hymn while marching to pick up their diplomas, and a tradition was born, because many seminaries are doing this until this day,

Now, in the second stanza, we see a contrast  that Ernest does between a warfare, led by a conquering King, and a time of peace that will come under the kingship of Jesus, the King of Peace.

“Lead on, O King Eternal,
Till sin's fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace;
For not with swords' loud clashing,
Or roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heav'nly kingdom comes.”

This hymn is a call to go to missions, and this hymn became a favorite one for ordination services, missions week.

“Lead on, O King Eternal,
We follow not with fears;
For gladness breaks like morning
Where'er Thy face appears;
Thy cross is lifted o'er us;
We journey in its light:
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.”

Ernest was a congregational minister, and served several churches in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and California. In 1905, he and his wife went to Germany to organize a church and World War I started and they helped there feeding the poor and displaced. He died in Paris in 1917, during the war.

The Lord, our King, is calling to share the gospel with every creature and serve others, let us obey this call.
​
In His service,
Israel