Testing and Quarreling
Exodus 17:1-7| March 12, 2023 | Pastor Henry F. Curtis, IV
Digital Bulletin
The Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Call to Worship
Minister: I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord, our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:1-2)
People: For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand, I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my
God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
(Psalm 84:10)
Minister: Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good. (Psalm 122:9)
People: Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God.
(Psalm 92:13)
Minister: Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. Lord, I have loved thy habitation, the place where thy honor dwelleth. (Psalm 26:8)
People: For the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him. (Habakkuk 2:20)
Minister: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
People: O sing unto the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord; all the earth sing praises. (Psalm 98:1, 4)
Exodus 17:1-7 (RSV)
1 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Reph′idim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people found fault with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you find fault with me? Why do you put the Lord to the proof?”
3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Mer′ibah, because of the faultfinding of the children of Israel, and because they put the Lord to the proof by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Abridged Decalogue
From all that dwell below the skies, Let thy Creator’s praise arise; Let thy Redeemer’s name be sung, Through every land by every tongue.
Minister: And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Nearer my God, to thee! Nearer to thee, E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me; Still all my song shall be. Nearer my God to thee, Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee.
Minister: Hear what Christ our Savior saith. Thou shall love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets.