ABSTRACT
Minister: The Reverend J. H. Sillevis Smitt, President of the Netherlands Bible Society and Chief of the Protestant Chaplains of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Organist: Simon C. Jansen, Presidentlist of the Westerkerk. Vocalist: Aafje Heynis, Contralto.
introitus
psalm, sung by the congregation 1 All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice; Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell; Come ye before Him and rejoice. 2 The Lord ye know is God indeed; Without our aid He did us make; We are His folk, He doth us feed, And for His sheep He doth us take. 3 O enter then His gates with praise; Approach with joy His courts unto; Praise, laud, and bless His name always, For it is seemly so to do. 4 For why, the Lord our God is good; His mercy is for ever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure.
prayer Our Father, which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done in earth As it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses 18As we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom The power and the glory For ever and ever. Amen.
the lesson from the old testament. Daniel 6. 1-10.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alter-eth not.
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
choral-prelude, played by the organist
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ - J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
the lesson from the new testament. St. Luke 10. 38 -42.
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
19And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
arioso, sung by the contralto Dank sei Dir, Herr. Du hast Dein Volk mit Dir gefuhrt, Israël hindurch das Meer. Wie eine Herde zog es hindurch. Herr, Deine Hand schützte es; In Deiner Güte gabst Du Ihm Heil. G. F. Hándel (1685-1759)
hymn, sung by the congregation 1 Praise to the Lord! the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation! All ye who hear - Now to His temple draw near, Serve Him in glad adoration! 2 Praise to the Lord! Who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth, Shielding thee gently from harm and from fainting sustaineth; Hast thou not seen - How thy desires have been Granted in what He ordaineth? 3 Praise to the Lord! Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee, Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee; Ponder anew - What the Almighty can do, If with His love He befriend thee! 4 Praise to the Lord! Oh let all that is in me adore Him! All that hath life and breath come now with praises before Him! Let the Amen - Sound from His people again, Gladly for aye we adore Him.
the address, by the Reverend J. H. Sillevis Smitt:
The text of my sermon can be found in Daniel Chapter VI, verse 10:
‘Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime’.
My dear friends—this Daniel was an exceptional man. If we read through our Bible we shall find that the Bible describes all the human weaknesses of the great men of faith:—
Noah—drunkedness, Jacob—craftiness
Abraham—fear and cowardness
David—lust, fear and even murder,
