SUNDAY, MARCH 11

Matthew 26:74,75 Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”

The words for one of our recent Lenten hymns were written in 1965 by David W. Romig who served several Presbyterian churches in New York and is honorably retired from Downtown Presbyterian Church. They seem appropriate for our Lenten Book this year.

When We Are Tempted to Deny Your Son

(The Presbyterian Hymnal #86)

When we are tempted to deny Your Son,

Because we fear the anger of the world,

And we are few who bear the insults hurled,

Your will, O God, be done.

When we are tempted to betray Your Son,

Because He leads us in a harder way,

And makes demands we do not want to pay,

Your will, O God, be done.

When we forget the cross that held Your Son,

And would avoid the burden of this life,

The cry for justice and an end to strife,

Your will, O God, be done.

When doubt obscures the victory of Your Son,

And faith is weak and all resolve has fled,

Help us to know Him risen from the dead;

Your will, O God, be done.

“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed beyond your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Irv Poston