October 18, 2012

• "The duties of religion are delightful" ~ the fruit of "The Life of God in the Soul of Man"

  Almost four years ago, I blogged about how my NKJV Bible is filled with lots of notes and references that I've written in it. It's really my own personalized study Bible, so to speak (see my posts here and here). Though I had that particular Bible rebound in early 2009...

  

  ... it's beginning to come apart again, and even though I managed to find an identical copy of that Bible, I can't bring myself to lay this one aside...

  

  In my recent post "Dancing and Skipping with Mrs. Durham," I included a poem I'd written with the following lines based on Psalm 55:22 (KJV - "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee..."):

  "Cast thy burden," the LORD proclaims,
  "On My bosom, both night and day,
  "My lamb, your weary head lay."
  
  

  This past Sunday morning, as I turned to the book of Philippians in that Bible (our church is currently in the midst of a series on Philippians), I noticed a notation I'd made in reference to Philippians 4:6-7 (Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus). The notation was a quotation taken from the 17th century Scottish Puritan Henry Scougal's (1650-1678) book "The Life of God in the Soul of Man":

  "disburden their hearts in His bosom"

  Below it, I had written:

  Psalm 131

  and beside it, I had written:

  Zeph. 3:17 He will quiet us w/ His love.

  To do justice to Scougal's words, I'll give you the fuller context of what he wrote in the portion of the book entitled,

  THE DUTIES OF RELIGION ARE DELIGHTFUL TO HIM.
  

  The exercises of religion, which to others are insipid and tedious, do yield the highest pleasure and delight to souls possessed with divine love; they rejoice when they are called "to go up to the house of the Lord, that they may see his power and his glory, as they have formerly seen it in the sanctuary," Psalm lxiii.2. They never think themselves so happy as when, having retired from the world, and gotten free from the noise and hurry of affairs, and silenced all their clamorous passions, (those troublesome guests within), they have placed themselves in the presence of God, and entertain fellowship and communion with him; they delight to adore his perfections, and recount his savours, and to protest their affection to him, and tell him a thousand times that they love him; to lay out their troubles or wants before him, and disburden their hearts in his bosom. Repentance itself is a delightful exercise, when it floweth from the principle of love:  there is a secret sweetness which accompanieth those tears of remorse, those meltings and relentings of a soul returning unto God, and lamenting its former unkindness.

  

  The severities of a holy life, and that constant watch which we are obliged to keep over our hearts and ways, are very troublesome to those who are only ruled and acted by an external law, and have no law in their minds inclining them to the performance of their duty; but where divine love possesseth the soul, it stands as sentinel to keep out every thing that may offend the beloved, and doth disdainfully repulse those temptations which assault it; it complieth cheerfully, not only with explicit commands, but with the most secret notices of the beloved's pleasure, and is ingenious in discovering what will be most grateful and acceptable unto him; it makes mortification and self-denial change their harsh and dreadful names and become easy, sweet, and delightful things.

  ~ from Henry Scougal's "The Life of God in the Soul of Man," (New York: Cosimo, 2007; originally published in 1741), 72-74. You can access a copy of book here: <http://books.google.com/books?id=W6lbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false>.

  Has the divine love of Christ possessed your soul?

  Does your life burst forth with the precious fruit of the Life of God in your Soul in the ways Scougal describes?

  
  

  Are the duties of religion sweet and delightful to you – or are they insipid and tedious?

  Does your religion spring from a principle of love, from an internal heart religion – or are you only ruled and acted by an external law?

  Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”
  

  John 14:19b
  Because I live, you will live also.

  II Corinthians 5:17
  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
  old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

  

  Isaiah 27:6
  Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob;
  Israel shall blossom and bud,
  And fill the face of the world with fruit.

  Isaiah 35
  1  The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
  the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
  it shall blossom abundantly
  and rejoice with joy and singing.
  2  The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
  the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
  They shall see the glory of the LORD,
  the majesty of our God...
  10  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
  and come to Zion with singing;
  everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
  they shall obtain gladness and joy,
  and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

  John 15:8
  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

  Philippians 1
   2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart . . . you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

  9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
  

  For your progress AND JOY of faith (Philippians 1:25),
  Karen

  ---

  Other posts about Henry Scougal's "The Life of God in the Soul of Man":
  

  Pressing on in the New Year
  Second Sunday after Christmas: Is your religion true religion? (Henry Scougal)
  Mistakes about Religion & What Religion Is ~ Henry Scougal
  Encouragements to press on in battling sin, # 2: moving beyond despondency | Scougal

  
  My posts on True & False Religion and Legalism including:
  

  1st Sunday after Epiphany: Characteristics of false religion, # 1-Hypocrisy
  Characteristics of true religion, # 2, part 2: Not of the letter but of the Spirit
  Finding pleasure in Him
  Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from Jonathan Edwards
  Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from George Whitefield
  "Alas! if this be not true religion, what is?" ~ George Whitefield
  why we need a new heart (Bible reading - Matthew 5)
  Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
  What is a nominal Christian?
  Phebe Bartlet – a child put in our midst ~ "Do you love Me?"
  "give me also springs of water" - Will you be an Achsah? (letter 66 on assurance & fighting for joy)
  Are you a radiant Christian or a drunken old woman? (letter 82 on assurance & fighting for joy)
  Three Years Later: Dancing & Skipping with Mrs. Durham | Letter 147 on fighting for joy
  Oct. 16, 1555 ~ Ridley & Latimer: monuments of joy | letter 148 on fighting for joy
  Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor ~ Letter 133 (Naphtali revisited)

  
  Other related posts:
  

  Letter 13 on assurance and fighting for joy (strengthened for endurance and patience with joy)
  Letter 17 on assurance and fighting for joy (will we be diligent to enter into His joy?)
  Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
  Considering Jesus: (1) Making time to consider Jesus
  Considering Jesus: (2) Why do we do quiet time anyhow?
  take to heart ALL the words (more on quiet time)
  Get gnawing, put your nose down in the Book to feed the white-hot flame of God's gift
  "Garbage In" (Are you truly His disciple?)
  Are you a foolish or a wise pilgrim? (What have you done with your roll?)
  As a deer pants ... Is your soul panting for God? (Psalms 42 & 43)

  Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Emphasis mine.

  Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Photo credits:
  

  I edited the work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Lord_is_my_Good_Shepherd.jpg / ((PD-Art|PD-old-70}}

  Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexandre_Couder_-_Woman_Kneeling_in_Prayer_-_Walters_371369.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
  
  Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hare_desert-flowers.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Public Domain

  • 9:40 PM
  • 5 Comments