holiness

  • Jesus said to her, "... Whom are you seeking?" - John 20:15

    John 20:15
    Jesus said to her, “... Whom are you seeking?”

    Jesus is asking you...

    "Whom [or what] are you seeking?"

    From Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on John 20...

    ... we may observe, The constancy and fervency of Mary Magdalene's affection to the Lord Jesus... Where there is a true love to Christ there will be a constant adherence to him, and a resolution with purpose of heart to cleave to him...

    Those that will be content with nothing short of a sight of Christ shall be put off with nothing less. He never said to the soul that sought him, Seek in vain. “Is it Christ that thou wouldest have? Christ thou shalt have.” ...

    See how her heart was set upon finding Christ. She puts the question to every one she meets, like the careful spouse, Saw you him whom my soul loveth?

    Song of Solomon 3
    1  On my bed by night
    I sought him whom my soul loves;
    I sought him, but found him not.
    2  I will rise now and go about the city,
    in the streets and in the squares;
    I will seek him whom my soul loves.
    I sought him, but found him not.
    3  The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city.
    “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
    4  Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found him whom my soul loves.
    I held him, and would not let him go...

    Is your love for Christ true ––
    or is it like the dew?

    Hosea 6
    4  What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
    What shall I do with you, O Judah?
    Your love is like a morning cloud,
    like the dew that goes early away.

    Exodus 34:12  Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13  You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14  (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15  lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16  and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.


    From Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalm 24...

    We ourselves are not our own; our bodies, our souls, are not. Even those of the children of men are God's, who know him not, nor own their relation to him. A soul that knows and considers its own nature, and that it must live for ever, when it has viewed the earth and the fulness thereof, will sit down unsatisfied. It will think of ascending toward God, and will ask, What shall I do, that I may abide in that happy, holy place, where he makes his people holy and happy? We make nothing of religion, if we do not make heart-work of it. We can only be cleansed from our sins, and renewed unto holiness, by the blood of Christ and the washing of the Holy Ghost. Thus we become his people; thus we receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of our salvation. God's peculiar people shall be made truly and for ever happy. Where God gives righteousness, he designs salvation. Those that are made meet for heaven, shall be brought safe to heaven, and will find what they have been seeking.

    Psalm 24
    1  The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein,
    2  for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.
    3  Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
    4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
    5  He will receive blessing from the LORD
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
    6  Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
    7  Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
    8  Who is this King of glory?
    The LORD, strong and mighty,
    the LORD, mighty in battle!
    9  Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
    10  Who is this King of glory?
    The LORD of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah

    Are you of the generation of those who seek Him,
    that seek the face of the God of Jacob?

    In "An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God's People, in Extraordinary Prayer, for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth," Jonathan Edwards wrote of the good (the blessing) we find as we seek God Himself...

    Zechariah 8:20-21 (KJV) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before, the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

    The good, that shall be sought by prayer; which is God himself. It is said once and again, “They shall go to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts.” This is the good they ask for, and seek by prayer, The Lord of hosts himself. To seek God, as the expression may perhaps be sometimes used in Scripture, may signify no more than seeking the favour or mercy of God. And if it be taken so here, praying before the Lord, and seeking the Lord of hosts, must be synonymous expressions. And it must be confessed to be a common thing in Scripture, to signify the same thing repeatedly, by various expressions of the same import, for the greater emphasis. But certainly that expression of seeking the Lord, is very commonly used to signify something more; it implies that God himself is the great good desired and sought after; that the blessings pursued are God’s gracious presence, the blessed manifestations of him, union and intercourse with him; or, in short, God’s manifestations and communications of himself by his Holy Spirit. Thus the psalmist desired God, thirsted after him, and sought him. (Psal. xiii. 1, 2, 8.) “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee. My flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. My soul followeth hard after thee. ” (Psal. lxxiii. 25.) “Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.” The psalmist earnestly pursued after GOD, his soul thirsted after him, he stretched forth his hands unto him, &c. (Psal. cxliii. 6.) And therefore it is in Scripture the peculiar character of the saints, that they are those who seek God. (Psal. xxiv. 6.) “This is the generation of them that seek him.” (Psal. lxix. 32.) “Your heart shall live that seek God.”

    Jeremiah 2
    31  And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD.
    Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
    or a land of thick darkness?
    Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
    we will come no more to you’?
    32  Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
    or a bride her attire?
    Yet my people have forgotten me
    days without number.
    33  “How well you direct your course
    to seek love!
    So that even to wicked women
    you have taught your ways.
    34  Also on your skirts is found
    the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
    you did not find them breaking in.
    Yet in spite of all these things
    35  you say, ‘I am innocent;
    surely his anger has turned from me.’
    Behold, I will bring you to judgment
    for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
    36  How much you go about,
    changing your way!
    You shall be put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
    37  From it too you will come away
    with your hands on your head,
    for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,
    and you will not prosper by them.

    Related posts... Please see my posts on Christian hedonism here, and seeking here.

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. / Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MaryEmptyTomb.jpg by Cadetgray / CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Advent # 8: WHY HAS JESUS COME? "so that [we] might be WITH HIM" ~ Mark 3:14

    I Peter 3:18
    For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God...

    Mark 3:13-15
    And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.
    And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be WITH HIM
    and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons...

    In the midst of myriad preparations
    Have you missed the blessèd consummation?

    Cookie baking, choir practices
    Bellies stuffed, but hearts are restless

    Trimmed the tree, hung the greens
    But have you glimpsed the Savior's sheen?

    Aromas swirling, rising, lifting, fireplace crackling
    Have you heard the voice of the newborn King?

    Christmas parties, ladies' teas
    Have you felt the Spirit's breeze?

    Advent programs, pageants, nativity scenes
    Your calendars bloated, your souls are lean

    Lists were made, the presents all bought
    But was The Unspeakable Gift sought?

    Gift exchanges, shopping madness
    Is that heaven's joy and gladness?

    Hear your Bridegroom's sweet plea and lamentation:
    "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten

    "Open to Me, take My yoke, find My rest,
    Lay your weary head upon My breast.

    "Precious blood for thee I freely shed
    To bring My bride to My Marriage Bed

    "Deliver you from the power of darkness
    Carry you safely across the great gulf fixed

    "To lavish upon you ev'ry spiritual pleasure
    O! sister, made alive, seated with Me together

    "In the heavenlies:  Satisfaction! Full Delight!
    Behold your Bridegroom! Love's Pure Light!

    "My fair one! Rise up! Open to me!
    Flame of Jehovah burns ardently!

    "Awake, My love, forfeit not the consummation:
    For I have desired thee before world's foundation!"

    I Peter 1:14-21
    As obedient children,
    do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
    but as he who called you is holy,
    you also be holy in all your conduct,
    since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

    And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds,
    conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
    knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers,
    not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
    but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

    He was foreknown before the foundation of the world
    but was made manifest in the last times for your sake,
    who through him are believers in God,
    who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
    so that your faith and hope are in God.

    James 4:4-10
    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
    Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
    Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says,
    “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

    But he gives more grace.
    Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

    Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
    Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
    Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
    Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
    Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

    Deuteronomy 10:15-16
    Yet the LORD set his heart in love
    on your fathers
    and chose their offspring after them,
    you above all peoples,
    as you are this day.
    Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart,
    and be no longer stubborn.

    His bride's rightful response:

    Isaiah 63:15-19
    Look down from heaven and see,
    from your holy and beautiful habitation.
    Where are your zeal and your might?
    The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
    are held back from me.
    For you are our Father,
    though Abraham does not know us,
    and Israel does not acknowledge us;
    you, O LORD, are our Father,
    our Redeemer from of old is your name.
    O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
    and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
    Return for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes of your heritage.
    Your holy people held possession for a little while;
    our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
    We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
    like those who are not called by your name.

    Song of Solomon 8:6-7
    Set me as a seal upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm,
    for love is strong as death,
    jealousy is fierce as the grave.
    Its flashes are flashes of fire,
    the very flame of the LORD.
    Many waters cannot quench love,
    neither can floods drown it.
    If a man offered for love
    all the wealth of his house,
    he would be utterly despised.

    the Bridegroom's strong assurance:

    Zechariah 1:13-14
    And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
    So the angel who talked with me said to me,
    ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts:
    I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.’

    From Dafydd Morris' second address to the 2007 Reformation and Revival Fellowship Conference, "Why Should Jesus Send His Spirit? Part 2 - Song of Solomon 4:12-5:1 ~ starting at around the 16:00 point (emphasis mine):
       And so, from the stress placed on fellowship in Scripture and communion, we gather that there must be something in that for the Lord Jesus Christ. Because look how keen the Bridegroom is for fellowship. He comes courting, doesn't He? And He's so ardent in His courting. Courting that lukewarm Church at Laodicea. We're amazed at that, aren't we? The way that He still desired strongly to come in and to sup and to have communion. There's so much that was unattractive about that Church –– not seeing its own need at all:  awful, awful self-sufficiency and complacency. Yet the Bridegroom comes knocking [*knocking on podium*], and His voice is heard and calls, and He desires to come in, to sup and to dine!

       And we've got that of course, in the Song. We have Solomon as a type of Christ, saying to the Shulamite, a type of believer – the Church, "Let Me see thy countenance," He says. "Let Me hear thy voice!" Now, that's ardent courtship isn't it? Warm love. Passion. That's what it is.

       And, the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of His flesh chose His disciples for His fellowship, His communion, for His friendship, that they would be WITH HIM. That's why He chose them. Something very basic. Mark 3 and verse 14:  "So that they would be WITH HIM.
     
       And our Lord seems to relish that companionship. We find it very difficult to believe. We know what the disciples were, they were slow and unbelieving, at times not catching on to what He was speaking about, misunderstanding Him, and all of that. And then we find it difficult to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ should ardently want their company, don't we? And we find the same with ourselves, don't we? We have a glimpse – we know what we are, in part, anyway, and we have difficulty taking on board that the Lord Jesus Christ  should ardently desire to be with us. But He did desire the company of those disciples: "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place," He said. "Come on and rest awhile. I want to be with you. I want to speak to you." And it was a sorrow to Him to contemplate losing that fellowship:  "Will ye also go away?"

       So, if we come back to the central thesis in these addresses, that it is in the Lord's own interest to pour out of His Spirit, how is the Lord Jesus Christ going to get the company He wants, the companionship, the fellowship of His bride, if He does not pour out the Holy Spirit so that there is the matchmaking?

    * * *

    Psalm 85:4-6 (KJV)
    Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
    Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
    Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?


    O! Lord Jesus, pour out of Your Spirit!     Make Your face to shine upon us again, as in the ancient days, that Your people might ardently desire to be WITH YOU. Teach us to savor, relish and treasure our companionship and fellowship WITH YOU, that we might rejoice in You!

    "Alleluia! And for his marriage feast prepare, for ye must go and meet him there."

    ~ from "Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying" by Philipp Nicolai, 1599, tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1858, 1863, emphasis mine

    HT for the reference to Mark 3:13 from Dafydd Morris' message "Why Should Jesus Send His Spirit? Part 2," available at http://www.reformationandrevival.org/pastconferenceaddresses.html

    Related posts...

    my other Advent posts on "Why Has Jesus Come?" ...

    other related posts:

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Emphasis mine.

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

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hunt,_William_Homan_-_The_Light_of_the_World_-_1853-54.jpg / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

  • happiness & joy: the distinction that SHOULD be made | letter 155 on assurance & fighting for joy

    In his blog post titled, "Happiness Is," my friend Daniel ( @daniel626 ) cited Psalm 16:11 (NKJV):

    You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

    In response, I made the following comment:

    I LOVE the title! Many Christians make an incorrect distinction between happiness and joy, but the distinction that should be made is between earthly happiness/joy and heavenly happiness/joy. The latter is rooted in and flows from God and God alone, and there is NO true, durable, and genuine happiness or joy found apart from our relationship to God in Christ. God is not a vile curmudgeon, but rather a loving, exuberant heavenly Father who makes available fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore to all who will come to Him!

    Related to that... my recent post "you would begin by blowing out all his lamps..."  included Edward Payson's testimony of God's increasing his happiness in God. Payson wrote that God made him "as happy as he could be in this world ... by crippling me in all my limbs, and removing me from all my usual sources of enjoyment." Payson also reminds us, "Christians might avoid much trouble and inconvenience, if they would only believe what they profess,— that God is able to make them happy without any thing else." (pp. 410-411)

    On that post, my friend Elizabeth ( @stephensmustang ) commented: "It is such a difference in joy and happiness."

    I commented back to her:

    Yes, when [you] define happiness as fleeting, fleshly, worldly happiness (which I know you do).

    I really would love for the Church to reclaim the rightful use of words "happy" and "happiness"! The devil has so many souls hoodwinked. He wants us to believe the lie that God does not want us to be happy (e.g. - see Genesis 3 and the fall), but that's so very far from the truth. God is not at all against our happiness, so long as that happiness is rooted in and flows from Him. Any happiness we may find apart from Him will diminish and exclude God, and that is no true happiness.

    Psalm 146:5 you'll often find translated, "Blessed..." but the Hebrew word there is "esher," meaning "happy."  "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God" (KJV).

    Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

    From Strong's Concordance:

    be glad = probably to brighten up, i.e. (figuratively) be (causatively, make) blithe or gleesome:--cheer up, be (make) glad, (have, make) joy(-ful), be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice, X very.

    rejoice = to spin round (under the influence of any violent emotion), i.e. usually rejoice, or (as cringing) fear:--be glad, joy, be joyful, rejoice

    shout for joy = to creak (or emit a stridulous sound), i.e. to shout (usually for joy):--aloud for joy, cry out, be joyful (greatly, make to) rejoice, (cause to) shout (for joy), (cause to) sing (aloud, for joy, out), triumph.


    Thanks for bearing with me here, dear sister, this is one of my pet peeves. :)   (((hugs)))

    Once again, I bring you more of Payson's words on the source of true happiness:

       "Suppose a son is walking with his father, in whose wisdom he places the most entire confidence. He follows wherever his father leads, though it may be through thorns and briars, cheerfully and contentedly.


    Another son, we will suppose, distrusts his father's wisdom and love, and, when the path is rough or uneven, begins to murmur and repine, wishing that he might be allowed to choose his own path; and though he is obliged to follow, it is with great reluctance and discontent    .

    Now, the reason that Christians in general do not enjoy more of God's presence, is, that they are not willing to walk in his path, when it crosses their own inclinations. But we shall never be happy, until we acquiesce with perfect cheerfulness in all his decisions, and follow wherever he leads without a murmur."

    Sept. 26 [1821].   "While lying awake last night, enjoyed most delightful views of God as a Father. Felt that my happiness is as dear to him as to myself; that he would not willingly hurt one hair of my head, nor let me suffer a moment's unnecessary pain. Felt that he was literally as willing to give as I could be to ask. Seemed, indeed, to have nothing to ask for."

    * * *
    Psalm 144:15  Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

       "The psalmist began to say, as most do, Happy are the people that are in such a case; those are blessed that prosper in the world. But he immediately corrects himself: Yea, rather, happy are the people whose God is the Lord, who have his favour, and love, and grace, according to the tenour of the covenant, though they have not abundance of this world's goods. As all this, and much more, cannot make us happy, unless the Lord be our God, so, if he be, the want of this, the loss of this, nay, the reverse of this, cannot make us miserable."

    ~ Matthew Henry

       "David having prayed for many temporal blessings in the behalf of the people from Psalms 144:12-15, at last concludes, Blessed are the people that are in such a case; but presently he checks and corrects himself, and eats, as it were, his own words, but rather, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. The Syriac rendereth it question wise, 'Is not the people (happy) that is in such a case?' The answer is, 'No', except they have God to boot: Psalms 146:5. Nothing can make that man truly miserable that hath God for his portion, and nothing can make that man truly happy that wants God for his portion. God is the author of all true happiness; he is the donor of all true happiness; he is the maintainer of all true happiness, and he is the centre of all true happiness; and, therefore, he that hath him for his God, and for his portion, is the only happy man in the world."


    ~ Thomas Brooks (as cited in C.H. Spurgeon's "Treasury of David," boldface mine)

    Psalm 84:9  Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. 10  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. 11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.


    (From Strong's Concordance ~ "blessed" in Psalm 84:12 is the same word translated "happy" in Psalm 144:15; it's the Hebrew word "esher":  happiness)

    Like Payson, have you received a felt knowledge, a firm and blessed assurance that your Father in heaven truly loves you and desires your happiness, that your happiness is as dear to Him as yourself?  Has the Holy Spirit ever borne witness to you that God is your Father and you are a child of God, a joint-heir with the Lord Jesus Christ?

    Romans 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

    Are you enjoying that Spirit of adoption so you no longer fear God, but are trusting Him –– even in the midst of suffering, even in the midst of thorns and briars, even in the midst of a rough and uneven path ––  fully assured that God the Father is for you and not against you?

    Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?


    Psalm 56:8  Thou tellest my wanderings:
    put thou my tears into thy bottle:
    are they not in thy book?
    9  When I cry unto thee,
    hen shall mine enemies turn back:
    this I know; for God is for me.

    Like Payson, have you learned to acquiesce – no, not only to acquiesce, but to cheerfully and contentedly acquiesce – to God's leading and God's decisions, so you might find true happiness?

    John 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. 25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

    Like Payson, have you begun to taste and enjoy, to see and savor the Father's love for you in Jesus Christ?

    Galatians 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus... 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

    If not, if your feet are stumbling and your steps are nearly slipping, if your heart is grieved and embittered (~ Psalm 73:2, 73:21), I urge you to run into the sanctuary like the Psalmist (~ Psalm 73:16-28), and remain there diligently seeking God's face through His Word and persevering prayer, waiting upon Him (like Habakkuk ~ 2:1), so He might grant you clear, Biblically informed, true and right views of Himself, rather than languishing in despair and doubt due to wrongly informed views of God based upon fleshly, inaccurate, false and earthly notions. Know this: our Father in heaven has sovereignly ordained and is tenderly superintending over every single trial and temptation His children must face (e.g. - see I Peter 1:6-7; Luke 22:31-34).

    Hebrews 10:14  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15  Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18  Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. 19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

    I John 5:11  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

    Source: "Memoir, Select Thoughts and Sermons of the Late Rev. Edward Payson, Volume 1" by Edward Payson (1783-1827) and Asa Cummings, (boldface, mine). HT for the text: http://books.google.com/books?id=nAZMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. The Memoir is also included in Volume 1 of "The Complete Works of Edward Payson," published by Sprinkle Publications (1987); page numbers the same.

    More from Payson:

    Other related posts:

    my other letters on assurance and fighting for joy
    Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from Jonathan Edwards
    Finding pleasure in Him
    As a deer pants ... Is your soul panting for God? (Psalms 42 & 43)
    The flags unfurled ... Christ's eternal banner | Lloyd-Jones ~ a third type of assurance
    The Christian should not just believe the truth, and know it..." | the Father's assurance
    Our Twisted View of God
    All things (even BAD things) work together for good... (from the archives)
    Christian, don't waste your life whining
    Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
    "The duties of religion are delightful" ~ the fruit of "The Life of God in the Soul of Man"
    Martin Luther: "The Spirit ... renders the heart glad & free, as the law demands"
    Embittered, pricked in heart? Go into the sanctuary of God (Psalm 73)
    Are you a radiant Christian or a drunken old woman? (letter 82 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    "the treasure you can never find in a mall" ~ Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift!
    "Too long, alas! I vainly sought for happiness below ... " | letter 150 on fighting for joy
    The Thorny Hedge for your joy (Hosea 2) | Letter 144 on assurance & fighting for joy
    Her Eyes Were Still Restrained ~ "When it looks like he is buried for good..."
    Naphtali News: Happy Anniversary

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Emphasis mine.

    Scripture quotations marked NKJV 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 original work found here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goalposts_and_thorny_hedge_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1086796.jpg / CC BY-SA/3.0

    "bottle_2618" - own photo / CC BY-SA/3.0

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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