Quotes

Comments on Psalm 40:8

'I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.'



'That [Jesus] came into the world to die for us is a mercy of the first magnitude; but that he came in love to our souls, and underwent all his sufferings with such willingness for our sakes, this heightens it above all apprehension.
...
Did Christ find pleasure in abasement and torment, in suffering and dying for me, and can I find no pleasure in praying, hearing, meditating, and enjoying the sweet duties of communion with him? Did he come so cheerfully to die for me, and do I go so dead heartedly to prayers and sacraments to enjoy fellowship with him? Was it a pleasure to him to shed his blood, and is it none to me to apply it, and reap the benefits of it? O let there be no more grumblings, lazy excuses, shiftings of duty, or dead hearted and listless performances of them, after such an example as this. Be ready to do the will of God, be ye also ready to suffer it. And as to sufferings for Christ, they should not be grievous to Christians that know how cheerfully Christ came from the bosom of the Father to die for them. What have we to leave or lose, in comparison with him? What are our sufferings to Christ's? Alas! there is no compare; there was more bitterness in one drop of his sufferings than in a sea of ours. To conclude: your delight and readiness in the paths of obedience is the very measure of your sanctification.' - Condensed from John Flavel.

'Thy law is within my heart. The law of God is not to be kept in books, but in the midst of our heart, that we may rightly understand the same, admire it, and observe it.' - Martin Geier.

'This law was in his heart, in the midst of his bowels. He did as much delight in it as we do in following those inclinations which nature has implanted in our hearts, as we do in eating and drinking. So he expresses it John 4:34 , "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." He was as willing to bleed and die for thee as thou art to eat when hungry. He was delighted as much to be scourged, wounded, crucified, as thou delightest in meat when most delicious.' - David Clarkson.

The Lord Trieth The Righteous

From Spurgeon's book, again, on Psalm 11, verse 7.

' "The Lord trieth the righteous:" he doth not hate them, but only tries them. They are precious to him, and therefore he refines them with afflictions. None of the Lord's children may hope to escape from trial, nor, indeed, in our right minds, would any of us desire to do so, for trial is the channel of many blessings.

" 'Tis my happiness below
Not to live without the cross;
But the Saviour's power to know,
Sanctifying every loss.
* * * * *
Trials make the promise sweet;
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to his feet--
Lay me low, and keep me there.

Did I meet not trials here--
No chastisement by the way--
Might I not, with reason, fear
I should prove a cast-away!

Bastards may escape the rod,
Sunk in earthly vain delight;
But the true-born child of God
Must not--would not, if he might."
- William Cowper.
Is not this a very cogent reason why we should not distrustfully endeavour to shun a trial?--for in so doing we are seeking to avoid a blessing.'

Is there no trial we should seek to avoid? I think you could take this too far and say you want to have your family in jeopardy, you want to be kidnapped, and take no action to prevent this. If the Lord allows us to go through a trial, then we should trust the Lord and thank Him through it all, however. Any thoughts on this?

Hard Times

You know those days in which you don't feel like doing anything? (Please say yes.) Well, I had one a couple of days ago. I've never been very self-motivated, and I'm a procrastinator (another word for lazy). But this was worse than normal. I had a hard time prying myself from my computer chair and, shamefully, groaned when my mom told me to do something. This attitude stemmed from: first, my sinful nature--but was exacerbated by something I was worried about. Ironically, I was worried about my sin, and in the process was adding sin to sin.

We can't just wait to do something until we feel like it. But there should be a joy in serving, as we are servants of our wonderful Lord. However, sometimes we don't have the joy we should. What to do? Can we force joy into our hearts? No. But we can pray for God to change us, to give us joy. We can remind ourselves of God's goodness, forgiveness, and the reward awaiting us in heaven. We can sing hymns of thanksgiving. By God's grace, soon we'll be wondering why we were downcast in the first place.

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. - Psalm 32:11

Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. - Micah 7:7

Recommended reading: When I Don't Desire God - How to Fight for Joy