FEAR THE LORD ALONE

"Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth, with all your heart; for consider how great things He hath done for you." -I Samuel 12:24 [KJV]

How truly affectionate was this pastoral advice of the prophet to Israel, in the close of recapitulating Israel's history, and God's love over them! My soul! take this portion from Israel's history, and apply it to thine own; for the argument, and the reason upon which the argument is founded, are one and the same; and thou wilt find the same causes, both from interest in Christ and from received mercies from Christ, to form the same conclusion. But at what part of thine history wilt thou begin, or where wilt thou end, in considering what great things thy God, thy Jesus, hath done for thee? Wilt thou open with the consideration of God's mercies towards thee in nature, or providence, or grace? What arithmetic will be competent to score the vast account, even in a thousandth degree, of either of those departments; much more if thou weft to study the subject in all? Who indeed can be sufficient to note them down, or to state in order, as they passed before him, the numberless events which testified divine favour during the long season of thine unregeneracy? What a huge volume might be formed in nature only, of the Lord's watchfulness, providings, preservings, and ordinations, in making all minister and become subservient to our welfare? Oh! it is blessed to consider, even if it were here only, what great things the Lord hath done for us.  

And while we mark the footsteps of His love, and note our wanderings from Him; when we trace back the wonderful subject of distinguishing mercy, and call to mind the grates of some, yea, many, with whom were spent our youthful days, while we remain not only the spared, but we hope the saved monuments of free sovereign grace and mercy; well may we exclaim, with one of old, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies!" And if from the outer court of nature and providence, our souls enter into the inner court of grace, and there mark down, since the day of our regeneracy and the Lord's effectual calling, what great things He hath done for us, surely it would tire the arm of an angel to write the whole account.  

Precious Lord Jesus! In Thee, and by Thee, and from Thee, all our mercies flow. Thou art the first, the last, the best, the comprehensive gift of God; the channel of all blessings temporal, spiritual, and eternal; through whom all the streams come, from Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and through whom all love and praise return; not only the channel through whom they come, but the substance in whom they centre. Thou hast purchased them, and they are enjoyed wholly from our union with Thee; and their continuation in grace here, and glory to all eternity, must result from Thee: all the covenant mercies of God in Christ, are "the sure mercies of David" on thy account! Think, then, my soul! what causes thou art surrounded with, in the great things God hath done for thee, that thou shouldest fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth, with all thine heart!  

Close then the month as thou hopest to close thy life on earth, with this sweet scripture; and as thou didst open the month in contemplating the LORD thy Righteousness, as the name whereby thou are enjoined to call Him, so now let thy last meditation, before thou droppest to sleep in ending the month, be with the same. "He is (as Moses told Israel) thy praise, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen." Be this, therefore, thy daily meditation, and thine evening hymn: "...to fear the LORD, and serve Him; for consider how great things He hath done for thee." Amen. 

-Robert Hawker (1753-1827 A.D.) 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JESUS - Rock of Ages

Jesus remains the same in all ages. He is the One who is constant when everything and everyone else fails. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is our R ock [I SAMUEL 2:2 ] . In the Old Testament, in Exodus 33, Jesus is pictured as the Cleft Rock. In that chapter, verse 18 and following, Moses desired to see the glory of the Lord, but was told, "You cannot see My face; for there shall no man see My face and live.” And the Lord said, “There is a place by Me, and you shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." Notice that as Moses stood upon the rock, the Lord hid him in the cleft. This wonderfully applies to us today! Believers are both standing on and hidden in Christ [COLOSSIANS 3:3 ] . We are both in and on the Rock. As life with its many bitter events presses upon us, ...
Read more

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s...
Read more

GLORY ALONE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

" Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." -Judges 7:2 [KJV] Thus the Lord reasoned with Gideon. He knows what is in man. He sees the pride of the human heart: how prone we all are to boast in an arm of flesh. The Lord is jealous of His own glory. Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand, is brought down to three hundred. By this handful of men, and no more, did Gideon gain the victory of the Midianites. The Lord’s wisdom in this was, “Lest Israel should vaunt themselves, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me.”   But I have not transcribed the text right. There are two little words of great import, which I have omitted. Mind then, O Christian— against Me. Now remember, whenever thou dost boast of thy power, thy free-will, thy human goodness, thy works, ditties, conditions, and performances in order to be saved, thou art then, as it were, two and thirty thousand strong. Thou vauntest thyself against the Lord . Thou art gloryi...
Read more