Assurance

The Penitent Mary Magdalene – Caravaggio, Public Domain Image

Almighty God,

I am loved with everlasting love,

clothed in eternal righteousness,

my peace flowing like a river,

my comforts many and large,

my joy and triumph unutterable,

my soul lively with a knowledge of salvation,

my sense of justification unclouded.

I have scarce anything to pray for;

Jesus smiles upon my soul as a ray of heaven

and my supplications are swallowed up in praise.

How sweet is the glorious doctrine of election

when based upon thy Word and wrought inwardly within the soul!

I bless thee that thou wilt keep the sinner

thou has loved,

and hast engaged that he will not forsake thee,

else I would never get to heaven.

I wrong the work of grace in my heart

if I deny my new nature and my eternal life.

If Jesus were not my righteousness and redemption

I would sink into nethermost hell

by my misdoings, shortcomings, unbelief, unlove;

If Jesus were not by the power of his Spirit

my sanctification,

there is no sin I should not commit.

O when shall I have his mind!

when shall I be conformed to his image?

All the good things of life are less than nothing

when compared with his love,

and with one glimpse of thy electing favour.

All the treasures of a million worlds could not

make me richer, happier, more contented,

for his unsearchable riches are mine.

One moment of communion with him, one view

of his grace,

is ineffable, inestimable.

But O God, I could not long after thy presence

if I did not know the sweetness of it; And such I could not know except by thy Spirit

in my heart, nor love thee at all unless thou didst

elect me,

call me,

adopt me,

save me.

I bless thee for the covenant of grace.

- Excerpt from The Valley of Vision

The Way of Righteousness

“In the way of Righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.”

— Proverbs 12:28

Image taken by Miriam, all credit to God.

The word “Christian” appears three times in the KJV of the New Testament. The word “Christianity” does not appear at all. The way of righteousness is alluded to three times in the New Testament and three times in the Old, all of which are in Proverbs. Jesus came to give us life, and that more abundantly. Isaiah wrote of “a highway and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness” that the unclean shall not walk on, “but the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein (Isaiah 35:8)”. The redeemed and the ransomed will travel by this path all the way to Zion, our glorified state.

The way of righteousness is not a path we can walk in our own strength. Just as every year people try to hike Mount Washington here in New Hampshire alone only to perish off some obscure path or cliff, the Christian life is far too perilous to travel alone. We are not migratory birds that will travel the right way over long distances year in and year out on pure instinct. But the Lord knows the path well because it is His, and He leads us in paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake (Ps 23:3).

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me.” —John 14:6

Selah.

Your Sins Have Withholden Good Things from You

“Your sins have withholden good things from you.” -Jeremiah 5:25

Sin is a hinderance to our spiritual wellbeing. It can well up in our hearts and cause us to act without seeking God. It can land us in a snare before we have time to know we've been caught up. We must identify sin and bring it to the Lord with haste. We must not try to soothe it with worldly pleasures, such as consumerism, entertainment, and food. We must look to the Lord first as our salve.

If the Law is written on our hearts, He will make the smallest sins apparent to us, and when he does this, we must repent immediately. Have you ever celebrated the victory over one sin only to have another revealed unto you? We must never rest. We must continually seek sanctification and holiness.

There are sins we might not have been aware of until we were tried in a particular way. We must not let them fester, but deal with them in a way that is acceptable and pleasing to the Lord. Confess them in your prayers for as long as it takes and be not prevented from the sweetness of salvation, charity, love, and fellowship,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9

Root out your transgressions. Bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him refine you so that you come forth as gold.

"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." -Job 23:10

Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Amen.