So Sweet to Trust

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
--Proverbs 3:5-6

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

--words by Louisa M. R. Stead

An Abundance of Counselors

One of the very simple but beautiful, and very relieving truths that we find in the book of Proverbs is the idea that the wise will seek counsel from others. This can be seen as a very elementary idea: if you don't know how to do something or act in a certain situation, then ask someone who does. Yet I find that pride and selfishness can make the application of this principle difficult.

"Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed."
- Proverbs 15:22

"for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory." - Proverbs 24:6

The point is this: we were not made to be self-sufficient. We are not suppose to be able to make it through the battles of life by our own strength and wisdom. We are just not strong enough. We are just not wise enough. If we try to make it on our own, our plans will fail. Yet, if we are surrounded by an abundance of God-fearing counselors, we will have victory. Sometimes... many times, we need to ask for help.

This means that we must go ahead and let our pride go. We must release our grip upon an inaccurate portrayal of our life that pictures us as anything but needy and dependent. Though the children of God have been bought with the blood of the Lamb and are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are still fragile, sinful, and easily confused. We still have questions, weaknesses, doubts, and misunderstandings. Is this not why the body of Christ has so many members? Because different people have different strengths, weaknesses, and gifts, we are able to function in such a way that those who are strong in one area can counsel those who are weak in that area; and vice versa. In the areas where we have questions or weaknesses we are encouraged to go to others to receive their counsel. This is seen as wisdom in God's eyes when we seek out an abundance of counselors.

"By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom." - Proverbs 13:10

Our Lord does not consider seeking advice to be a sign of weakness, rather, He considers it to be a sign of wisdom.

"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." - Proverbs 11:14

One of the gifts that God has given us to keep us safe, is the Church! For within the family of God we may surround ourselves with an abundance of counselors. What a simple yet profoundly burden-lifting truth!
When we are faced with sin and temptation, we can seek advice. When we are confronted with various life choices, we can ask for counsel. When we don't understand a verse in the Bible, we can still pursue guidance.
It seems so simple and easy, yet pride always seems to get tangled up in the mix of things. Yet,
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." - Proverbs 11:2

We must seek to put our pride away. We must seek to mortify it. We must remain beneath the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world. Repentance must be our daily prayer, as we seek to obey our God because of the redeeming work that He has done on our behalf. May we pray that our God would empower us to walk according to His Word.

An Iron Cage

Reading through the "Pilgrim's Progress" once again has been a very helpful thing for me. Here is a very chilling passage from where Christian is in the Interpreter's house.

"Christian: Now, let me go hence.
Interpreter: Nay, stay, until I have shown thee a little more, and after that thou shalt go thy way.

So he took him by the hand again, and led him into a very dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage. Now the man, to look on, seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands folded together, and he sighed as if he would break his heart.

Chr: What means this?

At which the Interpreter bid him talk with the man.

Chr: What art thou?
Man: I am what I was not once.
Chr: What wast thou once?
Man: I was once a fair and flourishing professor (Luke 8:13), both in mine own eyes, and also in the eyes of others. I was once, as I thought, fair for the Celestial City, and had even joy at the thoughts that I should get thither.
Chr: Well, but what art thou now?
Man: I am now a man of despair, and am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out. Oh, now I cannot!
Chr: But how camest thou into this condition?
Man: I left off to watch and be sober. I laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts. I sinned against the light of the Word, and the goodness of God. I have grieved the Spirit, and He is gone. I tempted the Devil, and he is come to me. I have so hardened my heart that I cannot repent.
Chr: For what did you bring yourself into this condition?
Man: For the lusts, pleasures, and profits of this world; in the enjoyment of which I did then promise myself much delight; but now every one of those things also bit me, and gnaw me, like a burning worm.
Interpreter: Let this man's misery be remembered by thee, and be an everlasting caution to thee."

He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. -Proverbs 29:1

The Fear of the Lord

The concept of the fear of the Lord can be found all throughout the Scriptures. If you were to open your Bible you would discover that both the Old and New Testaments address it frequently. Just recently I have had the privilege and the blessing of spending a bit of time in the book of Proverbs. It seems that every time I read a passage from that book, I am amazed at the scope of content covered in those 31 chapters. While the deep well of wisdom that can be found in Proverbs is shocking, I have been struck specifically by the verses in Proverbs dealing with the fear of the Lord. While the children of God rejoice that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and while we are told to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence because we have such a great high priest (Hebrews 4:16), we must also remind our souls on a daily basis (or more) that God is God!

"It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers" (Isaiah 40:22);
"The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 40:28b); and
"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases" (Psalm 115:3).

The book of Proverbs deals with the fear of the Lord in an amazing way. In a sense it shows that the journey of the child of God begins with the fear of the Lord, is sustained by the fear of the Lord, and is carried through by the fear of the Lord.

When God reaches down to rescue a soul, He gives him new life. In this new life we are given eyes and ears to see and hear the truth.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7)
When God saves us, we recognize that He is holy, awesome, and powerful and that we are sinful, lost, and weak. This right comprehension of the reality of who God is and who we are will result in the fear of the Lord. This salvation wrought by God is where the person begins in wisdom; this is where for the first time the person truly fears the Lord.

"The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil" (Proverbs 8:13)
As we walk in this world it is God's will that we be sanctified (I Thessalonians 4:3). This sanctification is a work of grace by the Spirit in our lives. As we grow in Christ-likeness (Romans 8:29) the Spirit convicts us of sin, and shows us what we must put to death in our lives. If we do not hate evil, we will not be as eager to put the remaing evil in our lives to death. Therefore, the fear of the Lord sustains and motivates us in our battle against sin as we seek to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

"The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom" (Proverbs 15:33)
We are not only to be people who hate evil, but we must also seek instruction in wisdom. We, as the children of God, must humbly and joyfully submit to the instruction that has been revealed to us in God's Word. We ought to be children who delight in the law of the Lord! (Psalm 1:2) We must cling to the testimonies of the Lord (Psalm 119:31) and run in the way of His commandments (Psalm 119:32). We must hate evil and love the instructions of God.

"The fear of the Lord leads to life" (Proverbs 19:23)
Not only is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom, the hatred of evil, and instruction in wisdom; but it also leads to life! The destination of those who fear the Lord is a place of eternal bliss in the glorious presence of the Most High God! Because of Christ's righteousness that covers us and death that paid for us, we can be assured that even as he rose again, we are no longer subjected to the fear of death! (Hebrews 2:15) For in fact,
"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life" (Proverbs 14:23).
The reward for walking in the fear of the Lord is life eternal...

Are we walking in the fear of the Lord?

"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)