God's Knowledge of Us # 2

God's Knowledge of Us # 2

"O Lord, You know" my FOES! Lord, let me not dishonor You by fearing man, or trembling before satan, or feeling alarmed at death! Rather give me wisdom and grace, to put on the whole of the armor which You have provided, and manfully resist, oppose, and overcome them!

"O Lord, You know" my DESIRES. And these sometimes, form my only evidence of a work of grace in my heart. You know that I do desire to be holy - though I am not. You know that I desire to worship You in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. You know that I would exalt Jesus, spread His fame, and bring thousands of sinners to His feet. You know that I desire to mortify the flesh, with its affections and lusts; to put on the new man; to walk in holiness; and to be a burning and shining light. You know that I desire to be, to do, and to suffer all Your will without complaining, or even wishing for the least alteration in a single point. But my desires - and my conduct, my inward desires - and my outward behavior, are often sadly at variance, for I find the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that I cannot do the things that I would.

But blessed be God, my desires for practical conformity to His will are natural, habitual, and often powerful; and must, as I believe, spring from the presence, power, and operation of His Holy Spirit.

"O Lord, You know" my DESIRES! Give me grace that I may be enabled to carry out my desires in all the walks of life!

"O Lord, You know" my HOPES. Hopes that refer to time - and hopes that run into eternity. Hopes that respect the body - and hopes that refer to the soul. Hopes for the church - and hopes for the world. Hopes for my family - and hopes for myself.

Especially my hope of eternal life - and of sharing in the glories and triumphs of Jesus when He comes.

The crown of my hope, You know is, the soon coming of my beloved Lord. To see Him come in the clouds, with glory, and all the holy angels with Him. To shine in the glory of the first resurrection, to be invited to sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb, and to share in the privileges and immunities of the New Jerusalem.

O that the King of kings would come! O that the Lord would descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God! O that the Lord's people could lay aside their prejudices, and as one man embrace the doctrine, and hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"O Lord, You know" that my hope of acceptance in Your sight, rests on the finished work of Jesus alone, and all my hopes of good in this world, or in that which is to come - are founded on Your most blessed and holy Word.

"O Lord, You know" my SINS and FOLLIES. No one else does. No one el;se ever will. How could I look anyone in the face - if I thought he knew what was passing in my heart, or what is transacted in the chambers of my imagination within! The Lord alone can search the heart. He only knows the worst of us; and He only knows the best; for the best and the worst, are both concealed in the same heart. The eye of God sees every motive, every thought, every lust, every action! His eye is on that mysterious portion of our nature, called the imagination, on which such strange pictures are often painted, in which such fearful scenes are sometimes transacted. What a depth of pollution there is within us! What billows of corruption sometimes roll and sell! What streams of moral filthiness sometimes flow from the heart into the imagination! How difficult sometimes to keep it back. "You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from You! (Psalm 69:5).

Little does the young Christian think what the pure and holy eye of God sees within him; and what his own eye will one day discover, filling him with alarm - if not with horror, with shame and self-loathing before God. Then he will enter into poor Job's confession, "Behold, I am vile!" and into Isaiah's exclamation, "Woe is me! I am undone!" "What more can I say unto You? For You know Your servant, O Sovereign Lord!" (2 Sam. 7:20).

But blessed be God, the righteousness of Jesus covers all, conceals all; and the grace and Spirit of God will ultimately pruge away the whole foul heap from us!

Now our iniquities are forgiven, and our sins are covered; but then our natures will be perfectly purified, and be white as the falling snow! "Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!" (1 John 3:2).

~James Smith~

(continued with # 3)