A Heart That Will Follow

I will continue now with Thomas Manton’s thoughts on the kind of heart required to experience the promised guidance of God.  After a fear of the Lord, Manton says the next qualification is humility or meekness.  “He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way” (Psalm 25:9).  Humility is not weakness, but a willingness to submit to God, whatever condition He sovereignly appoints in life.  This is the person the Lord can teach and direct.  When a naturely proud human heart surrenders the idolatry of its own will, and in humility entirely depends on the Lord’s help, then that person will experience clear direction from God.  That guidance will give a settled assurance to the heart that all is well, through whatever pathway He leads.  God’s direction won’t come in an audible voice, or with some kind of celestial signpost, and it won’t bypass our reasoning processes. The ability to reason, consider and evaluate are divine gifts to be used in decision making.  But His direction will be enjoyed by humble hearts with a sincere conviction that whatever providential road we travel, He will be with us. 

Learning from the Best—2

On Tuesday I shared with you some thoughts on God’s promises to guide and support those who look to Him in submissive faith.  Yesterday I acknowledged my increasing debt to the wonderful Puritan teacher, Thomas Manton.  Today I want to give you Manton’s comments on the qualifications necessary to see those promises fulfilled.  Or, to put it in the words of Psalm 25:12: “Who is the man that fears the Lord?  He will instruct him in the way he should choose.”  Manton emphasized that, just as this verse indicates, a “fear of the Lord” is the basic qualification required. Someone who fears God has a greater awe of His word than others have, and is loath to do anything contrary to God’s will.  Such a person, in every particular situation, will want to do what is pleasing to the Lord.  In a beautiful turn of phrase, Manton wrote that God is able to trust such submissive hearts with great promises, knowing that they won’t abuse that trust for selfish ends.  The person who fears God aims at His glory rather than selfish interest, and so is dominated by conscience rather than worldly concerns.  Teaching like this, that digs beneath the surface of every subject is thrilling!  Like the other Puritan teachers, Manton is never superficial.  With carefully nuanced sentences that convey profound thoughts, I find reading him very rewarding and instructive.  I’ll continue tomorrow.

God's Guidance—2

“Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it” (Psalm 37:5).  I want to paraphrase Thomas Manton’s thoughts on this verse:  The word of God gives us understanding of what He requires of us, that if we submit to Him we may be sure of success, comfort and support.  What a singular mercy it is, that God has given us the Scripture, in which we can find counsel on all occasions how to manage our lives wisely.  If we did not have this rule of faith and obedience, we would be groping in the dark.  God’s word teaches us how to think well, for it reaches into our innermost thoughts.  It teaches us to speak well, and to do well in all our actions.  To reject God’s counsel is to do ourselves great harm.  This is so great an evil, that God punishes it with itself.  Oh, what a heavy judgement it is, to be given up to the counsels of your own heart!  People need nothing else to utterly ruin their lives, than to follow their own selfish course.   

God's Guidance

“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24).  This verse gives us one important reason we should love God’s word.  The guidance and counsel found in God’s word is sufficient to meet every need and condition the Christian will ever experience in this life.  Our great ambition should be to please the Lord in all that we do, whether by life of by death.  We should make it our business to have God’s approval in our every action, because the fruitfulness and success of our actions depend on His blessing.  Because of the fallen sinful nature, people cannot govern themselves rightly.  Selfish desires dominate all the actions of those who live without reference to God.  His counsel and direction are indispensable.  The Scriptures are the counsel of God, sent to remedy the miseries of the fall.  We need as much motivation to read the Bible as we can get!  We need to multiply reasons to read it, and this is one of them.  We must delight in it and seek its counsel daily.     

God's Direction

Psalm 119:105 has a great deal to teach us about how God directs the lives of believers by His word: “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”  There is so much here worthy of our notice; this verse sums up in just a few words the comprehensive manner of God’s direction.  The first thing we see is that God’s word is compared to light and a lamp.  The sun guides us in the daytime, while a lamp is used in the darkness of night.  Daylight and darkness are opposites.  From this we learn that the word of God directs in every situation, in every condition.  Second, God’s word lights our path.  A path leads somewhere; so the word leads us to our goal, which is the enjoyment of God both now and forever.  God’s word not only shows us our goal, it also reveals the means by which we can reach that goal.  Third, God’s word guides our feet along the path.  The Bible is sufficient to direct both the entire course of our lives, and each step along the way.  Thomas Manton wrote: “The world is a dark place.  Ay; but now, here is a light that shines in a dark place, and that is the Holy Scripture, it shows us our way to heaven, and prevents us from stumbling into hell.”