Chapter. 17. If courageous, and fit for service, give God the praise.
those who only have moods, when their hearts are uplifted, that becomes the culmination of their godliness, in which they find their rest. However, the godly, when their hearts are uplifted at certain times more than others, see it as a preparation for further service. As stated in 1 Chronicles 29:18, "The hearts of the people were uplifted, and David blessed God for it and said, 'Prepare their hearts unto thee.'" Unsound hearts may question, "Now that our hearts are uplifted and we have offered freely, is it only for preparation?" Yet David prays to God to prepare their hearts, as if all their heart and affection at that time is merely a preparation for further duty. This is the difference between the good moods of the greatest hypocrite, which reach their peak, and the difference between the breathings of God's Spirit. By considering these means, it may help in discerning the difference between good moods at certain times and the different breathings of God's Spirit in His people.
Chapter 17:
The Third Use The Third Use of Direction: branched into four particulars. 1. If courageous and fit for service, give God the praise. Four reasons for it. 2. Learn to rebuke unbelief. 3. Work to keep your hearts up. The manner in which that can be done, in eight particulars. 4. Utilise this gracious working of God.
USE 3.
Thirdly, if there is such a difference between the hearts of God's people at times and at other times, this serves as a direction for all the people of God who are familiar with this variation in God's influence on their hearts. Here are Four Particulars to consider:
First, when you find your hearts uplifted more at certain times than at others, give God the glory. Secondly, learn to rebuke your unbelief.
Thirdly, strive to keep your hearts uplifted. Fourthly, make use of this significant working of God.
Firstly, if you indeed find your hearts more uplifted at one time than at another (as God's people often experience significant differences and can say at times, "Let my Beloved come into his Garden"), give
God the glory and praise for it, as it is a great mercy. Here are four reasons for it:
1. It prevents and delivers you from many dangers you would have faced when your hearts were down. If a temptation had come at that time, you would have been in great peril. Now God has prevented that danger.
2. If your hearts were right when they were down, you poured out your complaints to God about the deadness of your hearts. Now, if God has come in, it is a result of your seeking God and humbling yourselves before Him. Therefore, what comes as a fruit of humiliation and earnest seeking of God should be a matter of praise.
3. This is a gracious visitation of God. When God comes in with this, His presence is felt, and there is ample reason for praise.
4. It is an indication that God has a specific service for you to carry out. Those who are godly consider this a great mercy, for God to have any task for them. Now that you have received assurance in your souls that God intends to employ you, this is a great mercy to be acknowledged.
Secondly, learn to combat your unbelief. When your hearts were down, you were prone to say that things would never change. Now, restrain your hearts and come to this conclusion: I will never consider seeking God in vain, even if I don't experience His immediate presence. I will learn that, although I may deem myself unworthy of God's attention, I will never conclude that God will not come in. His ways are not like my ways, and His thoughts are not like my thoughts. Be cautious in judging God's ways and thoughts based on your own.
Thirdly, has God come in? Do you find that you possess a spirit of courage and boldness more than before? Now that you experience
God's sweet breath reviving your dead and heavy heart, and comforting and enlivening your soul, instilling confidence in your previously unbelieving heart, strive to maintain this state. It can be quite challenging to lift something up once it has fallen, but once it is up, with careful attention, it is not difficult to keep it that way. David expressed it well when he observed the people's willing offering in 1
Chronicles 29:18. He said, "O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the hearts of your people, and prepare their hearts unto you." Let this be your prayer, and it is my prayer for you as well. If your heart is in an elevated state, pray, "O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this in the thoughts of the heart of this individual
forever." Be diligent in maintaining the uplifted state of your heart, whether you are well or not, to avoid losing it due to negligence.
1. Neglecting to keep your heart up will lead you to question the truth of these gracious inspirations. You might think they were mere fleeting moments, something even hypocrites can experience. Not only will you question this, but you will question the truth of everything. This is what causes people to undermine the foundation of it all because their hearts were once lifted but, due to negligence, they let them fall and lose that spiritual life and courage they once had, bringing much sadness upon themselves. Therefore, if you desire evidence of the truth of God's work in you and the truth of grace, labour to keep your hearts uplifted.
2. Strive to keep your hearts uplifted, for if they falter again, the ways of God will become wearisome to you. Just as a person who walks unsteadily due to uneven legs or an uneven path becomes quickly tired, if a Christian's path is inconsistent and lacks steadiness, discouragement sets in rapidly. A key means to help one move forward with freedom and courage in God's ways is to proceed with consistency.
3. If you lose this state of uplifted hearts, you will lose the beauty of your profession and the beauty of a godly life. Consistency plays a significant role in the beauty of a godly way of living, and if your path fluctuates, there is no attractiveness in your conduct.
It diminishes the convincing power of your way and conduct. If others see your hearts lifted and witness a consistent and steady path, it would greatly convince them that it is the work of God's
Spirit in your hearts. However, when your hearts are sometimes
elevated and then brought low, when you display patience and meekness at times and passion and fretting at others, it does not convince them that it is the work of God's Spirit but merely the stirring of a natural disposition.
4. By not maintaining your uplifted hearts when God has elevated them, you will cause God to deal with you differently. Even though God may be inclined towards mercy, you will provoke
Him to respond in displeasure.
5. Furthermore, when your hearts are lifted, that is when the Devil is most watchful, seeking to trip you up. Just as Daniel conducted himself so diligently in all matters of the kingdom that no fault could be found in him, he was accused concerning his God and his religion. The Devil says, "If I were to tempt them with certain sins, I cannot prevail, but there is another way I may succeed." The Devil strives most to trip you in that area. It is similar to what he did with Christ in a different circumstance.
When you are at the pinnacle, he labours to bring you down. It is true that it is the work of God that has elevated you to the pinnacle, but there the Devil endeavours to throw you down.
Question: You may ask, "How can we maintain our uplifted hearts when they are in a better state than at other times?"
Answer: First, when your hearts are uplifted, strive to utilise the grace that has elevated them. Improve it to make your hearts more holy and upright. Just as a tree, if it only sprouts upwards without proportionate growth in the roots, it will wither and die. Similarly, if grace only works upwards in terms of abilities, performance of duties, and joy, without proportionate growth in the roots, it is likely to yield little fruit and you may soon lose it all.
Secondly, employ that grace you find within you, both inwardly and outwardly. Do not consider it sufficient to have stirrings of grace that enable you to carry out your duties. Instead, utilise this grace to combat and overcome the corruptions of your heart. Take the opportunity to address the weaknesses in your heart.
Thirdly, make sure you do not claim anything that belongs to God at this time. If God has uplifted your hearts, although you may experience the peace and joy of it, remember that the glory belongs to God. Be cautious not to allow pride to creep in when your heart is uplifted. It is enough that your heart is lifted in grace, and you should be content with that. However, many people, when God lifts them in grace, are not satisfied with their portion of peace and joy. They become proud and desire a share of God's glory, and that spoils everything.
Fourthly, when you are in the best condition, prepare for the possibility of the greatest suffering. Submit yourself to God's will and remain humble. This will help maintain a sweet disposition in your heart. Many people, when their hearts are uplifted for service, never consider the possibility of suffering. They believe they are in a safe and trouble-free state, and they congratulate themselves. But when trouble unexpectedly befalls them, their hearts sink, and they think that God is displeased with them. If that uplifted spirit had been genuine, they believe God would have protected them from such difficult circumstances. However, they are mistaken. A wise and gracious heart, when most capable of serving, will also prepare for suffering.
Fifthly, be cautious not to rely solely on past experiences of grace. Do not rest solely on the grace you have received but keep your heart
sensitive to the need for a continual supply of grace. Many people, after seeking God and receiving a measure of what they prayed for, think they have enough to sustain them and can manage well in the world. However, even if we had a hundred times more grace than we currently possess, without a constant supply from Christ, we would fail.
Sixthly, guard against the slightest decline in your spiritual state and consider it a great evil to backslide. Therefore, regularly examine and assess yourself. Reflect on past times when you may have experienced a decline and compare it to your present state. When people experience decline, it becomes difficult and burdensome for them to think about returning to their previous state, and as a result, they continue to decline until they lose everything. Therefore, pay attention to the initial signs of decline and hold yourself accountable daily so that when you notice even the slightest decrease, you can correct it.
Seventhly, do not settle for where you currently stand but strive to go higher and higher. The heart must be in constant upward motion or it will naturally descend. Therefore, the path to establishing yourself is to continually strive for growth, as the Apostle Peter writes in 2
Peter 3:17-18. He warns against being led astray by the error of the wicked and falling from your own steadfastness. Instead, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Make efforts to reach higher levels of spiritual growth.
Eighthly, make good use of what you already have, for that is the way to receive more from God. If you fail to make good use of it, God is just in taking it away. It would be a blessed thing if our hearts could remain constantly uplifted. Our lives would be comfortable not only
to ourselves but also to others. We would bring joy to the people of God. Otherwise, the inconsistency of our uplifted state would diminish the comfort that God's people might find in us. Though we may experience moments of being uplifted, there are also times of great inconsistency. Saint Paul expresses this sentiment to the Philippians, saying, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." A minister of God may indeed thank God when he remembers certain workings of grace upon the hearts of his people. It is a great matter to be able to thank God and to always make requests with joy in every prayer for the people. People should strive to walk in such a way that a minister can make requests with joy on their behalf. Now we move on to the final point.
Fourthly, if God has uplifted your hearts, make good use of it. We have limited time and opportunities, so it is important not to waste any time. We do not often have the abilities to serve God, so when we do, we should seize the opportunity. Just like a scholar with a weak body who is not always fit for study, if they find themselves able to study at any given time, they are reluctant to lose even a single hour of study. Similarly, a merchant or mariner who has waited a long time for a favourable wind is eager to make the most of that opportunity. We, too, often wait for a wind, as we see our duty and are convinced of it, but we lack the breath and assistance of God's
Spirit. Therefore, when God comes in a timely manner, we should make good use of it. If we had made use of all those opportune times, imagine how much progress we could have made by now. When we are in a suitable state for external work, we can accomplish more in one hour than we could have done in ten hours before. On the other hand, when we are unfit, we only stumble and struggle, achieving little good. But when we are ready for work and it goes well, what a source of encouragement it is! Therefore, if we had seized every
advantage presented to us since we came to know God's ways, think of how much we could have accomplished. Of course, in comparison to what God truly deserves, even if we had spent our entire lives in His service, it would still be very little. But compared to what we have actually done, it could have been abundant.
Question: How can we make good use of this time?
Answer: First, when God is working within you, reflect on past neglect during times of unfitness. Many times you have said, "I am unfit for duty," and as a result, you have left it undone, which should not have been the case. Now, if God has put your hearts in a state of fitness, strive to make up for your past neglect in running with God.
If a person suffers financial loss and setbacks due to negligence, and then they are given a second chance, it is expected that they would make up for their past neglect. God expects the same from us.
Secondly, focus on those duties that you were never able to do before.
Thirdly, gather all the experiences of God's dealings with you during this time. If you have had more manifestations of God's presence with you than before, treasure them up.
Fourthly, when God grants you peace and joy, make use of all the peace and comfort you have to further the work of your grace. This is a great improvement of what God has given you. Do not only enhance your grace but also the blessings that come with it. Many people, when they experience comfort and peace, view it as the fruit and reward of all the good they have done, but they fail to see it as a means for further service.