Then is the moment to choose whether or not we will live in the presence of God; then when the finger of conscience is pointing to Him and saying, "He is looking at you. In the day when I cried Charles KingsleyOut of the DeepWherefore a Few Witnesses, which the Lord Deigns to Suggest to My Mind32. Hear my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my petition. (Isa. Our relation toward such a God should be . 1. In short, to live with God is to be perpetually rising above the world; to live without Him is to be perpetually sinking into it, and with it, and below it. Ps. He is the perfect servant, the perfect minister, the perfect shepherd pastor-leader. It is perfectly plain from the elevated central point of view where we now stand, and in the focal light in which we now see, that no man can be justified before God upon the ground of personal character; for that character, when subjected to God's exhaustive scrutiny, withers and shrinks away. Self-consciousness has been the problem of the philosophic mind in all ages; and the mystery is not yet unravelled. Read full chapter Psalm 138:8 in all English translations Psalm 137 Psalm 139 King James Version (KJV) Public Domain PLUS Do you have questions about the passage you are reading? lxxxv. Those who live much in refined and educated society acquire refinement insensibly. II. The right state of mind plainly is to have the thought of God's presence so perpetually at hand that it shall always start before us whenever it is wanted. 2. He then that has no care to keep peace refuses to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Take heed unto me and hear me; how I mourn in my prayer and am vexed.--Psalm iv. "I am, as Thy creature, wholly dependent on Thee; without Thee, faith must die, and hope expire; without Thee, love must decay and perish. Then is the moment to choose whether or not we will live in the presence of God; then when the finger of conscience is pointing to Him and saying, "He is looking at you. Because Thou "wilt perfect"; therefore "forsake not the works of Thine own hands." able characteristics of a rational being is the power of self-inspection. 7 ad 3m II. S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. cxxxviii. Take heed unto me and hear me; how I mourn in my prayer and am vexed.--Psalm iv. People Listen In Different Wayscan You Reach All Of Them? So that whenever we are on the point of doing or saying anything cowardly, or mean, or false, or impure, or proud, or conceited, or unkind, the remembrance that God is looking on shall instantly flash across us and help us to beat down our enemy. If God makes your son His son also, what do you lose or what does he himself lose? Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? March 3rd, 2023. But once let a man or woman reach this assurance that through all the various scenes of life God is moulding them, and even by the "strokes of doom" fashioning them "to shape and use," and all the life sparkles with glad significance. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration St. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. OURSELVES. He will revive us."--HOS. Our hearts will put us in mind of God's eye being upon us every now and then involuntarily. vi. II. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? "Forsake not the work of Thine own hands." Now carry this confidence into everything. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. IV. v. 22). His discourse, the first which He delivered to His disciples at greater length, began from this. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration St. ad probam IV. There is no reason to mourn a son as lost who is a religious, still less to fear for his delicacy of constitution. Those who live much in a court acquire courtly manners. ad probam IV. We could never discharge our duties properly if we were to be perpetually distracted by the consciousness of what was around us: and, above all, we might be daunted by the perpetual thought of the presence of God, and so be paralyzed instead of helped. The right state of mind plainly is to have the thought of God's presence so perpetually at hand that it shall always start before us whenever it is wanted. In my trouble I will call upon the Lord, and complain unto my God; so shall He hear my voice out of His holy temple, and my complaint shall come before Him; it shall enter even into His ears.--Ps. "You saw me before I was born. Nay, more, this process of self-inspection may go on indefinitely, and the man grow more and more thoughtful, and obtain an everlastingly augmenting knowledge of what he is and what he does, so that it shall seem to him that he is penetrating so deeply into those dim and shadowy regions of consciousness where the external life takes its very first start, and then he may be sure that God understands the thought that is afar off, and deep down, and that at this lowest range and plane in his experience he besets him behind and before.II. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple St. 1. The mercy of the creature is changeable; the mercy of Jehovah is unchangeable. 17, 18).2. ad probam IV. What sunshine of the soul we should enjoy! (2)Unseen world.(3)Everywhere. There is, therefore, nothing wrong in our forgetting that we are in the presence of God any more than there is anything foolish in our forgetting that we need air to breathe or light to see by, or that if we fall we may hurt ourselves: just in the same way as we very often, and quite rightly, forget that we are in the company of men who will take notice of our faults. Our hearts will put us in mind of God's eye being upon us every now and then involuntarily. In short, to live with God is to be perpetually rising above the world; to live without Him is to be perpetually sinking into it, and with it, and below it. Chapter i. Differently to be admonished are those that are at variance and those that are at peace. GOD ACCURATELY AND EXHAUSTIVELY KNOWS ALL THAT MAN MIGHT, BUT DOES NOT, KNOW OF HIMSELF. cxxxviii. AugustineOn the Good of MarriagePrayer Out of the Deep. But in almost every case the dazzling rays of a searchlight frustrated the attempt, and the fugitives' vessel was captured by the Americans. Hence Paul Leo the GreatWritings of Leo the GreatSense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Ps. OURSELVES. 2. Nor did God create these each by himself, and join them together as alien by birth: but He created the one St. To reveal the supreme interest of human life. 24).(W. For which of us has a flawless record of submission to the Divine purpose? Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? 7. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration St. cxxxviii. The right state of mind plainly is to have the thought of God's presence so perpetually at hand that it shall always start before us whenever it is wanted. Thomas AquinasOn Prayer and The Contemplative Life, Epistle Xlvii. )PeopleDavid, PsalmistPlacesJerusalemTopicsAbandon, Accomplish, Age, Chief, Complete, Concerneth, Concerns, David, Endures, Endureth, Eternal, Everlasting, Fall, Forever, Forsake, Fulfil, Fulfill, Hands, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercy, Musician, O, Perfect, Psalm, Purpose, Steadfast, WorksOutline1. AugustineOf Holy Virginity. Even in its most rudimental form, invisible to any other ken, it is still open to His eyes, and He determines all its subsequent development, recording in His book the days to come, i.e. Help Me, LORD! - The Connecting Church He then that has no care to keep peace refuses to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Psalms 138:8 - The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: th - GodTube Said Milton, speaking of his travels abroad when a young man: "I again take God to witness that in all places where so many things are considered lawful, I lived sound and untouched from all profligacy and vice, having this thought perpetually with me, that though I might escape the eyes of men, I certainly could not the eyes of God."4. vi. There is, therefore, nothing wrong in our forgetting that we are in the presence of God any more than there is anything foolish in our forgetting that we need air to breathe or light to see by, or that if we fall we may hurt ourselves: just in the same way as we very often, and quite rightly, forget that we are in the company of men who will take notice of our faults. It is a simple question of time; a simple question whether it shall come here in this world, where the blood of Christ "freely" flows, or in the future world, where "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin."(W. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made John CunninghamThe Ordinance of CovenantingIntroduction. He prophesies that the kings of the earth shall praise God7. Nay, more, this process of self-inspection may go on indefinitely, and the man grow more and more thoughtful, and obtain an everlastingly augmenting knowledge of what he is and what he does, so that it shall seem to him that he is penetrating so deeply into those dim and shadowy regions of consciousness where the external life takes its very first start, and then he may be sure that God understands the thought that is afar off, and deep down, and that at this lowest range and plane in his experience he besets him behind and before.II. If God makes your son His son also, what do you lose or what does he himself lose? His discourse, the first which He delivered to His disciples at greater length, began from this. Then is the moment to choose whether or not we will live in the presence of God; then when the finger of conscience is pointing to Him and saying, "He is looking at you. ( Psalm 138:8) "God will perfect everything that concerns you." ( Psalm 138:8, NKJV) I have heard my wife use King David's phrase many times in her public prayers. He may be an uncommonly thoughtful person, and little of what is done within his soul may escape his notice; nay, we will make the extreme supposition that he arrests every thought as it rises, and looks at it; that he analyzes every sentiment as it swells his heart; that he scrutinizes every purpose as it determines his will; even if he should have such a thorough and profound self-knowledge as this, God knows him equally profoundly and equally thoroughly. 73 views, 1 likes, 0 loves, 2 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Church of the Saviour UMC: Modern Worship, Church of the Saviour - January 29, 2023 Said Milton, speaking of his travels abroad when a young man: "I again take God to witness that in all places where so many things are considered lawful, I lived sound and untouched from all profligacy and vice, having this thought perpetually with me, that though I might escape the eyes of men, I certainly could not the eyes of God."4. PHILIPPIANS 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And this perpetual though not always conscious sense of God's presence would, no doubt, if we would let it have its perfect work, gradually act on our characters just as the presence of our fellow-men does. That act whereby another being knows my secret thoughts and inmost feelings is most certainly inexplicable.I. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. At best we can only see the outside of a thing, the curve, the angle, the colour. To reveal the supreme interest of human life. G. T. Shedd, D. D.)God's presenceArchbishop Temple. His omnipotence (vers. 15. The friends of God are glad in the sure hope of being more and more consciously under His eye. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. iii. That of a prayerful seeking of the Divine guidance (ver. Though the transgressor is ignorant of much of his sin, because, at the time of its commission, he sins blindly as well as wilfully, and unreflectingly as well as freely; and though the transgressor has forgotten much of that small amount of sin, of which he was conscious, and by which he was pained, at the time of its perpetration; though, on the side of man, the powers of self-inspection and memory have accomplished so little towards this preservation of man's sin, yet God knows it all, and remembers it all. (Admonition 23.) )God all-seeing:In the mythology of the heathen, Momus, the god of fault-finding, is represented as blaming Vulcan, because in the human form, which he had made of clay, he had not placed a window in the breast, by which whatever was done or thought there might easily be brought to light. This was basically what David was doing when he declared The Lord will perfect that which concerns me., Scriptures: )PeopleDavid, PsalmistPlacesJerusalemTopicsAbandon, Accomplish, Age, Chief, Complete, Concerneth, Concerns, David, Endures, Endureth, Eternal, Everlasting, Fall, Forever, Forsake, Fulfil, Fulfill, Hands, Kindness, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Mercy, Musician, O, Perfect, Psalm, Purpose, Steadfast, WorksOutline1. Gregory to Dominicus, Bishop of Carthage [1454] . --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made John CunninghamThe Ordinance of CovenantingIntroduction. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. How can I turn all my worries and problems over to God? And are not temptations everywhere, and so many of them subtle and strong, and before which many souls have fallen? For if God's exhaustive knowledge of the human heart waken dread in one of its aspects, it starts infinite hope in another. God has made us so. Then is the moment to choose whether or not we will live in the presence of God; then when the finger of conscience is pointing to Him and saying, "He is looking at you. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. "This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. Chapter i. The Lord Will Perfect That Which Concerns Me - Sermon Central I. Nor did God create these each by himself, and join them together as alien by birth: but He created the one St. A Psalm by David. "How can He be both?" And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. In a declaration of faith you are speaking to yourself which was what David was doing in this verse. LCMS Sermons - Pastor James F. Wright Sermon on Ephesians 4:30-5:2. (1)Atheism.(2)Indifferentism.3. (2)His knowledge of us is entire, complete.2. (4)In the dark as well as the light.3. But yet there is another, not less powerful than any, which deserves special mention. When I loved people, and poured out my life, Jesus was doing that through me. The self-knowledge, remember, must come in the one way or the other. We cannot live long with men without catching something of their manner, of their mode of thought, of their character, of their government of themselves. If you look at it, you will see that there is in its bowels a full description of a true Christian. G. T. Shedd, D. D.: One of the most remark. Psalm 138:8 KJV - The LORD will perfect that which - Bible Gateway The thought will flash across us that God sees us. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers. The brilliant searchlight sweeping the broad ocean and revealing even the smallest craft on its surface is but a faint type of the Eternal Light from which no sinner can hide his sin. [2105] And these without all controversy we take to be humble. The so-called "Lord's Prayer," which actually is not the Lord's Prayer (that's in John 17) in Matt. When I healed people, Christ did that through me. If God makes your son His son also, what do you lose or what does he himself lose? For if God's exhaustive knowledge of the human heart waken dread in one of its aspects, it starts infinite hope in another. It began in election; and when does it end? In short, to live with God is to be perpetually rising above the world; to live without Him is to be perpetually sinking into it, and with it, and below it. Exodus 16:2-15. There is no reason to mourn a son as lost who is a religious, still less to fear for his delicacy of constitution. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. That of a prayerful seeking of the Divine guidance (ver. This is the communion with Him, and with Christ, which unquestionably helps the struggling, the penitent, the praying, more than anything else. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? But if that knowledge whereby man knows himself is mysterious, then certainly that whereby God knows him is far more so. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. Lost in the Credits - Micaiah (PowerPoint) You can speak to a dry hopeless situation and the spoken Word can effect a change (Ezekiel 37:1-10). OURSELVES. 6. Hoyt, D. D.: This psalm sings of I. 6. It is a simple question of time; a simple question whether it shall come here in this world, where the blood of Christ "freely" flows, or in the future world, where "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin."(W. Into providence. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; He also will hear their cry, and will help them.--Psalm cxlv. But yet there is another, not less powerful than any, which deserves special mention. GOD.1. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. III. God Cares about Everything that Concerns Us - cswisdom.com Before the Searcher of hearts all mankind must appeal to mere and sovereign mercy. Don't forsake the works of your own hands. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. 6. But yet there is another, not less powerful than any, which deserves special mention. The right state of mind plainly is to have the thought of God's presence so perpetually at hand that it shall always start before us whenever it is wanted. Our relation toward such a God should be 1. So, too, by living in the presence of God and, as it were, in the courts of heaven, we shall assuredly learn something of a heavenly tone, and shake off some of that coarse worldliness, that deeply ingrained selfishness, that silly pride and conceit which now spoils our very best service. : The fact that God is always present and knows every minute trifle in our lives, and that His unerring judgment will assuredly take count of every detail of our character and our conduct, neither exaggerating nor omitting, but applying absolute justice; this truth is one of those which lose force from their very universality. Those who live much in refined and educated society acquire refinement insensibly. Then is the moment to choose whether or not we will live in the presence of God; then when the finger of conscience is pointing to Him and saying, "He is looking at you. "Perfect Love Casts Out Fear": Meaning and Significance of 1 John 4:18 The word, "me," in the text, cannot be appropriated by any man, unless he, in some respects, resembles the character of David, who penned this psalm. It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. But if that knowledge whereby man knows himself is mysterious, then certainly that whereby God knows him is far more so. The daily prayer in the closet, the endeavour to keep the attention fixed when praying with others, either in our regular services or in family worship. xviii. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. It is perfectly plain from the elevated central point of view where we now stand, and in the focal light in which we now see, that no man can be justified before God upon the ground of personal character; for that character, when subjected to God's exhaustive scrutiny, withers and shrinks away. God has made us so. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The separate, personal thinking of God toward every one of us.(1)Innumerable.(2)Constant.II. The thought will flash across us that God sees us. The brilliant searchlight sweeping the broad ocean and revealing even the smallest craft on its surface is but a faint type of the Eternal Light from which no sinner can hide his sin. And this perpetual though not always conscious sense of God's presence would, no doubt, if we would let it have its perfect work, gradually act on our characters just as the presence of our fellow-men does. Differently to be admonished are those that are at variance and those that are at peace. In the day when I cried Charles KingsleyOut of the DeepWherefore a Few Witnesses, which the Lord Deigns to Suggest to My Mind32. He compasseth man's path, and his lying down, and is acquainted with all his ways. 2. Verse 18: And Jesus will rescue me from every evil dead. The worst has been seen, and that too by the holiest of beings, and yet eternal glory is offered to us! 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' In the day when I cried Charles KingsleyOut of the DeepWherefore a Few Witnesses, which the Lord Deigns to Suggest to My Mind32. 1. 2. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius John Edgar McFadyenIntroduction to the Old TestamentLinksPsalm 138:8 NIVPsalm 138:8 NLTPsalm 138:8 ESVPsalm 138:8 NASBPsalm 138:8 KJVPsalm 138:8 Bible AppsPsalm 138:8 ParallelPsalm 138:8 Biblia ParalelaPsalm 138:8 Chinese BiblePsalm 138:8 French BiblePsalm 138:8 German BiblePsalm 138:8 CommentariesBible Hub, (4)In the dark as well as the light.3. From the just we learn justice; from the charitable we catch an infection of charity; from the generous we receive the instinct of generosity. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. (ver.