“Thy best life now is to live upon the promise.” –Isaac Watts
When pastor Henry Newcome wanted to grow spiritually, he knew that that process included a fairly thorough self-examination. He asked himself seven distinct questions designed to expose his true spiritual condition. Today, we will look at the seventh question found in his list: “What have I to bear up my heart with if troubles come?” [Henry Newcome, The Diary of, 30. (Entry from Dec. 10, 1661.)] It is an excellent question. The only alteration we want to make is to remove the “if” and replace it with “when.” When trouble comes, where does your heart go for support?
There are so many wonderful answers to that question, it would take a book, or perhaps a library, to record all of them in detail. The Puritans knew that there was an intimate connection between our spiritual growth and the meditation and application of God’s promises to our particular condition and circumstances. Pastor Ezekiel Culverwell notes, ““The chief cause I speak of, of our little growth in Christianity is this, that of all matters in the Scriptures, God’s promises are least remembered and regarded in our private meditations or conferences.” [Ezekiel Culverwell, Time Well Spent, 169.] To bear up our hearts under all sorts of trials and afflictions, we must latch on to the promise of God. But where are we to go as we search for the promises of God? Psalm 119 is a beautiful place to start. The word “promise” or “promises” appears fourteen times in this one psalm. The psalmist finds the promises of God completely trustworthy: “Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.” (Psalm 119:140) His love for the promises of God leads him to meditate on them: “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.” (Psalm 119:148) This extended period of meditation leads the psalmist to comfort and rest: “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” (Psalm 119:50) Look for the promise of God and when you find it, forge a prayer out of it. God will honor such work. Have a blessed week and we will see you on Sunday.
Your remembrancer at the throne of grace,
Pastor Dale
