What could we want more in a time of difficulty than comfort and direction?

Posted : 28 Feb, 2013 02:16 AM

Psalm 119:24 Your testimonies also are my delight, and my

counselors.





What could we want more in a time of difficulty than comfort

and direction? David had both these blessings. As the fruit of

his "meditation in the Lord's statutes," in his distress they were

his "delight;" in his perplexity they were his "counselors." He

would not have exchanged his delight for the best joys of

earth. And so wisely did his counselors direct his course, that,

though "princes sat and spoke against him," they "could find

none occasion nor fault." The testimonies of God were truly

"the men of his counsel." (Margin.) He guided his own conduct

by the rules laid before him in the book of God, as if he were

having recourse to the most experienced counselors, or rather as if the prophets of his God were giving the word from His

mouth. Thus the subject as well as the sovereign, had his

counsel. On one side was Saul and his counselors-on the

other side, David and the testimonies of his God. Which, think

we, was better furnished with that "wisdom which is profitable

to direct?" Subsequently as a king, David was constrained to

make "the testimonies of his God his counselors"; and,

probably, to his constant regard to their voice he owed much

of his earthly prosperity.

In such a dark world as this, beset with temptation at every

turn, we preeminently need sound and wise counsel. But all of

us carry an evil counselor within us, and it is our folly to listen

to his voice. God has given us His word as a sure counselor,

and "he who hearkens to its counsel is wise."

Now, do we value the privilege of this heavenly counsel?

Every improvement must increase our delight in it; a heartless

interest shuts out this blessing. But those who make the word

their delight will always find it their counselor. Yet a mere

cursory reading will never realize to us its holy delight or

counsel. It must be brought home to our own experience, and

consulted on those trivial occasions of every day, when,

unconscious of our need of Divine direction, we are too often

inclined to lean to our own counsel. The Christian is a man of

faith, every step of his way. And this habitual use and daily

familiarity with the testimonies of God will show him the pillar

and the cloud, in all the dark turns of his heavenly road. The

word will be to him as the "Urim and Thummin"-an infallible

counselor.

Sometimes, however, perplexity arises from the conflict, not

between conscience and sinful indulgence (in which case

Christian sincerity would always determine the path), but

between duty and duty. When, however, acknowledged

obligations seem to interfere with each other, the counsel of the word will mark their relative importance, connection, and

dependence: the present path in providence: the guidance

which has been given to the Lord's people in similar

emergencies; and the light which the daily life of our Great

Exemplar exhibits before us. The great concern, however, is

to cultivate the habit of mind, which falls in most naturally with

the counsel of the word. "Walking in the fear of the Lord," in a

simple spirit of dependence, and torn away from the idolatry of

taking counsel from our own hearts, we cannot materially err;

because there is here a suitableness between the disposition

and the promise-a watchfulness against the impetuous bias of

the flesh; a paramount regard to the glory of God, and a meek

submission to His gracious appointment. If the counsel,

however, should not prove infallible, the fault is not in the

word, but in the indistinctness of our own perception. We need

not a clearer rule, or a surer guide, but a more single eye. And

if, after all, it may not mark every precise act of duty (for to do

this, even the world itself "could not contain the books that

should be written"), yet it determines the standard to which the

most minute acting of the mind should be brought; and the

disposition, which will reflect the light of the will of God upon

our path.

But let it be remembered, that any lack of sincerity in the

heart-any allowance of self-dependence, will always close the

avenues of this Divine light and counsel. We are often

unconsciously "walking in the light of our own fire, and in the

sparks that we have kindled." Perhaps we sought, as we

conceived, the guidance of the Lord's counsel, and supposed

that we were walking in it. But, in the act of seeking, and as

the preparation for seeking, did we subject our motives and

inclinations to a strict, cautious, self-suspecting scrutiny? Was

the heart schooled to the discipline of the cross? Was "every

thought brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ?" Or

was not our heart possessed with the object, before counsel

was sought at the mouth of God? Oh! how careful should we be to walk warily in those uncertain marks of heavenly

counsel, that fall in with the bias of our own inclination! How

many false steps in the record of past experience may be

traced to the counsel of our own hearts, sought and followed

to the neglect and counsel of God; while no circumstance of

perplexity can befall us in the spirit of humility, simplicity, and

sanctity, when the counsel of the Lord will fail!

An undue dependence upon human counsel, whether of the

living or the dead, greatly hinders the full influence of the

counsel of the word. However valuable such counsel may be,

and however closely it may agree with the word, we must not

forget, that it is not the word-that it is fallible, and therefore

must never be resorted to in the first place, or followed with

that full reliance, which we are warranted to place on the

revelation of God. On the other hand, what is it to have God's

word as our "Counselor?" Is it not to have Himself- "the only

wise God?" When our Bibles, in seasons of difficulty, are

searched in a humble, prayerful, teachable spirit, we are as

much depending upon the Lord Himself for counsel, as if we

were listening to an immediate revelation from heaven. We

need not a new revelation, or a sensible voice from above, for

every fresh emergency. It is enough, that our Father has given

us this blessed "word as a light to our feet, and a lamp to our

path."

Let me then inquire-What is the counsel of God, that speaks

directly to myself? If I am an unawakened sinner, it warns me

to turn from sin; it invites me to the Savior; it directs me to wait

upon God. If I am a professor, slumbering in the form of

godliness, it shows me my real condition; it instructs me in the

all-sufficiency of Christ, and cautions me of the danger of

hypocrisy. If through grace I am made a child of God, still do I

need my Father's counsel to recover me from perpetual

backsliding, to excite me to increased watchfulness, and to

strengthen my confidence in the fullness of His grace, and the faithfulness of His love. Ever shall I have reason for the

grateful acknowledgment-"I will bless the Lord, who has given

me counsel." And every step of my way would I advance,

glorifying my God and Father by confiding in His counsel unto

the end: "You shall guide me with Your counsel, and

afterwards receive me to glory."

by

Charles Bridges

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