A short while ago I came across the hymn “Temptation” by Joseph Hart and have found it a great encouragement to my soul – primarily because it is based on and full of Scripture! (You may be familiar with Joseph Hart; he wrote “Come Ye Sinners, Poor & Wretched” – and yes, that’s the original wording.)

If you are in the midst of temptation and are struggling with doubts tonight, I pray God might impart Christ’s comfort, assurance and strength to you in a very real sense as you consider Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our merciful and faithful great high priest…

1  YE tempted souls, reflect
      Whose name ’tis you profess:
   Your Master’s lot you must expect,
      Temptations more or less.

2 Dream not of faith so clear,
      As shuts all doubtings out:
    Remember how the devil could dare
       To tempt ev’n Christ to doubt.

3 “If thou’rt the Son of God,
       (O, what an IF was there!)
   These stones, here, speak them into food,
      And make that Sonship clear.”

4 View that amzing scene!
      Say, could the tempter try
To shake a tree so sound, so green?
       Good God, defend the dry.

5 Think not he now will fail
      To make us shrink and droop.
Our faith he daily will assail;
       And dash our very hope.

6 That impious IF he thus
       At God incarnate threw,
    No wonder if he cast at us,
       And make us feel it too.

7 To cause despair’s the scope
       Of Satan and his pow’rs.
    Against hope to believe in hope,
       My brethren, must be ours.

In God’s wonderful providence, as I’ve been led to focus in on Psalm 84 as a start to our women’s study (please see here for a little more on that), I’ve become even more keenly aware of the struggles we (I!) face on our Christian pilgrimage, as we (I) strive to make our (my) calling and election sure, to press onto the prize of the high calling.

I love the whole Psalm, but here are some of my favorite verses (from the NKJV):

We need to continue to go back to our God – time and again – there is never a time we can stop doing so. That is our blessed privilege and calling as children of God who have been redeemed with the blood of the Lamb. We are wholly dependent on Christ for each and every step of our pilgrimage. After all, this is a spiritual pilgrimage and we are in need of spiritual supplies; earthly supplies simply will not do! They will not get us to the Celestial City! God alone is our strength and our life. He is everlasting strength and everlasting life. Apart from Him, we have no true strength and no true life. We will never be joyful or overflow with living water in the weeping and thirsty Valley of Baca unless we continue to go back to eat and drink of Christ. And if we are not eating and drinking as we ought, if we as Christians are not going from strength to strength, if we are not abiding in Christ, how will the joyless and thirsty souls in the world ever be drawn to Christ? We are sent into the dry and parched world so Christ’s living waters might bubble up from within us and flow out through us.

If we aren’t drinking, how will the rivers flow?

I wrote most of the above post about a week ago, but then put it aside. I “rediscovered” it this morning and noticed how it wonderfully expressed my heart’s cry today. Plus, I was especially excited to see how it flowed from the thoughts I’d posted yesterday on my other site in my post this earthly manna ~ the Christian hedonist’s plea. (I’ll probably repost it there sometime, but I know I’ve been remiss in giving you an update here and wanted to do so…even though I know there’s a pretty big overlap in my readers.) This morning I’d opened Whitefield’s Journals to read a bit and then came across his wonderful words which helped to tie it all together.

May our God keep us hungry and thirsty for Him!

I Samuel 2:5  Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.

Luke 1:53  …he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.

Accepted in and fed and filled by the Beloved,
Karen

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. – Acts 20:28

From Richard Baxter’s “The Reformed Pastor,” Chapter 1, “The Oversight of Ourselves,” Section 2, The Motives to This Oversight (emphasis, mine):

From “George Whitefield’s Journals,” Section IV “On My Preparation for Holy Orders,” p. 65 (emphasis, mine):

O Lord my God,

You have searched me and shown me how I have been solicitous that a place be prepared for me for my glory rather than my being prepared for a place for Your glory! I confess I have been more concerned about the work I might do for You rather than Your work in me. Forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness for Jesus’ sake. Turn my gaze from self to You. Turn my heart away from vainglory so I might seek Your glory. Purify my heart so I might not be solicitous a place be prepared for me, but rather that Your preparations be done in my heart for You. Send Your Holy Spirit to fill me, fit me and prepare me so I might be sent to prepare Your way and in doing so bring glory to Christ alone for He alone is worthy. I am but an unprofitable servant. May I take heed and not shrink back from Your vital work of fitting and preparation that must be done in me before You might employ me as Your instrument. To You alone be all the praise, honor and glory. Amen.

Oh that we may be in any way instrumental to His glory! That He would make us vessels pure and holy, meet for our Master’s use!