Dear Children and Grandchildren,

I have enjoyed the Word of God more than I ever have since I am no longer preaching 3 or 4 times a week and am not pressed for time. Some times I find things I'd like to share with all of you, or some of you individually. With your mother's encouragement I'd like to start a "Bible Blog" and share some of my thoughts with you. Last night I told Joanna that I opened a can of "Pork and Beans" for supper, (your mother is in Arizona helping Becky while Adam recuperates from a serious operation) but I found no pork so I renamed it "Beans and Beans". With a hearty laugh she wondered if I had "looked under every bean?' I trust what I send you will have some "pork" but if you find it to be only "beans" just push the delete button.

Ps.119:168 "I have kept Thy precepts and Thy testimonies: for all my ways are before Thee," As you were growing up one of the things I was careful to emphasize in our daily devotions was that the time would come when you would no longer be under the eye of Mom and Dad but you would never be out of sight of God's eye. What an encouragement we find here to keep God's Word. "all my ways are before Thee,"

"Experience makes many a paradox plain, and this is one. Before God we may be clear of open fault and yet at the same time mourn over a thousand heart-wanderings which need his restoring hand."--C.H. Spurgeon

"I may hide Thee from my eye, but not myself from Thine eye."--Wm. Gurnall

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Psalm 119:147,148 - Crying to the Lord before the dawn and in the night watches

Dear Family,

This morning my meditation in the Psalms was Psalm 119:145-152. I was impressed by the Psalmist crying with his whole heart (1) and crying for the Lord to save him.(2) Then he cried as he "prevented' the dawning of the morning and then the night watches, that he "might meditate in Thy word", Before dawn this morning one of you called me with a question about something I had marked in an old Bible I had given away. Knowing that you were up while it was still dark and reading your Bible brought joy to my heart. Several years ago when several of you were working together on a project I had a call from a man you were working with. I told him about my concern for your physical safety, but even more for your spiritual welfare because you were working from early morning until dark in order to get the job done in the time allotted for the project. He said I was not to worry about…for he saw a light on in his room each morning long before he had to go to work. I hope there is a light on in each of your rooms before you go out to face the world, and that you meditate in God’s word before you sleep.

I was preaching in a conference in Japan years ago and was put up in a dormitory with a group of young men. We all talked a while and when I crawled into bed one of the young men said: "aren't you going to pray before you go to sleep?". How does the preacher answer that? Someone had taught those boys well! I got back up from my bed on the floor, and bowed my head and prayed! Charles Bridges said in his excellent commentary on Ps. 119, "What a standard of enjoyment would it be, with our last thoughts in the night watches, to leave as it were our hearts with Him, and to find them with Him in the morning, awaking as with our hearts in heaven!…The lukewarmness and our want of spiritual enjoyment may often be traced to that morning indolence, which throws the day into confusion....

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with each of you, Dad
Posted by at 9:20 PM

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