Thursday, 10 July 2008

• Keep thy soul diligently

  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons.      ~Deuteronomy 4:9~

  Only take heed to thyself  – a sentiment echoed in Philippians 2, to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

  Keep thy soul diligently – The Hebrew for “diligently” here is m@`od – “meh·ode' ”, meaning exceedingly, muchly, with great might, force, abundance; exceedingly, greatly, very (idioms showing magnitude or degree).  This implies a constant watch, requiring great might, even to the point of force.  This is a full-time job.  To be holding every thought captive in obedience to Christ.  To be guarding your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  To be meditating ever on His holy Word, turning to it at every step, and turning back to it after every revealed distraction.  To be contemplating Scripture, digging deeper into our understanding of Him, searching for more, while being on the watch ever for those ploys the enemy would use to rob us of our eternal inheritance.  To be clinging to Him with fierce devotion while sweat wrings from our brow and our bodies quake with trepidation.  Yeah, that kind of diligence.  Keeping our soul in surrender, awaiting His every instruction, kneeling at His throne ~ knowing with full certainty our heavenly reward. 

  Lest thou forget … and lest they depart from they heart all the days of thy life – I’ve noticed, as life continues on in its daily events, even the smallest distraction can wipe my memory clean of the complete peace I had while lost in His Words.  If I am not constantly renewing my mind with the washing of His Word, then my own thoughts take over.  If any of us should forsake finding Him every distracted moment in His holy Word, we risk losing His Words to the sea of personal thoughts, giving way to worries, fears, and eventually leading us down our own path, away from His abundantly peaceful Mercy Seat of communion with Him, and into the pride of self-trust, self-direction, and self-will.  We must be diligent!

  But teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons. – Another full-time job, if taken seriously, and one which by design can keep us forcefully focused on Him as we moment by moment strive to the victory of giving our children and grandchildren His knowledge, His word, His love.  An instruction deemed worthy of repeating at hand, with clarification and promise:

  And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.  ~Deuteronomy 11:19~

  After all, Has He not been diligent to teach me, to provide for me, to work the ends of time to instill His plan for my salvation?  Can I find my strength in Him, by Him, and through Him?  Can I diligently guard this precious soul which He saw fit, through His own blood, to gift to me?

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