The Paths of God from The Night
Watches by John McDuff All the paths of the Lord are mercy and
truth unto those who keep his covenant and obey his decrees. Psalm 25 verse 10 all the paths. It is no small
effort of faith to say so. When blessings are blown upon
and schemes crossed, and fellow pilgrims, yet maybe beloved spouses
in our spiritual joys, are mysteriously removed, to say all, all is mercy,
all, all is well. But they are the paths of the
Lord, His choosing. And be assured, He will lead
His people by a right way. It may not be the way of their
own selecting. It may be the very last they
would have chosen. But when He leads His sheep,
He goes before them. The shepherd portions off our
pasture ground. He guides the footsteps of the
flock. He would lead them by no rougher way than he sees needful. Does a father give his child
his own way? If he did, it would be his ruin.
Will God surrender us to our own truant wills, which are often
bent on nothing so much as wandering farthest from him? He knows us
better. He loves us better. Believer,
it is the loftiest triumph and prerogative of faith to have
no way, no path of your own. But with childlike simplicity
and reliance to say, teach me your paths, undertake for me. Lead me however and wherever
you please. Let it be through the darkest,
loneliest, thorniest way. Only let it bring me nearer yourself. O tell me, O life and delight
of my soul, where the flock of your pasture are feeding. I seek
your protection, I need your control. I would go where my
shepherd is leading. O tell me the place where your
flock are at rest, where the noontide will find them reposing. The tempest now rages, my soul
is distrust, and the pathway of peace I am losing. with that
we could keep our eye not so much on the path as on the bright,
wicked gate which terminates it. When standing at that luminous
portal we shall trace with adoring wonder the way in which our God
has led us, discerning the need be of every teardrop, and to
the question, is it well? To which often on earth we gave
an evasive answer, ready with an unhesitating, it is well. What a light will then be flashed
on these three often mysterious words. God is love. Then at last, shall we be able
to add the joyful comment, we have known and believed the love
which God has to us. Meanwhile, reader, if you are
treading a path of sorrow, consider, as an encouragement, that your
Lord and Master trod the same before you. Behold, as he toils
on his bloodstained journey, how submission to the divine
will forms the secret of his support. Even so, Father, not
my will but yours be done." The true David was strengthened with
what sustained his typical ancestor in a dark and trying hour. Oh
Lord, You are my God. Believer, if it is your God in
covenant who is leading you, what more can you require? His
ways are truth and judgment. He will guide you while you live
by His counsel and afterward receive you into glory. My God, if such be the design
of your dealings and disciplines, I will lie down and sleep in
peace. For you alone, O Lord, make me
dwell in safety. Psalm 4 verse 8 And I lie awake
thinking of you, Meditating on you through the night watches. Psalm 63 verse 6