We come to this, — How much do we know of God when we are tested? There is an exercise that the soul has to go through in order to get every element of disquietude stilled in the soul. There may be a good many elements of disquietude even where there is peace of conscience. Psalm 32 would establish us in peace of conscience; every moral question settled and God known as an available source. It is one thing to know God as an available resource—we should all know that—but have we really got the living God? That is very experimental. This exercise has to be faced as to whether we have found such a satisfaction in God that all disquietude of soul is quelled.
In Psalm 42 you read of a man who can remember how he went to the house of God with the festive multitude and the voice of joy and praise. In matters of privilege you can go on with meetings and with the festive character of what goes on in the house of God you can have spiritual pleasure in that, but John and Paul both lost this privilege. Have you enough to go on with even if you lost it? I do not think any of us could say that we have not had some disquietude of soul when tested in this way.
(C A Coates, The Maschil Psalms, page 11. Nugget suggested by an English subscriber)
Golden Nugget Number 353
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