ALONE WITH GOD     

  Dear reader, if you have been unsettled and unstable in the grace of God, let me persuade you to believe that there is power in the blood of Jesus Christ to make you stable and firm, to settle and fix you immovable in the kingdom of our God. Do not say that you cannot get established; for the everlasting arm that upholds the universe is able to establish, strengthen, and settle you. If you doubt that you may be established, let me call your attention to

SOME THINGS THAT GOD HAS ESTABLISHED

  First, His throne, "Thy throne is established of old: thou art everlasting." Psalm 93:2.

  Second, the world, "The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty: the Lord is clothed with strength, where with he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved." Psalm 93:1.

  Third, His commands. "The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." Psa. 111:7, 8.

  Fourth, the heavens. "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth: by understanding hath he established the heavens." Prov. 3:19.

  Do you believe that God's throne is immovable, that it is established in the heavens? Do you fear that the earth upon which you tread will sink beneath your feet? Do you tremble lest the heavens above you should fall? The same God that has established his throne, the earth, and the heavens has established Mount Zion (Isa. 2:2), on whose sunlit and immovable heights you may stand.

  Fifth, good men. "A good man showeth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved forever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid until he see his desire upon his enemies." Psa. 112 :5-8.

  Sixth, His Word. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away." "The Scriptures can not be broken." John 10:35. If the Word of God is established, all that we have to do in order to be immovably fixed and established forever is to get on His Word and remain there. Some day the earth, now upheld by the Word of God, will pass away, and the heavens, which are now established, shall depart as a scroll; but "the word of God abideth forever." The Word of God is stronger than the earth upon which we walk, for by it the world is upheld and should the earth at any moment pass from beneath us, those who are standing on the Word of God would still have a firm foundation. "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." Heb. 12:28.

GOD'S PROMISE TO ESTABLISH US

  First, in the grace of God. "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace: not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein." Heb. 13 :9.

  Secondly, in righteousness. "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror, for it shall not come near thee." Isa. 43 :11-14.

  Thirdly, God has promised to establish our thoughts. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." Prov. 16:3. Very often those who are not established in the grace of God and those who have fallen into the habit of doubting have trouble in controlling their thoughts. It is very necessary that the thoughts be directed aright; but unless you understand how to make the effort, you are likely to fail in controlling your thoughts. Continual conscious effort to control the thoughts is a strain on the mind. The best way is to commit your works unto the Lord, interest yourself in some profitable pastime, take a walk in a pleasant grove, read a few chapters in the Bible, attend well to your devotion, and then, instead of continuing to make an effort, commit your way unto the Lord and go about your work. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phil. 4 :8.

  Fourthly, God will establish our hearts. "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." 1 Thess. 3 :12, 13.

  Fifthly, God will establish us in the present truth. "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them and be established in the present truth." 2 Pet. 1:12. The present truth is revealed truth, the whole truth, and it is our privilege to be so established in the present truth that we shall not be wondering whether this way is right or not. It is our privilege to know the truth and by the truth to be made free and in the truth to be established. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:17.

  Sixthly, God will establish us "in every good word and work." "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work." 2 Thess. 2:16, 17.

MEANS BY WHICH WE ARE ESTABLISHED

  A great many people would like to be established who will not pay the price in order to obtain the experience. God uses the means that will accomplish His desire, and He knows best the means that will effect His purpose; therefore you will do well to submit to His way and follow His directions. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Pet. 5:10. When will God stablish, strengthen, settle you? "After that ye have suffered a while"—suffered the trials, endured the temptations, and conquered every emotion.

  Enduring hardships and vigorous exercise is the surest way to increase physical strength. In order to make good soldiers, the ancients used to expose themselves to all kinds of hardships till they were inured to heat and cold, hunger and thirst. Then they could scorn the difficulties of warfare and endure the greatest fatigue. The law of our spiritual being is not altogether unlike that of our physical beings. If we wish to be strong and able to conquer in the battles of life, we must be inured to hardships, "endure temptation," and learn to "suffer a while."

HINDRANCES TO ESTABLISHMENT

  Possibly the most prevalent hindrance to the establishment of the souls of men is lack of proper foundation. "But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6 :49. Those who hear the Word of God and do not do it, those who say yes to God and then go their own way, cannot hope to be established here or hereafter. "Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like; He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock." Luke 6:47,48.

  For those who are willing to build on the unchanging Word of God alone; to take away all the rubbish and sand lying between them and the eternal rock; to build, not on emotions or traditions of man, but on the word of truth— for such there is an established experience that the storms of trials and persecutions and the floods of accusations and temptations cannot overthrow. Reader, where are you building? Is your house founded on the sinking sand of human emotion? or have you founded your experience on the Word of God.

  "The tide of emotion may run as it will, The Son and the Father abide with me still. His Word is sufficient, I seek not a sign; I grasp but the promise, salvation is mine."

  "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8. A doubleminded man is a man who has a mind to serve the Lord and a mind to serve the world. Such a man is unstable in all his ways. He is not a good worldling nor a good Christian. He is continually in indecision A lack of decision hinders many dear souls who would serve the Lord. Decision, it is said, is half the battle. Decide to do a thing, and you have it half done. Doubters often make a firm decision for the time being, but the decision, itself, is not fixed, for no sooner does Satan attack their decision, than they let down the shield of faith and become undecided. If this is your experience, what you need is not a rash vow to go through, made today and broken tomorrow, but a settled, calm, and unchanging decision to be right, to do right, and to believe right.

  Unbelief hinders establishment. "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." James 1:6, 7. Faith, then, is all important. If you would be established, you must have faith. Do not say, "I can't," for God has made it possible. "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." Isa. 7:8. "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chron. 20:20.