“I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:17)

“then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,” (2 Chronicles 6:30)

I think I have mentioned these passages before, but they have been giving me great comfort lately, knowing that God knows all the motives, intents, and plans of my heart. He tests the heart and has pleasure in uprightness. It is so comforting.

He sees all the reasons for doing the things that we do. While everyone else may assume and presume… He knows and He judges with perfect judgement. Not only is that comforting, for those that are His, but it should also spur us to fear Him and do righteously.

For those that are His, He is the good shepherd. Being that I am a dumb sheep, that is good news. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside waters of rest. It is good to rest with the Shepherd, rest and comfort for our souls.

I think many times, for those that are His, the Lord forces us to slow down, be quiet, and turn our attention to Him. He does this through all sorts of means, like, but not limited to, loss, separation, cancer, unemployment, death, accidents, surgery, depression, moves, etc, etc. All for the good of our souls to seek Him. All for His name to be made great.

He is better at overseeing our souls than we are. “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25)

Jesus is the King of all comfort. The God of all consolation. The God of all Peace. That is why He can say “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) And He is perfect in His help, not only because of His infinite power and ability to know the hearts of all, but also because of His experience. Because He has suffered He is able to help those who are suffering (Hebrews 2:18).

And so we go to Him. Go to Christ. Seek Christ. Put the weight of everything on Him. Bind what He, and not what someone else has said, to your heart.

“Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:128

The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” – Judges 1:2

Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. – Judges 1:4

Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. – Judges 3:8

But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord , the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. – Judges 3:9

The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. – Judges 3:10

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord . – Judges 3:12

And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. – Judges 4:2

And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. – Judges 4:9

And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. – Judges 4:15

the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. – Judges 6:8

So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. – Judges 11:32

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. – Judges 13:1

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. – Ruth 1:6

The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. – 1 Samuel 5:6

“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” – 1 Samuel 13:14

And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. – 1 Samuel 15:28

Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” – 1 Samuel 23:4

And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. – 1 Samuel 25:38

And David became greater and greater, for the Lord , the God of hosts, was with him. – 2 Samuel 5:10

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. – 2 Samuel 6:7

Q: “How shall I get my heart tuned to a patient mood?”

A: “Get faith; all our impatience proceeds from unbelief. Faith is the breeder of patience.”

“Patience opens the ear but shuts the mouth.” – Thomas Watson

How many professing Christians understand the foundations that we are told to go beyond in this text?

How far I still have to go.

The ‘Therefore‘ is because of chapter 5, verses 11-14:

“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Constantly discerning between good and evil.

Every time I hear it or read it = Wow.

If someone can receive the truth, regardless of how it is said to them, that is a gift from God.

“And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people.”
— Jonathan Edwards

“A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.”
— Jonathan Edwards

I liked the “I know not what” part. Having a sense of the certainty of something, but not knowing exactly… I like that he said that.

“Let a man pretend what he will, little concern over sin is a serious offence to the grace and mercy of God!” – John Owen (The Mortification of Sin, abridged)

“Others are hardened in their own sin by persuading themselves that they are in just as good a condition as the unmortified professor. They see their [the unmortified professor's] zeal for religion, but it is not accompanied by righteousness. They view their worldy and selfish lives. They see them talk spiritually but live vainly. They hear them mention communion with God, and yet they are in every way conformed to the world. They see them boast of forgiveness of sins, and yet never forgive others. Thus, as they see the stain of sin in the unmortified professor, they harden their own hearts in their unregeneracy.” – John Owen (The Mortification of Sin, abridged)