Blessed assurance

Formerly we were busy planning. Now we are serenely trusting. Formerly there were constant sorrow and frustration. Now we are like a weaned child, who rests in his mother's bosom. Formerly we were filled with our own thoughts and had many cravings and ambitions. Now we consider God's will as the best and rest in Him. Indeed, "Perfect submission, perfect delight," and "Perfect submission, all is at rest" [Hymns, #308]. Ephesians 6:6 says more or less the same thing: "As slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul." No longer do we do God's will by the soul, which is self-assurance. Now we are doing God's will from the soul, which means carrying out His will practically and wholeheartedly. The soul-life which once rebelled against God's will is now brought into full submission to His will through the work of the cross and is willing to do His will wholeheartedly. Formerly everything was outward; we either walked according to our self-will, or we tried to do God's will according to our self-will. But now, in everything, we have become one mind with God.

We also need to live a rejoicing life, a happy life. We all have to be "hallelujah people," who rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4). Sometimes the most restful thing is to sing a hymn. Singing a hymn fills us with joy and helps us to enjoy Christ as our rest. The chorus of Hymns, #308 says: "This is my story, this is my song,/Praising my Savior all the day long." A rejoicing life is a life of enjoying God in Christ as everything; this enjoyment makes us happy and causes us to exult all the day. The Christian life should be a rejoicing life.

Now we need to consider the way to have a group meeting. Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled in spirit. We believers who love the Lord Jesus, who are seeking His purpose, and who are burdened for His recovery should be persons filled in our spirit all day long. We should be filled with the Triune God, who is today the all-inclusive Spirit to us. When we are filled within, surely we will utter something out from our spirit. Ephesians 5 tells us to be filled, speaking and singing. Our speaking and singing are not in common language. We may speak or sing a psalm, which is a long piece of poetry. It may be like Psalm 119, which has one hundred seventy-six verses. There are twenty-two sections with eight verses in each section. Twenty-two is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each section of Psalm 119 is according to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We may speak or sing a hymn, which is somewhat shorter than a psalm, or we may speak or sing a spiritual song, which is shorter still.We need to speak and sing these psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs long before coming to the meeting. Even in our home, it is very good to be speaking and singing. The husband may say, "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior...." Then the wife may respond with, "All the day long" (see Hymns, #308). Or she may say, "I have passed the riven veil. Here the glories never fail." Then the husband responds with, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I am living in the presence of the King" (see Hymns, #551). If we are filled in spirit, we will have something to utter. The small group meeting may begin at 7:30 p.m., but if a couple begins to sing at dinnertime, around 6:00 p.m., the small group meeting will have already begun. Such a meeting can continue as they drive together to the meeting with the other saints.

As we read the Word of God, we should not only pray, but also sing to the Lord. This is to read the Word by psalming. (In ancient times the Psalms were sung and not merely read or spoken.) Praying requires more exercise of the spirit than speaking, and singing requires even more exercise than praying. By singing we can truly get into our spirit. We need more singing both in the meetings and in our daily life.The chorus of the well-known hymn 'Blessed Assurance' says:This is my story, this is my song,Praising my Savior all the day long.This is my story, this is my song,Praising my Savior all the day long.Many Christians have sung this hymn, but not many praise their Savior all the day long. What do you think would happen if we praised the Lord all day long? No doubt, we would be utterly immersed in the Lord.

We all need to say happily, triumphantly, and rejoicingly—"Jesus is mine!" We all know the familiar hymn that says, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!" The chorus of this hymn says, "This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long" (Hymns, #308). We are not praising the Lord all the day long for a good house, for an expensive car, or for a heavenly mansion with golden streets and pearly gates. We are praising the Lord all the day long for the fact that Jesus is ours. We are those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is both theirs and ours. To fully understand 1 Corinthians 1:2, you need John 1:1, 14, and 17, John 3:16 and 34, and John 15:26. Also, 1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us that we have been called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The Greek word for fellowship means joint participation, common participation. God has called us into the participation in His Son. We could even say that God has called us into the enjoyment of His Son.