Growing Nearer to God (3)

(5) Be in God's ways and ordinances in all the good you do. Whether in our Christian or civil calling, all must be sanctified by prayer and a holy dependence upon God for strength, wisdom, and success. Whatever we do, labour to do it with perfection, as our Father in heaven is perfect.
(6) Observe God's dealings with the church, both in former days and now in these days; how he deals and has dealt with his people. From the experience of his faithfulness to us in the past we may gather confidence to approach near to him on any occasion. God's works and words do answer one another: 'Has he said, and will he not do it?' (Num. 23:19).
Observe how all things work together to help you draw near to him. For if all things do work together for your good (Rom. 8:28), then all must be to draw you nearer to God, and away from this present world. Observe how your affections are bent, and so how all comes out for your benefit at last. See how God in afflictions embitters ill courses in you; how in your successes he encourages you. But evermore think of him as of a Father in covenant with you who wants you to walk with him.
(7) Labour to maintain humility, having a sense of your unwor-thiness, your needs, and your continual dependence on God. Humble yourself to walk with him. God is a consuming fire' (Heb. 12:29) and he will be worshipped and sanctified by all who come near to him. "He will regard the humble but beholds the proud afar off' (Psa. 138:6). "Draw near to the Lord, and he will draw near to you' (James 4:8). 'Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and he will lift you up' (1 Pet. 5:6). He that lifts himself up, makes himself a god; and God will endure no rivals. Contrarily, 'he dwells in the heart of the humble' (Isa. 57:15); and 'a humble and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise' (Psa. 51:17).

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
The Saint's Happiness Works, vol. 7, pp. 74-75
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