Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. 
Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good;
​lead me into the land of uprightness. Psa 143:8-10
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Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation;
on thee do I wait all the day. Psa 25:4-5

Meditation and prayer are many times inter-woven, inseparable. I've found this to be true in cases of examining my own conduct, my own life and decisions, and going to scripture on the subject to bring greater understanding to my soul. Many bible scholars, preachers and serious believer's find this to be true and we can glean much wisdom from their comments and quotes. Those chosen here, are some I've found useful. 

“Cause me to know the way"-Many want to be their own guides. groping through life by choosing their own paths, ignorance and pride. It takes wisdom to see the folly of this.
1. Prompted by a sense of our weakness and ignorance. How much we need a guide. We have as much need of daily guidance as of daily bread. We cannot get safely through a world of sin and danger without the Presence and Grace of Christ. It is not a matter of indifference to the Christian how he passes through life. Not enough to say, “What shall I eat?”; but, “Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.” The soul has wants as well as the body. The Christian has moral interests to secure; he has a race to run—a battle to fight—a prize to gain—a God to glorify—a soul to be lost or saved. He is in a world where the great destroyer has his seat. He knows that the interests of others are linked in with his own: cannot stand or fall alone. Hence he prays, “Cause me to know,”
2. Prompted by knowledge of the character of Christ as a Guide. Wise, powerful, gracious. “The Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” Having had large experience of the conduct of sinners.

Life is not a pathless wilderness. God has a way laid down for every man. He regards the individual life. Laws are general, but the progress of each life is unique. There is a way in which every man should walk.
1. This it true morally. Right is straight, wrong is zigzag. Right is distinct from wrong,—a Divine way, clear to those who will see it.
2. This is true intellectually. Truth is the Divine path for the intellect. Truth, as a narrow way, lies often in the midst of the devious windings of error; but they who are guided by God shall not fail to discover it.
3. This is true circumstantially. From the cradle to the grave God has a way for every man. The prayerless miss it; the prayerful find it.  (Biblical Illustrator)

Show me thy ways, O Lord - The “ways” of God are His methods of administering the affairs of the world; His dispensations; the rules which He has prescribed for Himself in the execution of His plans; the great laws by which He governs the universe. Deu_32:4, “all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” The prayer of the psalmist is, that he may be able to understand the methods of the divine government; the principles upon which God bestows happiness and salvation; the rules which He has been pleased to prescribe for human conduct; the arrangements by which He confers favors upon mankind; the scheme by which He saves people. The idea evidently is that he might understand so much of this as to regulate his own conduct aright; that he might not lean upon his own understanding, or trust to His own guidance, but that He might always be under the guidance and direction of God.
Teach me thy paths - The paths which thou dost take; to wit, as before, in administering the affairs of the world. The prayer is expressive of a desire to be wholly under the direction of God. (Albert Barnes)

“Shew me thy ways, O Lord.” Unsanctified natures clamor for their own way, but gracious spirits cry, “Not my will, but thine be done.” We cannot at all times discern the path of duty, and at such times it is our wisdom to apply to the Lord himself. Frequently the dealings of God with us are mysterious, and then also we may appeal to him as his own interpreter, and in due time he will make all things plain. Moral, providential and mental forms of guidance are all precious gifts of a gracious God to a teachable people. The second petition, “teach me thy paths,” appears to mean more than the first, and may be illustrated by the case of a little child who should say to his father, “Father, first tell me which is the way, and then teach my little trembling feet to walk in it.” What weak dependent creatures we are! How constantly we cry to the strong for strength.
Psa_25:5
“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me.” The same request as in the last verse. The little child having begun to walk, asks to be still led onward by its parent's helping hand, and to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth. Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer. Lead me according to thy truth, and prove thyself faithful; lead me into truth that I may know its preciousness, lead me by the way of truth that I may manifest its spirit. David knew much, but he felt his ignorance and desired to be still in the Lord's school; four times over in these two verses he applies for a scholarship in the college of grace. It were well for many professors if instead of following their own devices, and cutting out new paths of thought for themselves, they would enquire for the good old ways of God's own truth, and beseech the Holy Ghost to give them sanctified understandings and teachable spirits. “For thou art the God of my salvation.” The Three-One Jehovah is the Author and Perfector of salvation to his people. Reader, is he the God of your salvation? Do you find in the Father's election, in the Son's atonement, and in the Spirit's quickening all the grounds of your eternal hopes? If so, you may use this as an argument for obtaining further blessings; if the Lord has ordained to save you, surely he will not refuse to instruct you in his ways. It is a happy thing when we can address the Lord with the confidence which David here manifests, it gives us great power in prayer, and comfort in trial. “On thee do I wait all the day.” Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain. It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously he once waited for us.

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 
(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth. Heb 11:35-38
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Troubles Made Beautiful

This chapter, Hebrews chapter eleven, gives a historical rundown of a long list of great men and women of faith, some were of great stature, some were among the unknown-except to God. But, the one thing they all shared was their place in the great hall of records of those who overcame in faith, and it shows they are recorded in heaven. This continues to this day, as each one who has overcome in their life, and stood in faith, and not waivered, are added to the record in this hall of faith. There are meditations for our learning, that will be shared here, though by no means exhaustive. The lessons in this chapter alone, are limitless.

Not a man or woman mentioned in this chapter was perfect. Falsehood, adultery, greed, cruelty, profanity, attached to most of them; to some in a pre-eminent degree, Yet here is no mention of their sins; they are put among the saints, canonized in the roll of heaven’s illustrious heroes. The Great Father is more charitable in His treatment of human character than men in treatment of each other.

Now, let's unpack more, and see what God would share with us on this topic:

​Faith Refusing Deliverance

Faith Leads to Deliverance
Among the blessings which we connect with faith, one of the most conspicuous is deliverance. The Bible is a great record of deliverance effected through the agency of faith. Abraham was delivered from idolatry. Joseph was delivered from his brethren. David was delivered from Goliath, and Peter from the prison at Jerusalem. And most notable of all, there was the Exodus, when Israel was delivered from its bondage—drawn out of Egypt, by the might of God, into the peril and the prize of liberty. All these are instances of deliverance, wrought in the power of a living faith. Men trusted God, and in the joy of trust were freed from darkness and captivity. And so the Bible, as we read its pages, grows into a great argument for this, that God is able and willing, if we trust Him, to set the feet in a large room.
The same issue of faith also arrests us when we come into the company of Jesus. Here, too, as in the rest of Scriptures, faith is a mighty power to deliver. We see the maniac released from legion, and sitting clothed and in his right mind. We see the withered arm restored again; the eye that had been blind regaining sight. We see a woman delivered from infirmity, and a loved brother delivered from the grave, and a great company whose eyes are glad because they have been delivered from their sin. Christ was the great enemy of bonds. He was the lover and the light of liberty. He came to preach deliverance to the captives, and to bestow the gift which was His message. And so again we learn this happy lesson, that faith is a mighty power to redeem; and that in every sphere where faith is active, one of its blessed fruits is liberty.
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There Is a Faith That Refuses Deliverance
Yet while that is true, and gloriously true, in a way I trust we all know something of, there is a suggestion in our second text that it is fitting we should not forget. "They were tortured, not accepting deliverance," and the whole chapter is a song of faith. The chapter is a magnificent review of all that faith is powerful to achieve. So this is also a result of faith, not that it brings deliverance to a man, but that sometimes, when deliverance is offered, it gives him a fine courage to refuse it. There are seasons when faith shows itself in taking. There are seasons when it is witnessed in refusing. There is a deliverance that faith embraces. There is a deliverance that faith rejects. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance—that was the sign and seal that they were faithful. There are hours when the strongest proof of faith is the swift rejection of the larger room.
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Better to Be Faithful Than Free
Think in the first place of the martyrs, to whom our text immediately applies. When a man was charged with being a Christian, deliverance was always at his hand. He had only to blaspheme the name of Christ—a word or two of cursing—that was all. He had only to spit upon the name of Christ, when the Roman centurion scratched it on the wall. He had only to put his hand into a box, and take a grain or two of incense from the box, and sprinkle it without a single word before the beautiful statue of Diana. On the one hand was life, and life was sweet. On the other hand was death, and death was terrible. On the one hand was liberty and home. On the other hand was torture and the grave. And they were tortured, not accepting deliverance. They might have had it by a single word. It was their faith that led them to the scaffold. It was better to be faithful than be free.

It Takes Faith to Refuse to Be Liberated from the Troubles Entailed in the Performance of Needed Common Tasks
The same issue of faith is seen again amid the troubles of our common life. in precisely the same manner it is witnessed in the pettier martyrdoms of every day. Each of us has got his cross to carry. There is no escaping from the law. Each of us has got his secret bitterness, and his burden, and his travail or his fear. For one the trouble may be in business matters; for another, the cross may be at home; while for a third, perhaps, it is the body that wakes the heart to trembling in the night. Now I believe that whatever be the trouble, Jesus Christ has come to preach deliverance. There is peace in Him, and quietness of soul, and conquest over death and all its terrors. But remember that there are other outlets which sometimes loom upon our gaze invitingly, and promise us the release that we are craving—if only we are untrue to our best selves. I think that all of us are tempted so, though these are temptations of which we seldom speak. Sometimes indeed we hardly understand them, they are so subtly hidden and disguised. But always there is a tampering with conscience in them, and a certain lowering of the flag of youth, and a sinking clown upon a lower level than we know to be worthy in our hearts. it is when a man or woman is so tempted that faith in God is needed to be true. To choose the drudgery and spurn the liberty is the sign-manual of faith in him. "They were tortured, not accepting deliverance." They let the laughter and the sunshine go.
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Don't Miss the Best by Choosing the Easier and More Remunerative in Disregard of Conscience
Now I might illustrate how to beware of choosing the easier in disregard of conscience by many instances. For example, the case of a young man. His work is hard and irksome and ill-paid, and he has a father who is dependent on him. From morning till evening it is a weary grind. There is no encouragement. There are scarce any prospects. And when evening comes he is so fagged that he can hardly follow a good book. And then there comes to him the glittering chance of work that is easier, and pay that is far better, on the condition that he shuts his eyes, and does not trouble about a tender conscience. Many a man accepts that swift deliverance. He offers the grain of incense to Diana. And then he prospers, and is kind at home, and there are comforts for the aged father. But nothing on earth can alter the old fact that such an act was faithless and untrue, and that a man forever from that moment has left the company of saints and martyrs. He has been tortured and accepted deliverance, and the world and the devil are exacting creditors. Somehow, as the years unroll themselves, he will discover he has missed the best. And if my words have any weight on young men who are starting out on life, they will write upon their hearts this text of Hebrews, and avoid that tragic mistake.

Faithfulness Is Better Than Happiness When Happiness Is Brought On by What Is False
Or I might take the case of a young woman who is set amid uncongenial surroundings. She is not happy. Perhaps she has to work, and probably her health is very far from good. I shall not paint the picture at its blackest, though I have seen it at its blackest for myself. I shall not touch on that most awful freedom that lurks on every street of every Babylon. But I shall say that she gets the offer of marriage from someone to whom God has never led her, and to whom in her woman's heart there is no drawing, as of those cords which have been knit in heaven. There is the chance of freedom, if you like. There is deliverance from all the drudgery. But, O my sister, at what an awful cost of all that is most womanly and delicate! A thousand times better to be tortured daily than to accept deliverance like that—and it is there, you see, that faith comes in. Faith that God can uphold you in the darkness, and give you music in the weariest mile. Faith that there are better things than happiness, when happiness is bought by being false. Faith that the best in life is ,ever lost when you are true to what is high and beautiful; and always lost when you have played the traitor to the sweet sincerities of womanhood.

Sometimes Deliverance Can Be Failure or Treachery
The same issue of faith is also seen in public and in Christian service. I suppose there is no one engaged in that who does not feel at times a longing for release. It may be that enthusiasm has vanished. It may be that we are disappointed. It may be that those whom we are called to labor with are irritating and interfering people. So sooner or later comes to us the day when we are tempted to have done with it; to take our armour off, and hang it up, and pass into the oblivion of peace. Now I am far from saying that that is always wrong. Sometimes it may be right and necessary. A man may be forced to it by doctor's orders, and if he be wise he will attend to these. A man may be led to it by the appeal of conscience telling him he should be more at home, and that no service can have heaven's blessing if wife and children are neglected. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. That is a matter for heart and God. All that I want to do here is this: it is to warn you that all release is not like that. There may be times when deliverance is treachery; when to seek for freedom is to fail; when a man's first duty is to continue serving, even though his service may be torture. "They were tortured, not accepting deliverance," and sometimes we are called with that vocation. If we trust God we shall refuse relief, and stick to the service we have put our hand to. God has no pleasure in these sorry workers who are always threatening to send in resignations. No man having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Beware of False Deliverance from Moral and Intellectual Doubt
I am impressed again by the same truth in regard to our spiritual and intellectual difficulties. I may be speaking to some here who have great difficulties about faith and God. They would fain believe, and yet they find it hard. They would fain trust, and yet they cannot trust. They cannot feel their need of a Redeemer. They cannot grasp the power of the cross. Or it may be that, having grasped it once, they have been thrown into darkness by their reading, and cannot reconcile the facts of science with the old message of the love of heaven. My brother, I want to say to you that Christ has got deliverance for you. He has come to preach deliverance to the captive, and there is no captivity so dark as doubt. But there are times of darkness and perplexity when other methods of release will face you, and if you are a man you will reject them, and face the torture which rejection brings. You will not take shallow answers to great questions. You will ,or yield up moral questions in despair. You will not fall back upon a life of sense, as if in sensuality were rest. But you will be true to all the light you have, and you will cling to all the good you know, and you will trust that, when the night is past, the singing of the birds is sure to come. To thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. It is sometimes better to be tossed and tortured, than to be sleeping on a couch of ease. This is one mark of every earnest soul that has come at last to liberty and light, it has been too faithful to the Highest to accept deliverance upon unworthy terms. "Not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection."

Christ Refused False Deliverance
In closing, may I just remind you how true this was of our Lord Jesus Christ? He is our Savior not because He refused deliverance. "All these kingdoms will I give thee," said the Tempter, "if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Was not that a road to power and princedom which would have escaped the torture of the cross? But He was tortured, not accepting deliverance. He chose the bitter way that led by Calvary. He scorned deliverance by that compliance, and so He has won deliverance for the captive. Then think again, when He approached the cross, how the women offered Him the opiate. And had He but drunk it, His senses had been numbed, and the agony of crucifixion had been deadened. But having tasted it, He put it from Him. He could not and He would not drink it. And He was tortured, not accepting deliverance, that He might be the Savior of mankind. Now He preaches freedom to the captive. Do you know it? Have you experienced it? Can you this minute bear witness in your heart that you are a freed man in Jesus Christ? if so, to you may come those darksome hours when voices call you to some mean escape, and just because you are a man in Christ, with all the saints and martyrs you will scorn it.
(Devotional Sermons)

God does not care to label all His wonders. The great men and women who are brought into prominence are only specimens of what may be found in lowlier spheres of life, just as the rocky strata hurled up through the earth’s surface do but reveal the kind of deposit which is to be found everywhere down deep in the earth’s bosom. Yet men, as a rule, have ignored that wealth of resource which does not project itself in huge protrusions before their sight. It is comparatively recently that even historians have learnt that human history does not consist exclusively of the record, however faithfully given, of the lives of kings, great warriors, powerful ecclesiastics, and other recognized rulers of men. This glorious Book has been the one grand exception. It has ever taught men that there is a mightier power than that of monarchs, which determines the destinies of nations, and works for righteousness, and which often works more powerfully out of sight than on the surface. Here, after the names of patriarchs, kings, noted women, and the great judges of Israel, come the prophets, but only as a whole and unnamed; and then the nameless “women … and others”—not a jot inferior to those who have passed before them, and whose names have been echoed throughout the ages.

The transition from “the prophets” to “women “ is sudden, but not incongruous. The list of the faithful is not complete without women, those in whom faith triumphed in true womanly fashion—in the power of patient endurance. Theirs was a faith mightier than the wrench of death. They were great in what is pre-eminently the grace of sanctified womanhood—the passive virtues. What a world of suffering and of heroic endurance is epitomized here. The writer has no time to tell more: the theme grows in its vastness; hence, under the pressure of a sublime necessity, he throws what has been left untold upon the shoulders of a few sentences until they stagger and are well-nigh crushed under their burden. Here the grandest summary of all types of patient endurance, which we can find within the covers of this book, is associated with the lives of obscure men and women. Heroism is shown to be no monopoly of position or of sex, of age or of nation. The favourite type of womanly devotion is presented not only in the words “received their dead to life again,” but also in those which apply to the more general epithet “and others”—namely, “were tortured, not accepting deliverance.” How often is this illustrated in other days than those of persecution by the devotedness of consecrated womanhood to husband, child, sufferer, and outcast, in toil, feebleness, suffering, and shame! How often have labours and hardships been gratefully accepted, and the suggestion of deliverance or exemption from such emphatically ignored! It is the summary of this indignant repudiation of deliverance from suffering, and even death, when they have stood in the path of duty, that occupies one of the finest chapters in the illustrious history of faith.

Edwin Long gives a striking illustration of this type of heroism in one of his paintings, where he depicts a Christian maid who will not burn a single grain of incense upon Caesar’s altar to save her life, and that notwithstanding the eloquent appeal in the beseeching look of her lover, that for his sake she would do it. What significance there is in the words “and others”! They represent the forces which have not been tabulated in the ordinary records of triumphs, and yet they are the greatest of all. God in His record supplements every great name with “ and others.” Elijah in the hour of despondency thought himself alone as the center and circumference of the true devotion of his age—“I, even I only, am left.” God reminded him of the “and others,” when He replied, “Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him” (1Ki_19:18). Who won the battle of Waterloo? Wellington. Yes, “and others.” Who have wrought Christian reformations of the past three centuries? Luther, Wycliffe, Knox, Wesley. Yes, “and others” in every instance. Now, it is of these “women and others” anonymously mentioned here that the writer adds, “Of whom the world was not worthy.”

​Observe that this is not said of any of the great names mentioned previously. That went without the saying. But there was need of emphasizing this regarding the unknown heroes of God. The world which extended such poor hospitality to its King has, throughout the ages, made no room for the royal, although unknown, men and women whom the King has sent. One of the hopeful signs of to-day is that the world gives room to the good and the faithful as it never did before. We, too, can belong, if we will, to the “ and others.” Our names will not be added to those of the world’s great ones, nor yet to those of the more prominent heroes of faith, but we can belong to the nameless ones who yet have a glorious record to give. Are we unknown? So were these; yet the story of the triumphs of faith cannot be told without admitting their achievements into the record. So shall it be with us if only we are found faithful. They without us cannot be made perfect. This is God’s reason for providing “ some better thing for us” than was ever granted them. No age of faith is final or self-inclusive. The one becomes the counterpart of the other. Every generation of faithful heroes shall strike its own note, until all ages shall unitedly perfect the grand chord of music that shall ascend to the ear of God, and thrill heaven with its full and rich harmony. (D. Davies.)

And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain,
​and I will there talk with thee. Eze 3:22
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Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear:
​for they are a rebellious house. Eze ch. 3:24-27
RESTRAINTS IN SERVING THE LORD
​Seasons of Devout Solitude

The whole course of the history of the kingdom of God, as traced in the Old Testament, may be pointed to as showing that the godly, whose service is outlined therein, are met with recurring impediments to their efforts. The like feature is observed in the New Testament. Every true life for Christ, at one step or another, verifies the expression of Paul, “Without are fighting, within are fears.”

1. The restraints may be in the servants. They may be ready to spread the gospel, but are forbidden to enter the door which is apparently opened, or are afflicted with disease and unable to enter, or are prostrated in their energies by some domestic event and unfit to enter. In such and similar cases they must not conclude that they have offended the Lord because silence is imposed on them; they are not to write bitter things against themselves; they are to bow in acquiescence and wait till God opens their lips. This is the time to be "shut in" with God in their own chambers, and only speaking what God allows, in the manner of God's choosing. It's a time of using wisdom, and restraint.
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​2. The restraints may be from those for whom the service is required.
  (1)​ They may become violent against the persons who stand up for the rights of God. A prophet like Jeremiah was “cursed” by every one, and cast into a miry dungeon; an apostle like Paul was mobbed, beaten and imprisoned, and unnumbered injuries have been committed against less-known followers of Him who was crucified by wicked hands.
  (2) Or the people may be rebellious in heart. It was because of this their state that Ezekiel was shut up and trammeled. The soil, into which the seed of the kingdom was to be cast, had not those elements in it which would act upon and vitalize the germs. The gospel is unproductive in many a sphere, not because it is not plainly and faithfully set forth, but because men are irresponsive and unimpressed. They reject the medicine which would bring them health and cure. Such sad conditions should not prevent further efforts for the redemption of souls, though former ones have been made apparently in vain. We must not repress our longings for a change. We must watch as servants who wait for the Lord.

II. The restraints are under the direction of the Lord.
He concerns Himself with every matter relating to His kingdom amongst men. The enforced silence and disablement of the prophet and the “gross” heart of the people are controlled for His righteous and good ends.

1. Traces of His working are perceptible. Restraints are felt teaching His suffering servants to be patient, vigilant for Him, and so qualifying for future action and future reward. “If we suffer with Him we are glorified together.” Also by those restraints the evil which lies in hearts is disclosed. Their enmity to God is elicited. Their hardness becomes more intense. Blinded thus, they lead the blind and “provoke” God to send a famine of His Word. What more deplorable state can a lost traveller be in than that in which he can be no longer tracked by the guides who go in search of him? What more painful illustration of their state can there be than when the wicked and the righteous hear warnings no more?
This lesson is further inculcated by enforced silence. “Thou shalt not be to them a reprover,” a man who will endeavor to convict them of their sins, except so far as and how I direct thee. They are not always in a state fit to hear rebukes, “for they are a rebellious house,” and nothing effective can be accomplished as yet.

2. Hopes of His working may be entertained. When men make void His law, that is a time to ask God to do special work. The restraints which lie in the prophet’s disablement or the people’s sin will not always continue to press. God will not be served only by silence. He will open a door of utterance, and again send forth His words to the people that He may prove whether there is yet a heart in them which will take heed how they hear. However, any movement on this part, should only be taken after long seasons of prayer and having received a sure guidance. The servant needs to know the path and direction of the Lord, in the ministry he/she is working in.

III. Restraints may be associated with communion between the Lord and His servants.
This fact is brought to pass--

1. By a fresh consciousness of God in His service. When His faithful followers are “troubled on every side,” they often realize the power of God and the preciousness of Christ; when they are weak, then are they strong through His grace. He seems to come nearer to them, and they say, “Thou holdest me by my right hand.”
2. By a deepened conviction that He who has led them is the same for ever. Ezekiel is not left to remember that he had seen the glory of the Lord; it is shown to him again. He learns that God is all that He was. The glory of Christ which we see when He is first revealed in us, the glory which moved us to consecrate our lives to Him and His work on earth, that glory will be shown again and again, if we wait for Him. It is not the memory of a first love which is to sustain us in suffering and duty; it is a renewed sight, “day by day.” We are prostrated before His glory, but we, beholding that glory, shall be changed into the same image, from glory to glory—from the glory of suffering for Christ to the glory of reigning with Christ.
​3. By the power of the Holy Spirit. He is given to dwell in our body as His temple. He takes the things that are Christ’s and shows them to us. He teaches to profit, and we receive power, love, and a sound mind. The efficacy of all true ministry depends on His energy. It is as the servants of the Lord live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit that they adequately fulfil the mission to which they are called. And since He is freely and fully promised for the asking—as the gift of a father to his children—what sorrow and shame may not affect us who might have received so much of His power and yet have been satisfied with so little! “Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened? Are these His doings?” (Preacher's Homiletical)

Ezekiel was bitter because of his message, but not because God’s fire was burning within him. It is a blessed thing for preacher, leader, or Christian worker, when the hand of God is strong upon the soul. But whatever your inward condition, you will never be able to do your best work, unless you can sit where the people sit. In other words you must take their attitude, know by experience their circumstances, and share their lot. We must live very near to God, or we shall never hear the word of His mouth. There is no other way of obtaining messages that will effect His purpose. Ponder again Eze_3:17. In Eze_3:20 God is said to lay a stumbling-block only in the sense that He has constituted the world in that way. When the prophet went forth into the plain God revealed Himself. Whether He bids us go to the plain, or shut ourselves in the house, the place of obedience and duty will ever be the right one for the manifestation of His glory and the communication of His message. The secret of a successful ministry is to be absolutely yielded in thought and in speech to God.  (F.B. Meyer)

CONCLUSION:
The Lord has been dealing with me on these issues for a long time, many months. Today, there are far too many "prophets" for hire, that have no discernment, and show their true intent by what they allow to come out of their mouths. They are either full of deceit, showing they are in it for the money, or the name their trying to make and maintain for themselves. They aren't willing to pay the prices of a true servant of the Lord, and take the persecution and rejection that God plainly says we will get. 

Many of them serve the god of this world, and Satan has the power to give them all they desire-the prosperity preacher's and prophets are reaping their rewards now-it's all they will get. When they die, they will receive their just rewards, and join their master, the devil in the lake of fire.

For anyone who thinks they are called of God to be a watchman, prophet, or serve God in any capacity, ask yourself a question an elderly pastor said to me, when I was newly called of God; he said "Ask yourself before you move forward into the work, or service you believe is from God- "Am I willing to die for what I'm doing or saying, literally." He went on-"Many begin, but soon find Satan is right there, and will use everything he can to oppose you and people will be put in your path, that will reveal to you what's really in you, and if you are truly called of God, or not."
This elderly pastor advised me to study the life and mission of the Apostle Paul. I took his advice and God has burned it into my heart, what the cost truly is to serve Christ-it costs you everything.

If God has called you to this work-you will know it, and you won't be anxious to speak out publicly because you will know that it's going to bring you hardships, misunderstandings, and rejection. But, if you are truly called of God in this realm, and you love God, you'll sit shut in with Him until you've gotten the message correctly-and know exactly what your supposed to say, and nothing more. You'll seek His face, and meditate on His word, and digest everything you can on the subject God's placed on your heart, and you'll take it all to God, many times. You won't have any desire to say anything, unless you know in your heart and spirit that this is from God, and not a deception.

Then you'll ask Him for the time to give it, where, and you'll obey, and let the chips fall where they may.
This is the heart of a true servant and watchman/watchwoman of God. 
​Lorna Couillard

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God:
​for unto thee will I pray. Psa 5:1-2
Lead Me in Your Righteousness

​"There are two sorts of prayers - those expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent meditations. Words are not the essence but the garments of prayer. Moses at the Red Sea cried to God, though he said nothing. Yet the use of language may prevent distraction of mind, may assist the powers of the soul, and may excite devotion. David, we observe, uses both modes of prayer, and craves for the one a hearing, and for the other a consideration. What an expressive word! “Consider my meditation.” If I have asked that which is right, give it to me; if I have omitted to ask that which I most needed, fill up the vacancy in my prayer. “Consider my meditation.” Let thy holy soul consider it as presented through my all-glorious Mediator: then regard thou it in thy wisdom, weigh it in the scales, judge thou of my sincerity, and of the true state of my necessities, and answer me in due time for thy mercy's sake! There may be prevailing intercession where there are no words; and alas! there may be words where there is no true supplication. Let us cultivate the spirit of prayer which is even better than the habit of prayer. There may be seeming prayer where there is little devotion. We should begin to pray before we kneel down, and we should not cease when we rise up."
(Charles Haddon Spurgeon-Treasury of David)

“For unto Thee will I pray.” “There is a holy boldness here. God, as the King of His people, could not deny them His protection, and they asked no other. For to Thee, and Thee only, will I pray. As if he had said, it is in this capacity that I invoke Thee, and I therefore must be heard.” (Alexander)

The beginning verses of Psalm five opens the dialogue of David with God that then progresses to his cry for the intervention and protection of his Redeemer, from the hands of the wicked. There are insights brought out in these commentaries worth taking note of:

The Psalm falls into two main parts— Psa_5:1-7, and Psa_5:8-12. The inward comes first; for communion with God in the secret place of the Most High must precede all walking in His way, and all blessed experience of His protection, with the joy that springs from it. The Psalm is a prayerful meditation on the inexhaustible theme of the contrasted blessedness of the righteous, and misery of the sinner, as shown in the two great halves of life: the inward of communion, and the outward of action. A Psalmist who has grasped the idea that the true sacrifice is prayer, is not likely to have missed the cognate thought that the “house of the Lord, of which he will presently speak, is something other than any material shrine. But to offer sacrifice is not all which he rejoices to resolve. He will “keep watch”; that can only mean that he will be on the outlook for the answer to his prayer, or, if we may retain the allusion to sacrifice, for the downward flash of the Divine fire, which tells his prayer’s acceptance. The confidence and resolve ground themselves on God’s holiness, through which the necessary condition of approach to Him comes to be purity. God’s holiness shuts out the impure. The Psalmist’s vocabulary is full of synonyms for sin, which witness to the profound consciousness of it that law and ritual had evoked in devout hearts. In Psa_5:7 the Psalmist comes back to the personal reference, contrasting his own access to God with the separation of evil-doers from His presence. But he does not assert that he has the right of entrance because he is pure. The second part may be taken as his prayer when in the temple, whether that be the outward sanctuary or no. The whole of the devout man’s desires for himself are summed up in the prayer for guidance. He breaks into prayer which is also prophecy. We come into the sunshine again at the close of the Psalm, and hear the contrasted prayer, which thrills with gladness and hope. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

And not only must his tongue be listened to, his thought must be interpreted as well. He implores, “Understand my meditation.” This is the old Prayer Book rendering, and seems to come nearest the Hebrew (bin). A parallel passage is, “Thou understandest my thought afar off; for there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.” The petition “Understand my meditation” coming after “Give ear unto my words” is deeply suggestive. It implies that there was a voiceless meaning in his prayer which was not only more than he could express, but more than he himself could, even to himself, perfectly explain. In the profoundest prayer not only more is meant than meets the ear, but more is meant than the mind itself can quite decipher. And expansion in Rom_8:1-39 is very wonderful, very touching, and encouraging: “We know not how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.” (B. Gregory, D. D)

No priest stands between the worshipper and his Lord. Every man must state his own case. We pray for one another, but not instead of one another. What can be more beautiful than the picture which is thus represented? God is put in His right place as the throned Father, listening to each of His subjects as the subject may feel impelled to address Him. Every word is charged with tremulous life. No man can pray for another in the same exquisite and vital sense as a man can pray for himself; there are always circumstances in the case of the petitioner, which the petitioner alone knows, and even though he cannot throw such circumstances into literal expression he can suggest them all by the very tones of his voice. We mistake the nature of prayer if we think it can be limited to words. Even when we use the words of another in our devotional exercises, we throw into their expression accents which are personal and incommunicable. It is in such tones and accents that the true quality of prayer is found. If prayer consisted only in the utterance of certain words, then the wicked might pray, and pray with great elocutionary effect; but the prayer is hardly in the words at all, it is a subtle fragrance of the soul, an inexpressible something which we understand most nearly by the name of agony. This being the nature of prayer, it follows that whatever priestly mediation there may be in the universe—and that there is such mediation no student of the Bible can deny—the individual himself must stand in a direct relation to God, receiving help from the priest, but not in any degree to obliterate his personality, or reduce his spiritual enjoyment. (Joseph Parker, D. D)

​Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

​Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 1Pe 1:11-12
So Great a Salvation

The seers and prophets of old spent much time looking into scripture, comparing verses, spending time in delving into the deeper truths, that linked them together, and brought out the meanings, and intentions intended by the Holy Spirit. This the angels also desire and earnestly look into the events connecting the Old Testament prophecies, and events, and learning the high cost of Christ, and His eternaly plan from the beginning of the ages, for the redemption of fallen man. Some commentary on this, opens up a deeper realm of the awe in which the angels gaze into the weavings of God's moving adn working with the prophets who saw the redemption of Christ, and his sufferings, long before they took place, and are ever learning the magnitude of this event to this day.
These are forms of "seeking into" that the serious student, and those who desire a deeper understanding of study of scripture, that can be used along with your time of meditations. 

Searching what - That is, examining their own predictions with care, to ascertain what they meant. They studied them as we do the predictions which others have made; and though the prophets were the medium through which the truth was made known, yet their own predictions became a subject of careful investigation to themselves. The expression used here in the original, rendered “what,” (εἰς τίνα eis tina,) literally, “unto what,” may mean, so far as the Greek is concerned, either “what time,” or “what people,” or “what person;” that is, with reference to what person the prophecies were really uttered. The latter, it seems to me, is the correct interpretation, meaning that they inquired in regard to him, who he would be, what would be his character, and what would be the nature of the work which he would perform. There can be no doubt that they understood that their predictions related to the Messiah; but still it is not improper to suppose that it was with them an interesting inquiry what sort of a person he would be, and what would be the nature of the work which he would perform.

This interpretation of the phrase εἰς τίνα eis tina, (unto what or whom) it should be observed, however, is not that which is commonly given of the passage. Bloomfield, Rosenmuller, Doddridge, Whitby, Benson, and Grotius suppose it to refer to time, meaning that they inquired at what time, or when these things would occur. Macknight thinks it refers “to people,” (λαον laon,) meaning that they diligently inquired what people would put him to death. But the most obvious interpretation is that which I have suggested above, meaning that they made particular inquiry to whom their prophecies related - what was his rank and character, and what was to be the nature of his work. What would be a more natural inquiry for them than this? What would be more important? And how interesting is the thought that when Isaiah, for example, had given utterance to the sublime predictions which we now have of the Messiah, in his prophecies, he sat himself down with the spirit of a little child, to learn by prayer and study, what was fully implied in the amazing words which the Spirit had taught him to record! How much of mystery might seem still to hang around the subject And how intent would such a mind be to know what was the full import of those words!

Or what manner of time - This phrase, in Greek, (ποῖον καιρὸν poion kairon,) would properly relate, not to the exact time when these things would occur, but to the character or condition of the age when they would take place; perhaps referring to the state of the world at that period, the preparation to receive the gospel, and the probable manner in which the great message would be received. Perhaps, however, the inquiry in their minds pertained to the time when the predictions would be fulfilled, as well as to the condition of the world when the event takes place. The meaning of the Greek phrase would not exclude this latter sense. There are not unfrequent indications of time in the prophets, (compare Dan_9:24 ff) and these indications were of so clear a character, that when the Saviour actually appeared there was a general expectation that the event would then occur. See the notes at Mat_2:9.

The Spirit of Christ which was in them - This does not prove that they knew that this was the Spirit of Christ, but is only a declaration of Peter that it was actually so. It is not probable that the prophets distinctly understood that the Spirit of inspiration, by which they were led to foretell future events, was especially the Spirit of Christ. They understood that they were inspired; but there is no intimation, with which I am acquainted, in their writings, that they regarded themselves as inspired by the Messiah. It was not improper, however, for Peter to say that the Spirit by which they were influenced was in fact the Spirit of Christ, so called because that Spirit which suggested these future events to them was given as the great Medium of all revealed truth to the world. Compare Heb_1:3; Joh_1:9; Joh_14:16, Joh_14:26; Joh_16:7; Isa_49:6. It is clear from this passage:
(1) That Christ must have had an existence before his incarnation; and,
(2) That he must have understood then what would occur to him when he should become incarnate; that is, it must have been arranged or determined beforehand,
Did signify - Meant to intimate or manifest to them, ἐδήλου edēlou or what was implied in the communications made to them.

​As Isaiah, Isa_53:1-12; Daniel, Dan_9:25-27. They saw clearly that the Messiah was to suffer; and doubtless this was the common doctrine of the prophets, and the common expectation of the pious part of the Jewish nation.

​That is, they saw that there would be glory which would be the result of his sufferings, but they did not clearly see what it would be. They had some knowledge that he would be raised from the dead, (Psa_16:8-11; Compare Act_2:25-28) they knew that he would “see of the travail of his soul, and would be satisfied,” Isa_53:11 they had some large views of the effects of the gospel on the nations of the earth, Isa. 11; Isa_25:7-8; 60; 66. But there were many things respecting his glorification which it cannot be supposed they clearly understood; and it is reasonable to presume that they made the comparatively few and obscure intimations in their own writings in relation to this, the subject of profound and prayerful inquiry.  (Albert Barnes)

‘Which things the angels desire to look into.’ Now, the word that Peter employs there is an unusual one in Scripture. Its force may, perhaps, be best conveyed by referring to one of the few instances in which it is employed. It is used to describe the attitude of Peter and John when they stooped down and looked into the sepulchre. Perhaps there may be a reference in Peter’s mind to that incident, when he saw the ‘two angels ... sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.’ Perhaps, also, there floats in his mind some kind of reference to the outspread wings and bended heads of the brooding cherubim who sat above the Mercy-seat, gazing down upon the miracle of love that was manifested beneath them there. But be that as it may, the idea conveyed is that of eager desire and fixed attention.
​
Now I am not going to enlarge at all upon the thought that is here conveyed, except just to make the one remark that people have often said, ‘Why should a race of insignificant creatures on this little globe of ours be so dignified in the divine procedure as that there should be the stupendous mystery of the Incarnation, and the Death for their sakes?’ Not for their sakes only, for the New Testament commits itself to the thought that whilst sinful men are the only subjects of the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ, other orders of creatures do benefit thereby, and do learn from it what else they would not have known, of the mystery and the miracle and the majesty of the Divine love. ‘To the principalities and the powers in heavenly places He hath made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God.’ And we can understand how these other orders—what we call higher orders, which they may be or they may not—of being, learn to know God as we learn to know Him, by the manifestation of Himself in His acts, and how the crown of all manifestations consists in this, that He visits the sinful sons of men, and by His own dear Son brings them back again. The elder brethren in the Father’s house do not grudge the ring and the robe given to the prodigals; rather they learn therein more than they knew before of the loving-kindness of God.

Now all that is nowadays ignored, and it is not fashionable to speak about the interest of angels in the success of Redemption, and a good many ‘advanced’ Christians do not believe in angels at all, because they ‘cannot verify’ the doctrine. I, for my part, accept the teaching, which seems to me to be a great deal more reasonable than to suppose that the rest of the universe is void of creatures that can praise and love and know God. I accept the teaching, and think that Peter was, perhaps, not a dreamer when he said, ‘The angels desire to look into these things.’ They do not share in the blessings of redemption, but they can behold what they do not themselves experience. The Seer in the Revelation was not mistaken, when he believed that he heard redeemed men leading the chorus to Him that had redeemed them by His blood out of all nations, and then heard the thunderous echo from an innumerable host of angels who could not say ‘Thou hast redeemed us,’ but who could bring praise and glory to Him because He had redeemed men. 

Notice how emphatically in this context the Apostle gathers together his wider thoughts, and focuses them into a point. ‘The prophets have inquired and searched diligently ... of the grace that should come to you.... To them it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you.’ And so he would take his wide thoughts, as it were, and gather all together, to a point, and press the point against each man’s heart.

Dear brethren, these wide views are of no avail to us unless we realise the individual relation which Christ bears to each one of us. He bears a relation, as I have been saying, to all humanity. All the ages belong to Him. ‘He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.’ From His Cross there flash up rays of light into the heavens above, and out over the whole rolling series of the centuries, from the beginning to the end. Yes; but from His Cross there comes a beam straight to your heart, and the Christ whom angels desire to look into, of whom prophets prophesy and Apostles proclaim His advent, who is the Lord of all the ages, and the Lover of mankind, comes to thee and says ‘I am thy Saviour,’ and to thee this wide message is brought. Every eye has the whole sunshine, and each soul may have the whole Christ. His universal relations in time and space matter little to you, unless He has a particular relation to yourself.

And He will never have that in its atoning power, unless you do for yourself and by yourself the most individual and solitary act that a human soul can do, and that is, lay your hand on the head of ‘the Lamb ... that takes away the sin of the world,’ and put your sins there. You must begin with ‘my Christ,’ which you can do only by personal faith. And then afterwards you can come to ‘our Christ,’ the Christ of all the worlds, the Christ of all the ages. Go to Him by yourself. You must do it as if there were not any other beings in the whole universe but you two, Jesus and you. And when you have so gone, then you will find that you have ‘come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly, and Church of the first born.’ Christ and His Cross are the substance of prophecy, the theme of the Gospel, the study of the angels. From this, we meditate on and question ourselves; What are they to me? (Alexander Maclaren)

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another, envying one another. Gal 5:25-26
Narrowing the Focus

Walking in the Spirit implies living in the Spirit. There must be a principle of spiritual life, before there Can be any spiritual motions and exercises. And living in the Spirit implies walking in the Spirit. What is a man’s walk? It is his whole life, his whole conduct, outward and inward—all he thinks, feels, desires, speaks, does, suffers. To walk in the Spirit is to have the Holy Ghost originating, directing, controlling, and governing all these.

Progress. A walk is a progress, it has an end in view, and it is a going towards that end, more or less steadily—more or less rapidly.
(1) The man who walks in the Spirit has the same end in view which his Master had; he looks for the joy which is set before us, the glory which is to be revealed.
(2) He has a guide—Christ, whom the Spirit reveals to him, that he may follow in the footsteps of Him who is our example in all things.
(3) He has a rule or map of the way—the Word of God, which the Spirit opens up and makes plain to his soul.
(4) He has a motive or gracious spring urging him on— peace and love.

The benefit. The old nature is checked, kept down, and not permitted to ripen its bitter fruit. Its nature and tendencies are unchanged, unchangeable, but it is checked and restrained at every point. But the new nature is cultivated, and so it bears its peaceable fruits. The man who walks in the Spirit has less outward stir and bustle than others, but he has more success, for he works in God, and God works in and with him. But why this long, tedious, fluctuating conflict between flesh “and spirit? It is to show the evil and deceitfulness of sin, to humble, to make watchful, to make us dependent, and make us long for heaven. (John Milne)

"If we live by the Spirit - If we are indeed raised from the dead, and are alive to God, by the operation of his Spirit. Let us walk by the Spirit - Let us follow his guidance, in all our tempers, thoughts, words, and actions."

cross reference verse: 
Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 

What is vainglory?
"Ambitious of being thought wiser, and richer, and more valuable than others; of having the preeminence in the management of all affairs, and of having honor, esteem, and popular applause from men: this may well be called vain glory, since it is only in outward things, as wisdom, riches, strength, and honor, and not in God the giver of them, and who can easily take them away; and therefore is but for a time, and is quickly gone, and lies only in the opinion and breath of men."  (John Gill)

Men principally refer all their studies, counsels, endeavors, and gifts to the honoring and advancing of themselves. They who have received good gifts of God are often most vainglorious. Whereas all other vices feed upon that which is evil, this vice of vainglory feeds upon good things. A man will sometimes be proud even because he is not proud.

The cure of vainglory.--

1. Meditation.
(1) God resists all proud persons and gives grace to the humble, because the vainglorious man, seeking himself and not God, robs God of His honor.
(2) It is the work of the devil to puff up the mind with self-liking and conceit, that thereby he may work man’s perdition.
(3) There is no religion in that heart that is wholly bent to seek the praise of men. The man who desires to be talked of and admired by others gives notice to the world that his heart is not sound in the sight of God.

2. Practice.
(1) Endeavour to acknowledge the great majesty of God, and our own baseness before Him.
(2) We ought to ascribe all good things we have or can do to God alone, and nothing to ourselves.
(3) In all actions and duties of religion we must first endeavor to approve ourselves to God, and the next place is to be given to man.
(4) When we are reviled we must rest content; when we are praised take heed. Temptations on the right hand are far more dangerous than those on the left.
(5) Men who are ambitious, if they be crossed, grow contentious; if they prosper, they are envied by others. Abhor and detest vainglory; seek to preserve and maintain peace and love.— (Perkins)

It's to be noted, the actions of love, do not guarantee we will feel the emotion of love in every case. Using restraint in a tense situation, remaining silent, when the temptation comes to lash out in anger, being kind when reviled or knowing you've just been tricked, is developed and expresses love for the person before us, and is counted as love, because we are giving that person the dignity we would want for ourselves. We are rendering them restraint, and manners, in the face of their insults, and bad conduct. This is a deeper sense of what love is, and how it works in a world of evil. The Lord Jesus' act of the greatest love the world has ever known-is the fact he was willing to come into this world of sin, be obedient throughout his life, and willingly go to the cross, and suffer and die, for my sins and yours. To this day-I cannot fully fathom it, or grasp it. It will take eternity to get a glimpse of this depth of love.
​
"Love of vainglory is a common vice the whole world through, in all conditions. No village so small but there be one or two peasants therein, that will fain be taken for wiser and better than the rest. It is so pleasant to be pointed at with the finger and hear it said: “See, there is a man that is fit for anything!” This vice is common, yet nowhere does it such harm as to those who fulfil a spiritual function and service in the Church." (Luther)

​"I recollect a little town where there was a chapel, the people connected with which thought that if they could only buy a chandelier that was on sale, they would cut out all the other chapels entirely, and everybody would feel that they were made weighty and respectable people, and that the place would be filled with people to see the chandelier. I believe for a time it was, but its light grew dim, and they found that was not the way in which the light of the kingdom of God was to be spread." (C. H. Spurgeon.)

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. Psa 27: 4
Single-mindedness

​The believer’s confidence is simple and sincere. "One thing have I desired of the Lord." One thought has the mastery in his soul over all other thoughts; one aim gives unity and concentration to all his efforts; one affection draws all other impulses and desires into its swift current. The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, but this singleness of heart gives the life a clear and steadfast aim, binds all its parts into harmonious consistency, inspires it with continuous hope, braces and invigorates it with celestial strength.

This confidence is essentially of a spiritual character. The "one thing" which the Psalmist desired was that he "might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life." Well David knew that a very different lot was appointed him than in the peaceful and cloistered retirement of the Temple; that it would be his one day to sit on the throne of Israel, to go forth as their leader to battle, to do judgment and justice, as the father of his people, in the gate. Set there and thus, he might be as closely encircled by the sense of the Divine presence, and as consciously drawing strength, and happiness, and peace from inward communion with his God, as if he had been keeping perpetual vigil before the altar.

This confidence in God was calm and joyous. It enabled him to say that in the time of trouble God would hide him in His pavilion, and set his feet upon a rock. When things are at the darkest, the believer has a bright outlook into the future, and may be assured that nothing can reach or affect the sources of his confidence. Within the circle of the Divine protection, his life is unassailable. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."  (J. D. Burns, Family Treasury, April, 1863)

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after,' that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple." Psa_27:4
​
In this verse, so full of riches, we have the spiritual ambition of the psalmist, and the notable thing is how his single purpose resolves itself into two parts. Just as the single seeds of many plants separate themselves out into two seed-leaves, and just as the sunshine, that most fruitful unity, breaks up, to put it roughly, into light and heat, so the spiritual ambition of the psalmist, of which he is speaking in this verse, reveals itself under two different aspects. One thing he desires of the Lord, and then that one thing shows itself as two things. He yearns to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His holy temple. And from this we gather that beholding and inquiring are but different aspects of one life, vitally interwoven with each other. They are not contrary nor contradictory like day and night or cold and heat. They are related elements in every life that is hungering and thirsting after God. All the experiences of the soul in its inward rest and never-ending searching may be summed up in beholding and inquiring.

The Desires of Every Christian

One notes, first of all, how spiritual life runs down its roots into beholding. "We beheld his glory, full of grace and truth." "Behold the Lamb of God." There are three desires in the heart of every Christian one is to run his course with honor. The second is to endure, without embittering, the bitterest that life can bring. The third and deepest of the three is this, to be always growing more like the Master in inward character and outward conduct.

Now tell me, what is the Gospel way towards the achievement of these deep desires? It is not speculation nor philosophy. It is a way within the reach of every man. To run with honor, to endure the worst, to be changed into the likeness of the Lord—all of them are based upon beholding. "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus." "He endured as seeing him who is invisible." "We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image."

David was not a dreamer. He did not covet a temple-life of idleness. He wanted to run well and to endure and to be transformed into a glowing spirit. That was why, beset by sin, he cried with all the passion of his heart, "One thing have I desired—to behold."

Inquiry Follows Beholding

The next suggestion of the words is this, that beholding is always followed by inquiring. We see that in every sphere of life and not only in the region of the spirit. Think, for instance, of the stars as they shone down on ancient man. For ages, in those dim and distant days, man must have been contented with beholding. But just because he was man, made in the image of God, he could not rest in any mere beholding. He began to wonder, and wondering inquired. What were these lamps glowing in the heavens? Who kindled them? Who kept them burning? Did they have influence on human life? Did they foretell the destinies of mortals? So man, confronted with the stars of heaven, first beheld the beauty of the Lord and then inquired in His holy temple.

Or, again, think of the world of nature that lies around us in its beauty. Touched with the finger of God, man has beheld that beauty in a way no beast has ever done. No dumb creature has any sense of beauty. Scenery makes no difference to it. The oxen, knee-deep in the pasturage, never lift their eyes up to the hills. One great difference between man and beast is this, that man, and man alone in this creation, has beheld the beauty of the Lord. The sunlight as it glances on the sea—the flowers that make beautiful the meadow—the haunting mystery of the deep forest—the lake, the lights and shadows of the glen—such things have touched the heart of man and moved him and thrilled him into song in a way no dumb creature ever knew. Just because man is man one thing is true of him—he beholds the beauty of the Lord. But just because man is man and not a beast, he never can rest content with mere beholding. There is something in him, the breath of his Creator, impelling him to ever-deepening wonder until at last in that wonder he inquires. "Hath the rain a father, or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it" (Job_38:28-29)? So science is born, and all theology, and growing insight into the ways of God—because beholding is followed by inquiring.

Inquiries Are Answered by Beholding

There is one other relationship to mention, for without any question David knew it. The gladness of the spiritual life is that its deepest inquiries are answered by beholding. Let any man inquire after God, for instance, eager to know what kind of God He is, longing to be assured that He is Love so that He may be absolutely trusted—well, there are many ways that such a man may take in the hope of answering that deepest of all questions. He may examine the arguments for God, or he may read biography or history; he may turn to the reasonings of philosophy, or rely on the pronouncements of the Scripture. But, my dear reader, there is another way—it is what the Bible calls a new and living way: he can behold the beauty of our Lord. He can behold His love and carry it up to heaven and say, "That love of Jesus is the love of God." He can behold His care for every separate soul and lift that up to the heart upon the throne. He can behold His loyalty to His friends and His pardoning mercy for the guiltiest sinner, and then he can say, "God is just like that." Do that, and what a difference it makes. God is no longer cold and unconcerned. He is love. He actually cares. He will never do His children any harm. "We beheld His glory, full of grace and truth, the glory of the only-begotten of the Father." The agonized inquiries of the heart are answered—by beholding.   (Devotional Sermons)