[Examine me--has my heart left after money, riches, and man's praise?
Has my hunger for life been clouded and mixed? Does my path seek to
gain my own kingdom, or seek yours first?]
“O my soul, listen to the task that the Lord has given you, and run in
faith. You have no righteousness of your own, and never had. When I
died for you, you were still a rebel, an outworked copy of a corrupted
pattern, already dead and fruitless. But what I have begun in you I
will complete, even taking you back around to the same place you have
been before–yet a floor higher. Trust in me, for this is not a
pattern of righteousness you can earn. It is not a position or
lifestyle or walk that you can obtain. But if you seek me, and keep
my words, I will indeed do the very thing; making your righteousness
shine forth like the dawn; bringing salvation and healing through
your faith, by my word; teaching you to live and die in faith–and
award you a crown of life, and place your feet on the heights. The
mountains and hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all
the trees of the field shall clap their hands, and in the joy and
fruitfulness of the field, it shall make a name for the Lord–an
everlasting sign.”
[How can I return to you, Lord, and what thoughts of mine are
fruitless, needing forsaking?]
“What thoughts of yours are worries? What thoughts of yours are small
religious imitations of righteousness? These are dust which you hold
to, but my thoughts are above yours, and my ways higher than yours.
Do not spend your money on what is not true bread. Do not labor for
that which does not satisfy. Listen to me, incline your ear to me;
hear, and eat, and live. My steadfast love, my sure love for David,
is the covenant I extend to you. Isaiah 55…”
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