EXTRACT

You may enquire, What does piety mean? It marks the believer normally as a characteristic state, and as working out it means simply that I bring God into my circumstances. He of course brings me into His; but piety is that I bring God into my circumstances, and the apostle says that this is profitable for everything. I do not suppose there is a merchant in the whole world who can say his particular commodity is profitable for everything, but here is something that is profitable for everything. The promise of the present life and the one to come, is the positive thing that underlies this exercise “unto piety”. I have the power for it; the muscle, as it were; the energy for this exercise that I should have piety. If there is something I have not brought God into, I can bring Him into it today. Are there things in my life that I cannot bring God into? The apostle is aiming at that state of things. He says, “Exercise thyself unto piety”. That means, I must see that God comes into all my matters. I am not going to enumerate the matters I have in mind. There are many; but the point is, exercise yourself as to piety including them all. That is, you are not indifferent. You are not drifting along like a fish without fins and scales. You are going against the pressure of the tide of evil in this world.

You say, I want to bring God into whatever specially weighs upon me. As you get up in the morning and get ready for the day’s duties you say, Will God hear me now? Certainly. Pray while you are getting dressed. God is ready. God says, If you put a grain of wheat in the field, I will give that grain of wheat a body as it pleases Me; and why will God not look after the believer when He is doing his toilet in the morning? We are apt to get up and not be too happy in our spirits in the morning. The devil is apt to take advantage of us early. Bring God in. A little word of prayer when you get out of bed will raise your heart toward God. I have been greatly impressed by Nehemiah’s short prayer. He says to God, “Now therefore strengthen my hands”, Nehemiah 6: 9.

“Exercise thyself unto piety”. That is what the apostle says. It is profitable for everything, having promise of the present life and that to come. As I have said, I cannot enumerate the things. Each of us can do it for himself. But the great thing is to keep God before you always and bring Him into whatever arises in your affairs.

J. Taylor (Vol. 52, pp.339, 340)

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