PRÉCIS ON THE PRAYER OF CONSECRATION FOR THE LAST DAYS OF THE AMERICAN ORDER

SCRIPTURE. “Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – PSALM 139:23-24, AMPC

KEY TERM: “SEARCH.” ‘Chaqar’ [חָקְרֵ֣נִי]: “From a root word meaning, ‘To penetrate;’ to examine intimately; find out; to seek out, to try; explore thoroughly.” WEBSTER (1828): “To look over or through for the purpose of finding something; to examine by inspection; to probe; to seek the knowledge of by feeling with instrument; as ‘to search a wound.’”

QUOTATION. “Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token homage to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honored among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the Question of who or what is ‘Above,’ and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However the man may protest, the proof is in the choice he makes day after day throughout his life.” –  A.W. TOZER, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine, 1948; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘Search me, O God’ — Do Thou, who art the Searcher of hearts, judge whether I do not speak this from my very heart, and deal with me accordingly. ‘See if there be any wicked way in me’ — Hebrew, דרךְ עצב, ‘way of trouble or grief;’ any course of life, or temper of mind, which is a source of ‘grief or trouble,’ either, 1st, To myself, as all sin is to the sinner, sooner or later; or, 2d, To others, as I am accused of causing much trouble, and designing evil to the King and Kingdom; ‘and lead me in the way everlasting’ — In the Way of Godliness, the Way which is right and good, and leads to everlasting life.

Whereas the Way of wickedness, to which this is opposed, ‘will perish,’ as is said Psalm 1:6, and bring men to utter destruction. Or, as the words may be rendered, ‘In the Old Way,’ which is the ‘Good Way,’ as it is called Jeremiah 6:16, the Way of Righteousness and Holiness, which may well be called the ‘Old Way,’ because it was written on the hearts of men from the beginning of the world, whereas Wickedness is of later date.

Observe, reader, they that are upright can take comfort in God’s omniscience, as a witness of their uprightness, and can, with an humble confidence, beg of Him to search and try them, and discover them to themselves, for ‘a good man desires to know the worst of himself.’ Nay, they have no objection, but rather desire to be discovered to others. He that means honestly could wish he had a window in his breast, that any man might look into his heart; for his ruling desire is, in all things, to know and do the Will of God.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

DK’S TAKE. I love the way Mr. Benson concluded his Commentary, with the observation that the True Follower of Christ will not only invite the Holy Spirit to examine himself but does so eagerly! What child of a good father would not want to know such things in order to become more pleasing to him?

Answer: The child who is sincerely in love with his father has no other desire but to learn from him and follow his direction. So it is with the true servants of the King who dare to discover any weaknesses in ourselves now that we might do valiantly in the coming Days of Darkness all the more.

Threshold.  On this Historic Eve of the 60^th Quadrennial Presidential Election of Monday November 4, 2024, it would behoove us to all to likewise do one thing at this very late hour:

TAKE STOCK! ”Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [^[not Christ!]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?” – 2 CORINTHIANS 13:5, AMPC

The Day is nearly gone, beloved, Night draws ever so near. So please, I beg of you: Make sure, on your very life, that you fully belong to the True Christ, and not to the Antichrist.

Selah.