Heavenly Minded Pilgrims

1 Peter 1:17b, 2:11 "Live your lives (have the inner disposition of your mind and heart) here as strangers/foreigners/sojourners..."

Thomas Lye  “How Are We to Live by Faith of Divine Providence?”

Faith runs in the current of heavenly mindedness. It savours, and sets its affection on things above. It only needs a little of the dregs of earth to pass its worldly pilgrimage. Faith looks for the hand of heaven in the events of life. It looks beyond to the heart of God. 

The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

 I am a stranger, with a stranger's indifference;

my hands hold a pilgrim's staff (Hebrews 11:13),

my march is Zionward (Psalm 122, Hebrews 12:22) 

my eyes are toward the coming of the Lord (Luke 21:28),

my heart is in Thy hands without reserve.

A Liturgy for the Use of the Church at King's Chapel in Boston, 1831

We humbly pray Thee, O Father in heaven, to guide us through the darkness of this world, to guard us from its perils, to hold us up and strengthen us when we grow weary in our mortal way; and to lead us by Thy chosen paths, through time and through death, to our eternal home in Thy heavenly kingdom; which we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

R.C. Chapman, 'Choice Sayings', Notes of Expositions of the Scriptures, 1883

God is honored by faith, and most honored when faith discerns His love and truth behind a thick cloud of His ways and providence.

Rev. W. J.  Dawson “The Day After Tomorrow”

The fog's on the world today,

'Twill be on the world tomorrow;

Not all the strength of the sun

Can drive his bright spears thorough.

Yesterday and today

Have been heavy with care and sorrow,

I should faint if I did not see

The day that is after tomorrow.

And for me with spirit elate,

The mire and the fog I press through,

For heaven shines under the cloud

Of the day that is after tomorrow.

F.B. Meyer

Lord Jesus! Give us the second sight; a vision of the reality of the Eternal World that hides behind the veil of sense. Lift us up above the mists and darkness of the valley, to walk with Thee on the high level of Thy manifested presence and glory.  As Thou art with us in the sunlight, be Thou with us in the cloud.  

St. Augustine

Be Thou the Goal of my pilgrimage, and my Rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of (the world and worldly thoughts) beneath the shadow of Thy wings; let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in Thee, O God. Thou bounteous Giver of all good gifts, give to him who is weary refreshing (spiritual) food; gather our distracted thoughts and powers into harmony again; and set the prisoner free.

Hispanic Mozarabic Liturgy  

Be Thou, O Lord, our protection, who art our redemption; direct our minds by Thy gracious presence, and watch over our paths with guiding love; that, among the snares which lie hidden in this path wherein we walk, we may so pass onward with hearts fixed on Thee, that by the track of faith we may come to be where Thou wouldest have us.

Ezekiel Hopkins  A Practical Exposition of the Lord's Prayer

We are strangers and pilgrims upon earth; heaven is our country, and to there we are travelling. (Hebrews 11:13b-16)

John Bunyan  Pilgrim's Progress, Mr. Feeble to Honest and Gaius after he was rescued from Giant Slay Good by Great Heart

"This I've resolved to do - to run when I can, to walk when I can't run, and to crawl when I can't walk. My way is before me, and my thoughts are beyond the River..."

Richard Sibbes  "A Glance Of Heaven"

The life of a Christian is wondrously ruled in this world, by the consideration and meditation of the life of another world.

Samuel Rutherford  The Loveliness of Christ 

Our fair morning is at hand, the day star is near the rising, and we are not many miles from home; what does it matter if we are ill-treated in the smoky inns of this world?

Henry Alford  The Year of Prayer; Family Prayers, 1866

Teach us day by day what Thou wouldest have us do, and give us grace and power to fulfill the same. May we never from love of ease, decline the path which Thou pointest out, nor, for fear of shame, turn away from it. 

Rev. James Smith, C.H. Spurgeon’s predecessor at New Park St. Chapel, London, in his Daily Bible Readings for the Lord’s Household

Our journey is through a trackless desert; we know not a foot of the road, all before us is untrodden path; the road is lined with snares and dangers, there are many bypaths, let us therefore lay hold on this precious promise, “The Lord shall guide thee continually.” (Isaiah 58:11)

He knows the path. He knows our frame. He knows every foe. He knows what we want, when we want, and how much we shall want; let us therefore put the hand of our faith into the hand of his special providence, and say,

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land...

C.H. Spurgeon 

“Our Lord’s Prayer for His People’s Sanctification”

https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/our-lords-prayer-for-his-peoples-sanctification/#flipbook/

All that befalls us on our road to heaven is meant to fit us for our journey’s end. Our way through the wilderness is meant to try us, and to prove us, that our evils may be discovered, repented of, and overcome and that thus we may be without fault before the throne at the last. We are being educated for (heaven) and for the assembly of the (saints). What we shall be does not yet appear because we are struggling up towards it.

The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith on John 12:26a “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also…”

Come, my soul, pluck up courage, and put down thy feet in the blood-marked footprints which thy Lord has left you.

Octavius Winslow  Daily Walking With God

Imagine yourself threading your way along a most difficult and perilous path, every step of which is attended with pain and jeopardy, and is taken with hesitancy and doubt. Unknown to you and unseen, there is one hovering each moment around you, checking each false step, and guiding each doubtful one; soothing each sorrow, and supplying each need. All is calm and silent. Not a sound is heard, not a movement is seen; and yet, to your amazement, just at the critical moment the needed support comes- you know not from where, you know not from whom. 

This is no picture of fancy. Are you a child of God, retracing your steps back to Paradise by an intricate and a perilous way? Jesus is near to you at each moment, unseen and often unknown. You have at times stood speechless with awe at the strange interposition, on your behalf, of providence and of grace. No visible sign betokened the source of your help. There was no echo of footfall at your side, nor flitting of shadow across your path. No law of nature was altered or suspended, the sun did not stand still, nor did the heavens open; and yet deliverance, strange and effectual deliverance, came at a moment most unexpected, yet most needed. 

It was Jesus, your Redeemer, your Brother, your Shepherd, and your Guide. He it was who, hovering round you, unknown and unobserved, kept you as the apple of His eye, and sheltered you in the hollow of His hand. It was He who armed you with courage for the fight, who poured strength into your spirit, and grace into your heart, when the full weight of calamity pressed upon you. 

Oh, how much richer and more attractive is heaven than earth, to a renewed and holy mind! Here, we are encircled by, and combat with, spirits of darkness and pollution, principalities and powers; there, is "an innumerable company of angels." Here, we are much separated from the Church of God; there, is the "general assembly and Church of the first-born," from whom nothing shall divide us. Here, the Divine presence is often withdrawn, and we are taunted and accused by our foes; there, is "God the Judge of all," whose presence will be our eternal glory, and who will "bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the noon-day." Here, we often hang our heads in sorrow, at the imperfections we mark in the saints; there, are the "spirits of just men made perfect," "without fault before the throne." Here, we often lose sight of our beloved Lord; there, is "Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant," never more to be veiled from our view.

Robert Collyer

Help us to feel how, day by day, we see some dim shadow of the eternal day that will break upon us at the last. May the Gospel of Thy Son, the whisper of Thy Spirit, unite to make our faith in the life to come, strong and clear; then shall we be glad when Thou shalt call us, and enter into Thy glory in Jesus Christ.

Charles Gorman Richards in God’s Minute, A Book Of Daily Prayers

O Thou who art the light of all who must walk alone in the path of shadows, teach us to so trust Thee that fear may no longer beset us. If we cannot see beyond the turn of the road, may we yet be conscious of a companionship that leads us in confidence toward each new experience. Grant us the peace of Christ to quiet our feverish hearts, and lend courage for life's daily test of faith and discipleship.

J.C. Ryle

Practical Religion, “Heirs of God”, 1878  

https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/ryle/Practical%20Religion%20-Ryle.pdf

I am a dying man in a dying world. All before me is dark. The world to come is an unknown harbor. But Christ is there, and that is enough. Surely if there is rest and peace in following Him by faith on earth, there will be far more rest and peace when we see Him face to face.  

Holiness

There is a pass in Scotland called Glencroe, which supplies a beautiful illustration of what Heaven will be to the souls who come to Christ. The road through Glencroe carries the traveler up a long and steep ascent, with many a little turn and winding in its course. But when the top of the pass is reached, a stone is seen by the wayside with these simple words inscribed upon it: 'Rest, and be thankful.' Those words describe the feelings with which every thirsting one who comes to Christ will enter Heaven. The summit of the narrow way will at length be ours. We shall cease from our weary journeyings, and sit in the kingdom of God. We shall look back on all the way of our lives with thankfulness, and see the perfect wisdom of every step in the steep ascent by which we were led. We shall forget the toil of the upward journey in the glorious rest.  

A.W. Tozer  Renewed Day by Day

I can only hope that you are wise enough, desirous enough, and spiritual enough to face up to the truth that every day is another day of spiritual preparation, another day of testing and discipline with our heavenly destination in mind.

A.B. Simpson on Colossians 3:1 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above"

We must learn to live on the heavenly side and look at things from above. To contemplate all things as God sees them, as Christ beholds them, overcomes sin, defies Satan, dissolves perplexities, lifts us above trials, separates us from the world and conquers fear of death. Such a perspective enables us to view them as if we were now really seated with Him, as indeed we are, in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Often when the traveler quite loses his way he can discern it again from some hilltop where all the winding paths on which he has come appear behind him, and the whole homeward road opens before. So, from the heights of prayer and faith, we too can see the plain path and know we are going home.  

Thomas Manton  A Practical Exposition of the Lord's Prayer "Our Father which art in Heaven"

We should always labour to get our hearts above the world into the presence of God, as if we were by Him in heaven, and wholly swallowed up with His glory. Until we get above the mists of the world, we can see nothing of clearness and comfort.

"Abide With Me" by Henry Francis Lyte, sung to William Henry Monk's "Eventide"

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Verona Sacramentary, prayer attributed to Pope Leo I c. 440

Protect, O Lord, thy suppliants, support their weakness, and wash away their earthly stains; and while they walk amid the darkness of this mortal life, do Thou ever quicken them by Thy light; deliver them in Thy mercy from all evils, and grant them to attain the height of good: through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rev. James Smith, predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London (1841–1850), from his devotional, The Believer’s Daily Remembrancer

Micah 2:10 – “Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction.”

There is no permanent rest for the believer on earth; here briers and thorns will be with him; and a voice is daily sounding in his ears, “Arise and go.” Here you are not to loll at ease, or to idle on your journey; here you are not to expect to find satisfaction, for it is an enemy’s land, and you are only passing through it to your heavenly home. Use the world, but do not abuse it; pass through it, but never seek a home in it; remember it is peopled by the enemies of your God.  

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

The Christian man should remind himself every morning as he wakes up: ‘I am a child of God; I am a unique person; I am not like everybody else; I belong to the family of God. Christ has died for me and has translated me from the kingdom of darkness into His own kingdom. I am going to heaven; I am destined for that. I am but passing through this world. I know its temptations and trials; I know the subtle insinuations of Satan. But I do not belong to him. I am a Pilgrim and a Stranger; I am one who is following Christ along this road.’ 

William Williams, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist theologian and writer of “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah"

"A Prayer for strength to go through the Wilderness of the World.”

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but thou art mighty;

Hold me with thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven,

Feed me till I (am in) want no more.

Open thou the crystal fountain,

Whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar,

Lead me all my journey through.

Strong Deliverer,

Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,

Bid my anxious fear subside;

Death of death, and hell’s destruction,

Land me safe on Canaan’s side.

Songs of praises,

I will ever give to thee.

Musing on my habitation,

Musing on my heav’nly home,

Fills my soul with holy longings:

Come, my Jesus, quickly come;

Vanity is all I see;

Lord, I long to be with thee!