Get Thee up into the High Mountain

“O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift [it] up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” (Isaiah 40:9 NKJV)

C.H. Spurgeon Commentary

Each believer should be thirsting for God, for the living God, and longing to climb the hill of the Lord, and see him face to face. We ought not to rest content in the mists of the valley when the summit of Tabor awaits us. My soul thirsteth to drink deep of the cup which is reserved for those who reach the mountain’s brow, and bathe their brows in heaven. How pure are the dews of the hills, how fresh is the mountain air, how rich the fare of the dwellers aloft, whose windows look into the New Jerusalem! Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines, who see not the sun; they eat dust like the serpent when they might taste the ambrosial meat of angels; they are content to wear the miner’s garb when they might put on king’s robes; tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. Satisfied I am that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof, and view the goodly land and Lebanon. Rouse thee, oh believer, from thy low condition! Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ, thy soul’s husband. Make him the source, the centre, and the circumference of all thy soul’s range of delight. What enchants thee into such folly as to remain in a pit when thou mayst sit on a throne? Live not in the lowlands of bondage now that mountain liberty is conferred upon thee. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments, but press forward to things more sublime and heavenly. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God! 

When wilt thou come unto me, Lord?

Oh come, my Lord most dear!

Come near, come nearer, nearer still,

I’m blest when thou art near.

Thoughts from Word for the Day

This passage lays heavy on my heart. Spurgeon ask an appropriate question. “What enchants thee into such folly as to remain in a pit when thou mayst [sic] sit on a throne?” “Cast away thy sloth” is the charge!

Oh that we would not sleep away our lives when we might walk with God. Yes there is difficulty in the way, but the joy of the Lord resides there. 

Do you not enjoy your home? Is it not a place of comfort? Yet, you enjoy it at considerable cost. How much more precious is the peace of God, and how much effort do you put forth to commune with Him?

Brethren, let us heed Isaiah’s words and live on the mountain top. Cast off your sloth and see what the Lord will do. “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the LORD.” (Psalms 4:5 NKJV)

Prayer

Father, forgive us our trespasses. Lift up the soul that hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Comfort us in our distresses, and give us your peace. We ask for these things in Christ’s name, amen.