From J. C. Philpot's Daily Portions
October 18 "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos
3:3 There was a time, child of God, when the world held the
chief place in your heart. God was not supreme in your heart. You and he
were therefore at variance. But now, through grace, you are brought to make
eternity your chief concern. You and God are agreed there; for in the mind
of God, eternity as much outweighs time as the stars in the midnight sky
outweigh a grain of dust. There was a time when you loved the world and the
things of time and sense; and earth and earthly things were your element and
home. You and God disagreed upon that matter; because the Lord saw that the
world was full of evil, while you saw it full of good. The Lord saw the
world under his curse, and you loved its favor and its blessing--seeking
madly and wickedly to enjoy that which God had denounced; therefore you
could not agree. Thus you see that in order to be agreed with God, we must
have God's thoughts in our heart, God's ways in our soul, and God's love in
our affections. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, says the Lord." But they must become such; and when once God's
thoughts become our thoughts and God's ways our ways; when once we have the
mind of Christ and see with the eyes of God, then God and we become agreed,
and being agreed, we can walk together. What is it to walk together? Why, it is to enjoy union,
communion, fellowship, and friendship. Now as we are brought to agree with
God, we walk with God. He has set up a mercy-seat on high, and when they
thus agree, God and man may meet at the mercy-seat of the Redeemer. As the
eyes are enlightened to see the truth of God; as the heart is touched to
feel the power of God; and as the affections are drawn forth to love the
things of God, we meet at the mercy-seat. It is sprinkled with blood; it
contains and hides from view the broken tables of the law. There God meets
man in gracious friendship, and enables him to pour out his soul before him
and to tell him his troubles, trials, and temptations. And every now and
then he sweetly relieves by dropping in a gracious promise, applying some
portion of his sacred truth, encouraging him to believe in his dear Son, and
still to hope in his mercy.