All worldviews begin and move toward a vision of things not yet seen or realized. The worldview rooted in the Law of God is grounded in a compelling vision of God and His promises, and includes a variety of unseen things which, though unseen, are nonetheless real and vitally important to know and understand.

In His covenant, God bound Himself to Israel as a Father to His children, and He made known to them wonders and mysteries about Himself. God wanted Israel to know Him, because in knowing Him they would discover the fullness of life and purpose, their very reason for being. In addition, as we have seen, He held out to them precious and magnificent promises of blessing and abundance, which they would begin to realize in the land and, later, kingdom, to which God was bringing them.

To know God and enjoy the promises of His covenant: This is the essence of the worldview outlined for us in the Law of God.

But gaining the promises of God, and living in His presence, did not come naturally. Israel was a sinful people, as we have seen; and sinful thoughts, attitudes, and priorities would incline them to seek their own interests rather than the good plans that God had prepared for them. If the people of God were ever going to know and enjoy Him, they would have to disciplinethemselves – beginning in their souls – for this new and so promising relationship.

Thus, in addition to the vision God held out and the promises He made to His people, He also revealed what would be necessary on their parts in order to know and enjoy Him. Today we would group all that God requires of those who seek and pursue Him under the rubric of the disciplined life, beginning with spiritual disciplines.

Spiritual disciplines are those activities, deliberately and consistently engaged, by which the redeemed of the Lord enter into His presence and engage Him in His glory. Through the practice of spiritual disciplines the people of God are changed, inside and out, so that they may gain the maximum benefit from their relationship with the living God.

In this part of our study we will examine the spiritual disciplines God outlined for His people in His Law. Like the vision which was intended to capture the imaginations and win the devotion of His people, the spiritual disciplines which we find in the Law of God serve as a foundation and cornerstone for understanding everything else taught in the Scriptures about seeking and pursuing the Lord.

Gaining the promises of God does not come without discipline. The better we understand the disciplines God has prescribed for us in His Word, and the more consistent we are in using these, the more we can expect to know the Lord in His glory and to dwell within the promises He holds out for us and has fulfilled for us in Jesus Christ.

T. M. Moore

The book of Ecclesiastes is a crucial resource for understanding the Biblical worldview against the backdrop of our secular age. Follow T. M.’s studies in Ecclesiastes by downloading the free, weekly studies available in our Scriptorium Resources page at The Fellowship of Ailbe. Click here to see the weekly studies available thus far.

Want to grow your own spiritual disciplines as you learn more about the unseen realm? Order a copy of The Landscape of Unseen Things, T. M.’s 24-lesson study of that realm which anchors our Christian worldview.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.