August 16

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. — John 8:32 BSB

“The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire; sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold. No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no vulture’s eye has seen it. Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.” (Job 28:5-8)

The truths of the gospel, though they shine like rays of light through the Word to an enlightened eye, are often hidden like deep veins of precious metal. “Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place where gold is refined. The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire; sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold” (Job 28:5-6).

But where is this “place of sapphires,” and where are these “nuggets of gold?” They are found in “the path which no bird of prey knows, and which the vulture’s eye has not seen.” No unclean professor, no worldly-minded person, can find this hidden path.

But for a spiritual mind, the task of searching the Word for hidden treasures is sweet and rewarding. It is not burdensome to search the Scriptures in the spirit of prayer and meditation, in separation from the world, with holy fear, a desire to know and do God’s will, and with humility, simplicity, and sincerity. This is not done to fill the head with knowledge but to feed the soul with the bread of life.

Truth, when received in love and power, informs and establishes the mind, softens and melts the heart, warms and lifts the affections, keeps the conscience alive and tender, strengthens faith, nourishes hope, and energizes love.

To know the truth is to be a true disciple of Christ and to be set free—free from error, from heresies, from presumption, from self-righteousness, from the curse and bondage of the law, from the condemnation of a guilty conscience, from the fear of people’s opinions, and from the contempt of the world. But it also means being free to love the Lord and His people, free to praise His name, free to glorify Him with our body and soul, which are His. It means being free to approach the throne of grace and the mercy seat sprinkled with Christ’s blood, free to every good work, and free to pursue everything that is good, pure, and lovely.