The Sifford Sojournal

Our journal of what we pray is our sojourn of life along the narrow way, even the old paths, submitting to the Bible as a light unto both.

David’s Digest: A Brief Look at Fasting for Spiritual Purposes

Fasting is in the Bible, and God’s people would sometimes fast for spiritual purposes. Here are just a few instances:

Psalm 35:13 – “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

Daniel 9:3 – “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Acts 14:23 – “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”

Esther 4:1-3:

1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

2 And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.

3 And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:15-16:

15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,

16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Even the heathen somehow knew about fasting:

Jonah 3:4-5, 10:

4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

It’s all over in the Bible actually.

In the following, Christ discusses it. I believe I always thought they were changing their face because of the hunger pangs, or at least the appearance of hunger pangs. I think it makes some sense, hunger a pretext for a “sad countenance”:

Matthew 6:16-18:

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

And then it’s mentioned here regarding the demon coming out. I believe I never really understood this, which aligned with my not understanding fasting mentioned in Christ’s admonition above:

Mark 9:28-29:

28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

So, my struggle has always been, “How does me not eating have anything to do with the fervency of an issue, such as prayer. Can I not pray earnestly and still eat something during the day? How does that prove earnestness or otherwise with God?”

Well, one time recently while reading through the New Testament, I can across this:

Matthew 9:14-15:

14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

And there it was! Jesus actually describes generally what fasting is (paraphrased here):

The question to Jesus: “Why don’t your disciples fast?”

Jesus’ answer: “Why would they mourn with me still here? When I am gone, then they’ll fast.”

I believe Jesus then is indicating that fasting then, generally, is a time of mourning.

Then, the Ninevites actions makes sense. So do the Esther instances (the first one even mentioned mourning with fasting). The distraught faces of the Pharisees during fasting makes better sense.

Now, do we need to fast?

(The following argument I learned from one or more sermons I had heard.)

Note here about praying:

Matthew 6:5-8:

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Jesus said “when you pray.” There’s an implicit statement in there that there’s no question prayer will be done by His people. I think most Christians would agree that Christians should pray.

Well, going back to verse 16 of Matthew 6 again, Jesus says “when you fast.” I believe we can draw the same inference from that — that there is an expectation by God that Christians should fast.

But, isn’t God all knowing? Why pray? Going back to Matthew 6, verse 7-8 now:

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

God knows what you need, yes, but there it is again, the implication that you still will pray.

Further, God says in Ezekiel 36:37:

Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

He knows all things, and yet He will be enquired of.

So, why pray? God requires it, implies that it should happen, and I believe has prescribed it as a means by which He often accomplishes His will.

Here, God tells Elijah what He’s going to do:

1 Kings 18:1 – “And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

But then:

1 Kings 18:42-45:

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

James 5:17-18:

17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

So, Elijah still prayed, even though God had already planned to bring about the rains. I believe this shows Elijah’s prayers were means for the manifestation of God’s will.

And I believe then, this follows through for fasting — it’s a means God has set up for the accomplishment of His will at times.

Back above in Mark, the demon would only come out with prayer and fasting? Why? It appears those two things were the required means for its accomplishment.

Did not God in His sovereign omniscience know in the end He was not going to destroy the Ninevites? But what was the means they went through for that? Prayer and fasting.

And so, to conclude, I believe fasting is:

  • A time of mourning
  • A required duty of Christians, at the right times, maybe especially when there’s a burden on the heart, for someone, for some situation, etc.
  • Often tied to prayer
  • A means whereby at times God manifests His will

Thank the Lord for the unspeakable gift of His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus, by Whom we have access to the Father, to even be able to pray and fast, and that He hears our prayers because of the Christ Jesus!

— David

Goodbye Tuscan

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our little boy-cat, Tuscan. He was diagnosed with Mycoplasma haemofelis (formerly Haemobartonella felis), and despite the vet’s efforts, Tuscan succumbed yesterday morning.

Tuscan was friendly with all of our cats, and a buddy to Leila often:

He was a biggie, checking in at 17 lbs, and we usually knew where he was because his purr matched his extra size in extra decibels. 😀

He just showed up a little over 7 1/2 years ago and started hanging out, we took him in, and he’s lived here ever since. 🙂

Here is his introduction video from our original introduction blog post:

The animals have often been inspirations to me for musical melodies, and Tuscan wasn’t any different, and his melody I found some lyrics for, and put together a hymn called “I Long for God, the Living God“:

I Long for God, the Living God

Lastly….please bare with me….the Lord never granted us children. Tuscan though would lay in my lap at times and look at me right in the eyes. It was the closest thing I ever felt to what I imagine would be the feeling of a father looking into his son’s eyes as his son looked up at him. I will miss that. I don’t know if his eyes were open in this picture, but it was a time like this:

And we will miss him. 🙁 We do thank the Lord for granting us the time with him, and in the end not a long, lingering farewell:

Bye Tuskie…you were special to us. 🙂

— David

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: 2nd and 3rd Chicken Chicks of 2025

The Lord graciously has granted another two hatchings of chicken chicks this 2025!

Group 2

This mommy started up in the loft on a clutch of eggs but abandoned them at some point for another clutch. Not long after, she hatched one out, but then only one for some time, so we pulled that one and put it with Group 1 from the previous blog post. The little thing was half the size of the rest of them, but the camper mommy didn’t reject it, and it lived with them for some days.

Then, this mommy hatched out three more, and so we moved her and them into the summer kitchen, and retrieved that first one to be with her, and it blended right in, and so she now has her little group of four:

Group 3

And this hen got broody, and we put her and eggs in the mini-chicken tractor, and she hatched out a pair!

And here’s a combined video of the two groups:

As always, we are thankful to God for granting these, His provisions!

— David

Psalm Singing – April 2025

The Psalms are blessed chapters in a blessed book of Psalms in a blessed book, the Bible! Sue and I like singing them, and hope someday these recordings will help others do that as well, which is why we do these.

And with that, we finished all of Psalm 119 — 119M-119X, from our psalter.

A little note on this one: The last one, X, is written partially in a 4-part round, with the tenor part being the melody, so Sue and I did that first together (we both did it to try to make sure the melody came out), and then Sue did the alto part, I then made my sad attempt at the bass part (we had to bump the key up a couple of times just so I could hit the low note when it came up twice, and in all honesty, I slightly altered the pitch on a couple of those solo-measure places to get myself in tune…wow 🙁 ), and then Sue did the soprano part. And so, it’s a bit different than the others, and musically, it was a little extra fun. 🙂

But without further ado, here they are:

(If the above player doesn’t work, or if you would like to save any of the files locally to your computer, you can click the Download link below, or right click it and click Save As in the popup menu.)

Psalms 119M-119X

Once again, this Psalm focuses much on loving God’s law, statues, and commandments, and the desire to obey them.

Loving God and obeying Him are directly tied together.

Christ said:

John 14:15 – “If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21 – “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 15:10 – “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

And John said:

1 John 5:2-3 – “2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Our church has been going through Psalm 119 in our Sunday School time, and they’re on SermonAudio as a series, if you might be interested.

Again, may the Lord grant us that desire and obedience, and may we love His commandments because they come from Him, the One whom we love!

Psalm 119:171 – “My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

— David

Previous Psalms singings:

Psalms 1A-12B (minus 4B)
Psalms 4B & 13-18L
Psalms 19A-22E
Psalms 22F-24C
Psalms 25A-27F
Psalms 28A-31G
Psalms 32A-34D
Psalms 35A-37F
Psalms 38B-40F
Psalms 41A-44F
Psalms 45A-49C
Psalms 50A-53
Psalms 54A-59B
Psalms 60A-65B
Psalms 66A-68E
Psalms 69A-71D
Psalms 72A-76B
Psalms 77A-78H
Psalms 79A-84B
Psalms 85A-89H
Psalms 90A-93A
Psalms 94A-98B
Psalms 99A-103D
Psalms 104A-105E
Psalms 106A-107E
Psalms 108A-112B
Psalms 113A-118C
Psalms 119A-119L

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: 1st Group of 2025 Chicken Chicks

Well, it’s that time again by the Lord’s graciousness, and He’s granted us our first batch for this 2025!

I believe this is the same mommy that likes to set up in our camper, as she did a couple of years ago, and she did again, and below is the video of the results! She hatched out 9, and they’re all still going today!

Right after, she did have some problems with her legs…appeared to indeed go straddle, but after moving her into the summer kitchen, I taped her legs together into normal position with some electrical tape, and she’s walking much better now.

Anyway, here’s their video:

We are grateful to God for His continued provisions!

— David

David’s Digest: Hearts to Give Ourselves in All to Our Beloved

Song of Solomon 6:3 – “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

In Song of Solomon, the Bride, or Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, declares that she is her Beloved’s and that He is hers.

In his excellent treatise on Song of Solomon 4:16-6:3 called “Bowels Opened” (bowels being inner-most self, often referencing deep compassions for others), Puritan Richard Sibbes notes how we are Christ’s beloved.

He says:

  • By His Father’s gift
  • By redemption
  • By marriage
  • And by our consent

He then notes some uses of understanding these things:

  • Use 1: It brings comfort to us, in that God will not allow his own to lack anything needful
  • Use 2: It fences us from Satan’s accusations, that he can go to our Beloved with any of them
  • Use 3: We can go to Christ in times of difficulty. And that the difficulties are used to:
    • Conform the spouse to the husband in sufferings
    • To bring Christ and spouse nearer together in her seeking Him and Him indeed being there
    • And to know this time on earth of sufferings will end not long from now

And then Mr. Sibbes continues with Use 4 — to try us if we are Christ’s.

But how?

Below we pick up with answer to that. You can read this section of the treatise here, or listen to the sermon with this part in it here (it’s near the end), or listen to the entire treatise on our audio book page.

From Richard Sibbes:

4. Hence we have also an use of trial. Whosoever are Christ’s, they have hearts to give themselves to him.

As he gives himself, not his goods or his honours, but himself for his church, so the church gives herself to Christ. My delight is in him; he has myself, my heart, my love and affection, my joy and delight, and all with myself.

If I have any honour, he shall have it. I will use it for his glory. My riches I will give them to him and his church and ministry and children, as occasion shall serve. I am his, therefore all that I have is his, if he ask it at my hands.

It is said of the Macedonians, they gave themselves to Christ, and then their riches and goods, 2 Cor. 8:5. It is an easy matter to give our riches to Christ when we have given ourselves first.

A Christian, as soon as ever he becomes a Christian, and ever after, to death, and in death too, he gives up himself to Christ. They that stand with Christ, and will give this or that particular, will part only with idle things that they may spare, are they Christ’s? No. A Christian gives himself and all his to Christ.

So we see here what we should do if Christ be ours. Let us give up ourselves to him, as it is in Rom. 12:1. The issue of all that learned profound discourse in the former part of the epistle, that Christ justifies us by his righteousness and merit, and sanctifies us by his Spirit, and has predestinated and elected us, and refused others, is this, ‘I beseech you, give up your bodies and souls, and all as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.’

In brief, these words imply renunciation and resignation. ‘I am his,’ that is, I have given up myself to him, therefore I renounce all others that stand not with his love and liking. I am not only his by way of service, which I owe him above all that call for it, but I am his by way of resignation. If he will have me die, I will die. If he will have me live here, I will. I have not myself to dispose of any longer. I have altogether alienated myself from myself. I am his to serve him, his to be disposed of by him. I have renounced all other.

Therefore here we have another answer to Satan, if he come to us and solicit us to sin. Let the Christian’s heart make this answer, I am not mine own.

What has Satan and his instruments to do with me? Is my body his to defile? Is my tongue his to swear at his pleasure? Shall I make the temple of God the member of an harlot? As the apostle reasons, ‘Shall I defile my vessel with sin?’ 1 Cor. 6:15. What says converted Ephraim? ‘What have I any more to do with idols? for I have seen and observed him?’ Hos. 14:8.

We ought to have such resolutions ready in our hearts. Indeed, when a Christian is resolute, the world counts such to be lost. He is gone. We have lost him, say your dissolute, profane persons. It is true they have lost him indeed, for he is not his own, much less theirs, any longer. But he is found to God and himself and the church.

Thus we see what springs from this, that Christ is ours, and that we are Christ’s back again. Let us carry this with us even to death; and if times should come that God should honour us by serving himself of us in our lives, if Christ will have us spend our blood, consider this, I am not mine own in life nor death, and it is my happiness that I am not my own.

For if I were mine own, what should I do with myself? I should lose myself, as Adam did. It is therefore my happiness that I am not mine own, that I am not the world’s, that I am not the devil’s, that none else hath to do with me, to claim any interest in me, but I am Christ’s.

If I do anything for others, it is for Christ’s sake. Remember this for the time to come. If there be anything that we will not part with for Christ’s sake, it will be our bane [deadly poison, destruction]. We shall lose Christ and it too. If we will not say with a perfect spirit, I am his, my life, my credit, my person is his, anything his; look what we will not give for him, at length we shall lose and part with it and him too.

May God grant us this desire for Christ above all, to have Him, to love and serve Him above all, and the desire and help to give ourselves in total to Him, for the glory of His name!

— David

David’s Digest: Is Christ Altogether Lovely? – Part 3

Song of Solomon 5:16 – “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

In Song of Solomon, the Bride, or Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, declares that He is “altogether lovely” to her.

But what does that look like?

In his excellent treatise on Song of Solomon 4:16-6:3 called “Bowels Opened” (bowels being inner-most self, often referencing deep compassions for others), Puritan Richard Sibbes gives his view on what it means for Jesus to be altogether lovely to a Christian.

You can read this section of the treatise here, or listen to the sermon with this part in it here, or listen to the entire treatise on our audio book page.

Continuing from Part 2, here is the final part from Richard Sibbes, Part 3:

‘He is altogether lovely.’

To conclude this point, let us try our affections by the church’s affections in this place, whether Christ be so lovely to us or not. It is said, ‘There is no beauty in him when we shall see him, and he was despised of men,’ Isa. 53:2.

He was so, in regard of his cross and sufferings, to the eye of the world and of carnal men. Herod scorned him; when Pilate sent him to him, made nobody of him, as the word in the original is. They looked upon the outside of Christ in the flesh when he was abased. ‘There was no form nor beauty in him,’ saith the Holy Ghost, that is, to the sight of carnal men; but those that had the sight of their sins with spiritual eyes, they could otherwise judge of Christ. The poor centurion saw an excellency in him when he said, ‘He was not worthy that he should come under his roof,’ Mat. 8:8. The poor thief saw the excellency of Christ upon the cross in those torments. ‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom,’ Luke 23:42.

So those souls that were enlightened, that had the sight of their misery and the sight of God’s love in Christ, had a high esteem of Christ in his greatest abasement. Therefore, if we have a mean [low] esteem of the children of God as contemptible persons, and of the ordinances of God as mean [low] things, and of the government of Christ (such as he hath left in his word) as base, it is an argument of a sinful, unworthy disposition. In such a soul Christ hath never been effectually by his Spirit; for everything in him is lovely, even the bitterest thing of all. There is a majesty and excellency in all things of Christ. The censures of the church are excellent when they proceed and issue forth with judgment, as they should do, ‘to deliver such a man over to Satan, that he may be saved in the day of the Lord,’ 1 Cor. 5:5.

Now, if the ordinances of Christ, the word and sacraments, and the shutting sinners [the notorious ones, as noted in the last paragraph] out of the church, if these things be vilified as powerless things, it shews a degenerate, wicked heart, not acquainted with the ways of God.

If we have a mean [low] esteem of men that suffer for Christ and stand out for him, if we account them so and so, shall we think ourselves Christians in the mean time? When Christ is altogether lovely, shall they be unlovely that carry the image of Christ? Can we love him that begets, and hate them that are begotten of him? Can we love Christ, and hate Christians? It cannot be.

Now, that we may get this affection and esteem of Christ that is so lovely,

Let us labour to make our sins bitter and loathsome, that Christ may be sweet.

Quest. What is the reason we set no higher a price of Christ?

  1. Ans. Because we judge not of ourselves as we are indeed, and want [lack] spiritual eye-salve to see into ourselves rightly.

  2. And let us attend upon the means of salvation, to hear the unsearchable riches of Christ. What makes any man lovely to us, but when we hear of their riches, beauty, and good intent to us? In the word we are made acquainted with the good intent of Christ towards us, the riches of mercy in forgiving our sins, and riches of glory prepared for us. The more we hear of him, of his riches and love to us, the more it will inflame our love to Christ.

    Those that live where the ordinances of Christ are held forth with life and power, they have more heavenly and enlarged affections than others have, as the experience of Christians will testify.

  3. Again, if we would esteem highly of Christ that he may be lovely to us, let us join with company that highly esteem of Christ, and such as are better than ourselves. What deads [deadens] the affections so much as carnal, worldly company, who have nothing in them but civility?

    By converse with them who have discourse of nothing but the world, if a man have heavenly affections, he shall quickly dull them, and be in danger to lose them. They may be conversed with in civil things, but when we would set to be heavenly and holy minded, let us converse with those that are of an heavenly bent.

    As we see here, ‘the daughters of Jerusalem’ are won to love Christ. By what? By conversing with the church. Upon the discourse that the church makes of his excellencies, in particular, they begin to ask, Where is Christ, as in the next chapter [of Song of Solomon]; and so are all brought to the love of Christ.

May the Lord grant us an ever increasing view of the altogether loveliness of Himself!

— David

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