God's good things

When I mentioned the other day the list of God’s good things, as per Charles Spurgeon, mentioned in this short video by Sara Groves about her song Open my Hands, I didn’t realise that that list is based mostly on the Westminster Catechism (though she mentions “the fruition of God’s presence”, which I thought was the interesting one, because I thought she meant now, in this life (and what would that mean?), but I have discovered that this is from Spurgeon’s Treasury of David on Psalm 84 and goes with the phrase “in the next” - see vs 11 at that link, the semi-colon is important).

I would have known this if once upon a time in learning the Westminster Catechism I had made it to Question 35 (or Question 41, depending on which version you are in). A friend and I used to meet early in the morning in our pajamas (we lived in the same building) while I was at university to try to learn and study the catechism, and I memorised about the first seven before it all fell apart (I’m really annoyed too that I seemed to have lost, many years ago, the little book we used, as it was a good one). So, just for interest sake, here is the question and answer from the Catechism, compiled by Charles Spurgeon in 1855:

41. Q. What are the benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?

A. The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification (Romans 5:1, 2, 5), are assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), increase of grace, perseverance in it to the end (Proverbs 4:18; 1 John 5:13; 1 Peter 1:5).

I like it. I was encouraged by this reminder of what exactly are the good things that God will not withhold from those who walk uprightly. I am a little inspired to renew learning the catechism, having been poking around in it.