expectations be raised to ever so high a pitch, the reality will far exceed them. We will therefore confidently repeat the chal- lenge, and say, as in the text, " Who is like unto thee, O people, saved by the Lord?"]
To shew that this is no enthusiastic conceit, we proceed to notice,
II. The grounds of their happiness —
It will soon appear that their blessedness is not a baseless fabric, if we consider,
1. What God has done for them —
[They are " a people saved by the Lord." Salvation is not a blessing which they merely hope for, but which they al- ready possess. They are saved from the guilt and -punishment of sin: all "their iniquities are blotted out;" and there re- mains "no condemnation to them:" they are "complete in Christ;" they stand "before God without spot or blemish." But great as this mercy is, they would not be truly happy, if they were not also saved from the poiver and dominion of sin. It is true, they yet carry about with them a " body of sin and death ; " but they never commit iniquity as they were wont to do in their unregenerate state : they " cannot sin thus, because they are born of God, and his seed remaineth in them." God has promised that " sin shall not have dominion over them;" and they experience the accomplishment of this promise to their souls, being " redeemed from all iniquity, and purified unto God a peculiar people zealous of good works V
And is not this salvation a ground of happiness, more espe- cially if we consider by whom it was procured, and by whom conferred ? It was " the Lord," even Jesus, who purchased our freedom from guilt; and it is " the Lord," even the Holy Ghost, who vouchsafes us a deliverance from sin. Surely such a salvation, bought at such a price, and imparted by such an agent, cannot but be a source of unspeakable felicity to the soul.]
2. What God will be unto them —
[In vain would all past mercies be, if they were not secured to them by the continued agency of Jehovah. A vessel fitted out and freighted, would not more certainly be overwhelmed by storms, if destitute of a pilot, than man, however gifted, would become a prey to Satan, if he were not constantly aided and protected by his God. But Israel is happy in this respect also, since, notwithstanding he is yet upon the field of battle, he is placed, if we may so speak, beyond the reach of harm. He is not only furnished with defensive and offensive armour,
h Tit. ii. 14.