very instant that the priests began to utter this acknowledg- ment, God set the three confederate armies against each other, and stirred them up to kill one another ; till they were utterly destroyed, without any conflict on the part of Israel s. What greater proof can we have of the delight which God feels in the exercise of mercy, and in commending it to the admiration of the whole universe? Begin then this song: continue this song throughout the day: let every fresh occurrence call forth fresh acknowledgments of the mercy of your God: and rest assured, that the more you abound in these expressions of your grati- tude, the richer displays you shall have of the Divine glory, and the more entire victory over all your spiritual enemies.]
s 2 Chron. xx. 21 — 23.
god's word magnified.
Ps. cxxxviii. 2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy
name.
A DEVOUT mind will never want occasions for praising God : but there are some occasions whereon it will find peculiar liberty and enlargement. If, for instance, we have been in deep affliction ; if we have had recourse to God in prayer ; if we have laid hold on his promises, and pleaded them before him ; and, in particular, if we have had them accomplished to our souls ; this process prepares the mind, quickens it, elevates it, and so fills it, that it cannot but ex- press its feelings in gratitude and praise.
David had, under some deep affliction, used these means for relief, and found their efficacy : " In the day when I cried, thou answeredst me, and strength- enedst me with strength in my soula." Constrained by a sense of this great mercy, he breaks forth into this devout acknowledgment : " I will praise thee with my whole heart : before the gods (that is, in the presence of all the great ones of the earth) will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship towards thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving- kindness and for thy truth (which, in this particular instance, thou hast so signally displayed :) for thou
a ver. 3.
729.] god's word magnified. 437
hast magnified thy word above all thy name ;" and hast shewn that it shall infallibly be fulfilled to all who trust in it.
From these words I will take occasion to shew, I. What honour God puts upon his word —
" He magnifies it above all his name," that is, above every thing whereby he has made himself known to mortal man. He has revealed himself in part, by his works of Creation and Providence ; but far more abundantly by his word. He has sent it to us,
1. As a mirror, to reflect his glory —
[" The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firma- ment sheweth his handy-work b." " From them may his eternal power and Godhead be clearly seenc." In his providential dealings, also, is much of his wisdom and goodness exhibited. But of his perfections, generally, we can form no idea from these things : of his purposes we can know nothing. The state of the heathen world clearly attests this : for they behold the wonders of creation and providence, as well as we : " There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard : their line is gone out into all the earth, and their words unto the end of the world d." But in the sacred volume all the glory of the Godhead shines : there we are admitted, so to speak, even to the council-chamber of the Most High ; to hear the covenant entered into between the Father and the Son ; the Father engaging to give to him a seed, whom he should have for his inheritance, if he, on his part, would " make his soul an offering for their sins," and, in their nature, expiate the guilt of their iniquities6. This mysterious transaction having taken place in the incarnation and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold all the perfections of God united and har- monizing in a way that they never did, nor could, by any other means: we see justice more inexorable, than if it had executed vengeance on the whole human race ; and mercy more abun- dant, than if it had spared the whole human race without any such atonement. There, as it is well expressed, " Mercy and truth are met together, and righteousness and peace kiss each other f." Of this great mystery we find not a trace in the whole creation besides: but in the word it is reflected, as in a mirror*; and shines so bright, that the very angels around the throne are made wiser by the revelation of it to the Church11.]