keep his engagements with us, uses in one short sentence no less than five negatives ; " He will never, never leave thee ; he will never, never, never forsake theem."]
From this statement of his own ways, he teaches us to infer, III. His unrivalled title to our regard —
" To whom will ye liken me ?" says he to his people of old : Are any of the gods of the heathen able to effect for their worshippers what I have wrought for you ? So will I say to those who have received spiritual blessings at his hands: " To whom will ye liken him?" Who in the whole universe has such a title,
1. To your confidence?
[Are there any of the sons of man that could have brought you out of darkness into light, as he has done ; or turned you from the power of Satan unto God ? Could any of them have preserved you from the snares which Satan has spread for your feet? Who amongst them is able to keep you in future? or have you any sufficiency in yourselves, so as to " direct your own paths"," and to maintain your own steadfastness? No, verily : and nothing but a " curse awaits the man who trusteth in man, or who maketh flesh his arm0." God alone is equal to this task*1: in him alone therefore must be all our hope, and all our trust ]
2. To your love —
[Amongst your fellow-creatures you may have many who, both for their personal qualities and their kindness to you, are entitled to your esteem. But to whom are you indebted, as you are to your Redeeming God ? He has come down from heaven for you : he has died upon the cross for you : he has wrought out a salvation for you : he has by his Holy Spirit imparted that salvation to your souls : he has given you that measure of stability which you have already evinced ; and has engaged his almighty power to keep you even to the end. Where have you ever found such a Benefactor as he ? where, one who can vie with him in any one particular ? Truly in comparison of him the whole creation is but as the dust upon the balance : and therefore you should love him infinitely above all, and say, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee0-" ]
Let me then, in conclusion, address myself,
m Heb. xiii. 5, 6. n Jer. x. 23. ° Jer. xvii. 5, 6.
P 2 Cor. i. 21. and iii. 5. °- Ps. lxxiii. 25.
y45.] god's care for his people. 229
1. To those who entertain a rival in their hearts —
[You can easily see how just God's indignation was against those who worshipped graven images, in preference to him : but know, that he is no less offended with those who " provoke him to jealousy" by " setting up idols in their hearts." He says, and well may say, " My son, give me thine heart1." This is his exclusive right : and if you withhold it from him, it matters not what else you give : it is all hateful in his eyes, and never will come before him with acceptance : " your very prayers will be an abomination in his sight6," and your best sacrifices only as " the cutting off a dog's neck, or offering swine's blood1" ]
2. To those who profess themselves to have expe- rienced God's tender care —
[What gratitude becomes those who are so indebted to their God ! Was Israel highly favoured above the heathen ? Their obligations were nothing in comparison of yours. Their blessings, though great, were temporal : yours are spiritual
and eternal But look around you and see, how many
even of your own friends and relatives are yet in bondage to their sins ; whilst you have been delivered with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Look also to those who have been " brought out of the world for a season, and yet been again entangled with it and overcome11 ;" whilst you are yet " holding on your way." And who is it that has made the difference between you? Must you not say, " By the grace of God I am what I am ?" Stir up then your souls to thankfulness, and say, " By Thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art He that took me out of my mother's bowels : my praise shall be continually of theex."