Isai. liv. 17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall
prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in
judgment, thou shall condemn. This is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord : and their righteousness is of me, saith
the Lord.
THE Scriptures uniformly suppose men to be, not only in a state of sin, but, to a certain degree, in a state of misery also, being more or less agitated with " fightings without, and fears within." The very people of God themselves are not exempt from this common lot. The difference between them and
980.1 the saint's heritage. 451
others consists not in a freedom from trouble, but in consolations and supports which they alone enjoy. They have a God to go to ; a God who tenderly sym- pathizes with them in all their troubles, and " in all their afflictions is himself afflicted3." From Him they receive the most consolatory promises, and generally in language that precludes a possibility of their doubt- ing to whom those promises are made. Are they under the actual pressure of the deepest sorrow ? He addresses them as in that very state, and charac- terizes them by the very tribulations which they endure. " O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted," behold, I will interest myself in all thy concerns ; and " no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper."
These words will lead me to set before you,
I. The heritage of God's servants —
Three things are here specified as their unalienable portion ;
1. Protection from danger —
[From the very beginning, they have been objects of hatred both to men and devils, who have combined their efforts for their destruction. From the days of Cain, the followers of Abel's piety have been persecuted by their envious and malig- nant brethren; whilst "Satan, as a roaring lion, has gone
about, seeking to devour them"
But we need not fear the assaults of either : for God has engaged, in reference to his Church at large, that " the gates of hell shall not prevail against itb;" and, in reference to every individual believer, that " none shall pluck them out of his hand0." " It is not his will that one of his little ones should perish d."]
2. Vindication from calumny —
[What efforts have been made to destroy the character of God's people may be seen in the account given of them by Haman to Ahasuerus : " There is a certain people scattered abroad, and dispersed among the people, in all the provinces of thy kingdom ; and their laws are diverse from all people, neither keep they the king's laws : therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be
a Isai. lxiii. 9. b Matt. xvi. 18.
c John x. 28 — 30. a Matt, xviii. 14. Luke xii. 32.
c c; 2