then a burthened sinner travelling towards Zion : see him either trembling from an apprehension of Divine judgments, even of that " fire and brimstone, storm and tempest, which God will rain upon the ungodly ;" or fainting through the heat of temptation and persecution, What a reviving cordial to his soul is here ! Let him come to me, says God ; "I will be as a green fir-tree to him ; " I will shelter him from the curses of my broken law ; I will guard him from the fiery darts of Satan ; I will hide him from the assaults of all his enemies ; none shall hurt him : I will hide him in the secret of my tabernacle, even in my pavilion, where he shall have not only safety, but all manner of refreshing viands : " he shall sit under my shadow with great delight." Hear this, ye who desire to renounce your idols ; ye who long to be delivered from the attacks of your great adversary, and to find a place of rest unto your souls : to you God says, " Surely I will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence : I will cover thee with my feathers, and under my wings shalt thou trust : my truth shall be thy shield and buckler0." You know how our blessed Saviour complains of the Jews, that when he would often have gathered them, even as a hen gathereth her chickens un- der her wings, they would not. O ! let him not utter the same complaint against you. They indeed would not flee to him, be- cause they would not believe their danger ; but you are in danger of keeping from him through a doubt of his ability or willingness to protect you. But, O ! flee to him : he is a sure Refuge : only rest under his shadow, and you need not fear : none can ever hurt you, if you be found under the shadow of his wings : he promises that he will be as a green fir-tree to you ; and he will fulfil his word unto all that put their trust in him.
The other promise which God here makes to the repenting sinner is, that he himself will engage for his perseverance in the ways of holiness ; " Of me shall thy fruit be found." The penitent no sooner determines to cast his idols to the moles and to the bats, than fears arise in his mind, and he says, " But how shall I do this ? Who is sufficient for these things?" To silence therefore all such doubts as these, God himself undertakes the work ; " Be not afraid, sinner ;" I will take that work upon myself; " my grace shall be sufficient for thee;" I will furnish thee with strength according to thy day of trial ; " Of me shall thy fruit be found :" " I will make thee fruitful in all the fruits of righteousness: the things thou desirest are the fruits of my Spirit; and my Spirit shall produce them in thee."
Can we conceive a more comforting declaration than this ?
e Ps. xci. 3, 4.