Joel ii. 26. Ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you : and my people shall never be ashamed.
MOST encouraging is that appellation whereby David addresses the Most High God : " O Thou that nearest prayer ! " It is this view of the Deity which alone keeps men from despair, and prevents this sin- ful world from becoming a counterpart of hell itself. God doth indeed hear the prayer of the poor desti- tute, and not despise their desire. Of this there is a striking illustration in the passage before us. A plague of locusts had been sent, like an immense army, to destroy the whole land of Israel. The de- solation spread by them had reduced the people to the deepest distress. But God encouraged them to humble themselves before him, and assured them, that, on their so doing, he would "be jealous for the land, and pity his people." He even tells them what answer he would give to their petitions, even such an one as should secure to them the removal of all their troubles, and a complete restoration to his favour: instead of perishing by famine, they should " eat and be satisfied ;" and instead of being put to confu- sion by him, they should " never more be ashamed " of their confidence in him.
The words thus explained, will lead us to consider in what light God would have us regard the removal of his judgments : it is to be regarded by us as a call, I. To more fervent gratitude —
This it is, whether our trials have been,
1. Of a temporal nature —
[Temporal judgments, when heavy and of long continuance,
are extremely afflictive a And the removal of them,
whether they have been public or private, social or personal, is
a Here the unprecedented distresses of the year (1816 — 1817) were spoken of: and any other calamities that may hereafter occur may be mentioned.