The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 244

having eem him, but having understood his character and his disposition toward ua in ,Tesus ChrisL, having realized bow great and all-surpassing was his kindness toward us in him ('l'itus iii. 4), v;e love him in response (1 John iv. 19). .And in him in his fnitbfulnC'ss and in his wisdom and in his goodness, we have an unfalterin,,. trust'. Thua we have the reciprocal love of friendship. " n. CLOSE BESEMBLAN0E OF 0IIARACTEB AND SYMPATHY. There cannot be friendship worthy of the name where there is not this. Our character and our sympathies must be essentially alike, must be substantially the same. And so it is with the Divine Lord and those who worthily bear his Name. His character is theirs; his principles are theirs ; his sympathies are theirs. What he loves and what he hates they love and they hate. Towards all that to which (and towards all those to whom) he is drawn, they are drawn; that which repels him repels them. Here is the true basis of friendship, and even that distance of nature that separates the Divine from the human is no barrier in the way. Being so essentially like Christ as his true followers are they are his friends and he is theirs. ' III. o~~NEss OF Arn AND Ac1:10N. Friendship_ i~ est.ablished and nourished by a common aim and by fellow-labouring. They who Join heart and hand in any noble enterprise become united together in strong bonds of true companionship. It is so v,ith our Master and ourselves. He is engaged in the sublime task of recovering a lost world to the knowledge, the love, the likeness of God ; so are we. He has laboured and suffered to achieve that most glorious end; so do we. We are "workers together with him." His cause is ours; he and we are bent on the fulfilment of the same great purpose ; and while he works through us and in us, he also works with us in this greatest and noblest of all earthly aims. "We are labourers together with God" (1 Cor. iii. 9); " We then, as workers together with him" (2 Cor. vi. 1). We are his friends. Let us : 1. Realize how high is the honour he has thus conferred upon us. 2. See that we walk worthily of such a lofty estate. 3. Take care that we never do that or become that which will make us forfeit so great a heritage. Let us be found faithful as the friends of God.-C. Vers. 14-19.-Before the battle: lessons. Having made their appeal to the Lord God of their fathers, Judah now waited for God. Nor had the king and his subjects to wait long. We have here an instance of- I. Gon's BE.A.DIIIESS TO .A.NSWEB THE PBAYEB OF HIS PEOPLE. "In the midst of the congregation," while they were still before the Lord, in the very act and attitude of prayer, an:answer was vouchsafed to them. While they were yet speaking, God heard (Is&. I.xv. 24). Though he does not constantly grant us so speedy a response, yet we may be quite sure that he al ways hearkens and heeds; and if there be such reverence and faith as there were on this occasion, we may be sure that God always purposes at once to send us the best kind of deliverance, even if be does not at once start the train of events or forces that will bring it to pass. II. THAT WE NEED NOT BE GREATLY AFFEOTED BY lllEBE MAGNITUDE. "Be not afraid by reason of this great multitude'' (ver. 15). We are in no little danger of over- estimating the worth of numbers, whether they be on our side or against us. It is a great mistake to imagine we are safe because we are in a large majority. There is no king and there is no cause " saved by the multitude of an host" (Ps. xxxiii. 16). History bas shown again and again that the presence of a vast number of people (soldiers or supporters) often begets confidence, and confidence begets carelessness and negligence, and these lead down to defeat and ruin. Besides, it is never quantity but quality, never size but spirit, never numbers but character, that decides the day. Detter the small band of fearless men under Gideon's command, than the large numbers of the faint-hearted who were left behind, or even than the innumerable host of the Midianites. We may not trust in the number of our friends, and we need not fear the hosts of our enemies. If the "battle is not to the strong," it certainly is not to the multitudinous. m THAT IT IS EVERYTHING TO HAVE Goo ON 0UB SIDE. We may be sure that when the people of Judah had this assurance from Jahaziel, they were not only calmed and comforted, but they had a sense that all would be well with them. 1. That God had made their cause bis own. "The battle is not yours, but Gorl'1 • OR, xlr. 1-37.J THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 245