The Pulpit Commentary — Nahum — Section 19

unto him; th11.t he not o~ly bears them up in his arms with an almighty strength, but bears them aho upon l11s heart with the most tender affection? 2. &e this truth taught in prophecy._ It is _therei~ declared that t~ere is nothing so impossible ae that God sboul<l forget his trustrng children. "Zion said, The Lord bath forgotten me, and my Lord bath forsaken me" (Isa. xlix. 14, 15). And in response to this fea1· the Lord declared thaL this could never be, and that his love and care are even moro enduring than that of mothers. "Can a woman," etc.? (Isa.. xlix. 16); "I have graven thee upon the_ palms of my hands" (Isa. xlix. 16). Undying remembmnce surely I The name 1s mscr1bed there, never to be obliterated, a ceaseless memorial before his face, 3. The ':\Tew Testament unites with the Old in bearing this bright testimony; for does not Christ, as the good Shepherd, declare that "he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out"? do we not read also the assurance, "The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 'l'im. ii. 19)? yea, is it not even affirmed that this Divine knowledge and care respecting the good shall be perpetuated evermore (Rev. vii. 15-17; ni. 3, 4)? lJ. THIS TRUTH IS CALCULATED TO EXERT A STRENGTHENING AND STillULATING INFLUEXCE, This thought, if more intensely realized by us, would prove helpful in many ways. 1. It would render '11,.5 less dependent than we are upon human supports. What O\'er-a.nxiety is folt by us at times in reference to the succeMs of our plans and projects, or for the continua.nee to us of those in whom our prosperity, humanly speaking, centres! But if we grasped fully the assurance here expressed, we should be led to depend less upon earthly sources and more upon him who has loved us with an everlasting love; who, though unseen by us, ever encompasses our path, and who, in the season of their J.eepest extremity, will guide and strengthen all who stay them- selves on him. 2. It would give increased reality to the sacred exercise of prayer. We too often draw nigh unto God as thoup;h we were seeking One who, because he is invisible, is necessarily at an in6nite distance from us, and who may or may not regard our cry, and perhaps it is not too much to say that we sometimes draw nigh wiLhout any distinct apprehension of the Being to whom we profess to come, and whose aid we invoke; but then we should indeed feel prayer to be a reality and not a merely formal exercise, a;:id by such intimate and hallowed communion should renew our spiritual strength. 3. It would strengthen and aid us in our conflicts with sin. In this strife we sometimes suffer defeat; and in our endeavours after the Christian character and life we are painfully conscious at seasons of failure, How cheering in such circumstances is the thought that all our aspirations after truth and purity and goodness are known unto our God; that he is acquainted with all the circumstances of our case; that he is conscious we have not designedly strayed from him ; and that he follows us, with loving regard, in all our wanderings, with a view to bringing us be.ck to his fold !-S. D. H. Vers. 8-15.-.Antagonum to God and his rule. Nahum doubtless prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, and shortly after the defeat of Sennacherib by the destroying angel of the Lord (Isa. xxxvii. 36). That memorable event, it would appear, Wal! present to his mind and is referred to in these verses, although his thoughts were also carried on to the future and to the complete and final overthrow of the Assyrian power in the destruction of the capital, and which forms the theme of the succeeding chapters. The latter part of this first chapter may be regarded as introductory to the description to be given of the ruin of Nineveh; and in the mind of the s~er, w; he wrote these verses, the events which had recently transpired and darker events yet to come were associated together. The significance of the conflicts waged uy Hennacherib against Hezekiah lies very materially in the fact that his enterprises were designedly antagonistic to the God of the Hebrews. It is not simply an ambitious s0, ereign seeking to extend his dominions and to spread his conquests that is presented to us here, but a mortal man, invested with regal honour, resolved upon measuring his strength with that of the Supreme Ruler. '£he hist-0rical records we possess bearing upon the caret:r of this Assyrian king present him to us as one who tl.a,ugl,t he could "outwit Divine wisdom, and conquer omnipotence itself" (2 Kings xix. 10-13; Isa. xxxvi. 13-20); and viewed thus they become suggestive to us of im!JurLant teachings bearing upon that moral antagonism to God and his authority OH, I, 1-16.] THE BOOK OF NAHUM. 17