W THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND TOBER, 1840. [No. 10. THEE, AND WILL KEEP THEE IN 1 is with thee, poor dejected soul, however But thou art interested in it, poor soul; ow, by his dealings with thee, giving thee an exith, and making manifest thine interest in, the blessed portion, "He led him about, he in1 as the apple of his eye." truth, and as surely as he has given thee a Series. 2 K REVD JOHN WARBURTON. Minister of the Grepel Published by Simpkin. Marshall, & C Oct.1840. in Gospel Magazine" OF PEACE.-Eph. iv. 3. VOL. I.] OCTOBER, 1840. [No. 10. BEHOLD I AM WITH THEE, AND WILL KEEP THEE IN ALL PLACES WHITHER THOU GOEST, AND WILL BRING THEE AGAIN INTO THIS LAND; FOR I WILL NOT LEAVE THEE UNTIL I HAVE DONE THAT WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN TO THEE OF.-GEN. XXVIII. 15. So the Lord God of Israel is with thee, poor dejected soul, however dark, mysterious, and confused may be thy way. As regards sweet sensible enjoyment, thou hast lost thy Lord, and thy fears are, that thy Lord has lost thee-or rather, that he never found thee in a way of mercy and of love. Thou hast a thousand doubts as to whether thou hast any interest in that blessed promise recorded in the 32nd of Deutronomy, and 10th verse- "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness." But thou art interested in it, poor soul; and the Lord thy God is now, by his dealings with thee, giving thee an experimental acquaintance with, and making manifest thine interest in, the latter clause of the same blessed portion, "He led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." Yes; he is the God of truth, and as surely as he has given thee a No. X. Vol. I.-New Series. 2 K "Though dark be thy way, since he is thy guide, Though cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail, promise, and raised thy soul from the depths of darkness and unbelief to "hope in his mercy, so surely shall he fulfil in thy happy experience "the word upon which he has caused thee to hope." And mark, reader, one blessed fact, before we lose sight of it, that however dark may be thy feelings-dismal thy forebodings-and discouraging thy prospects, if thou feelest in thine heart a sighing, a crying, a groaning for deliverance; if thou dost find, as it were, a going out of thyself, a forsaking of every other refuge; other refuge; an abandonment of all other resources; and an ardent, fervent, importunate wrestling with the Lord thy God; a crying with Jacob, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me ; with Esther, "I will go in unto the king, and if I perish I perish ;" with Jonah, "Out of the belly of hell will I cry unto thee;' with the woman in the Gospel, who had had the issue of blood for twelve long years, and who had in vain spent all her substance upon physicians, exclaiming, as she passed through the crowd of oppositions by which she was surrounded, "If I can but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole;" if this be thy case, we say unto thee, It will be well. What a dear, loving, faithful Lord, first to give confidence in his power to save, then to furnish his tried ones with a cry to him, and an ability and determination to brave every obstruction. And these cases are left upon record for thy encouragement, poor doubting, trembling soul. The same Almighty, all-gracious Deliverer, put the wrestling cry into thine afflicted heart; and is now so nourishing what he has implanted there, that, ere long, with reverence be it spoken, thy importunities will be too much even for a God to withstand; and thou, at present the "wrestling Jacob," shall be made a "prevailing Israel." "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent taketh it by force." "This is the Lord's doings, and it is marvellous in our eyes." But let us look a little into the passage before us, "Behold I am with thee." Then surely, however dark and trying our path may be, we need not fear, "for the Lord is there"-there to uphold and strengthen, though not at all times to comfort and refresh. But his withdrawals make his love-visits more precious; the hidings of his blessed countenance cause it to shine more lovely when it again appears; the fresh bursting forth of the rays of the Sun of righteousness makes that Sun appear to shine with more brilliancy and lustre when it illumines the dark and mysterious path by which we have travelled. "And will keep thee," from the paths of the destroyer; in times of danger and of difficulty; in thy going out and coming in; when the enemy cometh in like a flood: none shall prevail against-nothing overpower thee, for "the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." "In all places whither thou goest." In ALL places ;-in the valley as well as upon the mount; in the depths of sorrow, as well as upon the mountains of joy; in sickness as well as in health; in adversity as well as in prosperity; in life, in death, and to all eternity. |