Promised Deliverance From Thoughts
of God by John Macduff, 1864 How precious are your thoughts
unto me, O God! Because He has set His love upon
me, therefore will I deliver Him. I will set Him on high because
He has known my name. Psalm 91 verse 14 Here we have
the prodigal looking and longing for a father's welcome. The prisoner,
striving to break his chains and set himself free. The wounded
bird, struggling in the furrow and wailing out its plaintive
note. Oh, that I might fly away and
be at rest. I will deliver him, is the gracious
thought and declaration of an unseen but gracious God. No,
not only will I deliver him, save him from wrath and condemnation,
but I will set him on high. I will bestow exalted honors
on him. I will adopt him as my child
and finally glorify him. Most frequently indeed, he delivers
independently and irrespectively of any antecedent love on our
part. for God's gifts and His calling
are irrevocable. His grace often triumphs in the
case of those who have never cast one look of love towards
Him. He sets on high those whom for
a whole lifetime His name has been unknown. Nevertheless, to
any who may be seeking after Him, if happily they may find
Him, to those who feel their chains and are longing for emancipation,
who, by reason of permitted sin or omitted duty, may be in spiritual
darkness, exclaiming in the bitterness of their estrangement, Oh, that
I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his
seat. It is an encouraging thought
to such that they have his own promise of deliverance. The believer
in Solomon's song is beautifully likened to a dove in the cliffs
of the rock. The timid, fluttering, trembling
wanderer is welcomed into the crevices of the Rock of Ages. He can fold his weary wing under
the shadow of the Almighty. He can find rest and peace in
the very being whom he has offended. Yes, desponding one, He is waiting
to be gracious. If you are now casting one fond,
ardent, loving look towards your God, if you are cherishing one
longing desire for His returning favor, He will deliver you. This will be your testimony,
as it has been of many. I waited patiently for the Lord
to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted
me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. What have I to do any more with
idols?" was a soliloquy and resolve of Penitent Ephraim. When divorcing
himself from all sinful attachments, all rival claimants for the throne
of his affections, he turned his face towards his God. I have
heard him and observed him, says the great being who was watching
the penitent's tears, counting the throbs of his anguished spirit. and he adds the assurance of
supporting grace and strength. From me is your fruit found. Do I know his name? Acquainting
myself with God, am I now at peace? Do I feel that his loving
kindness is better than life? Amid the brokenness of nature's
cisterns, am I turning with earnest longing to the infinite and only
satisfying fountainhead, like the deer panting for the water
brooks? All other objects of earthly
love and enjoyment are perishable. But the name of the Lord is a
strong tower. The righteous runs into it and
is safe. Great is the blessing, says one
who knew well that name. that the anchor of our love is
firmly fixed beneath the cross of Christ. The silver cord of
life may be snapped in a moment, but this is embedded in the cleft
of the rock forever. Those who know your name trust
in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches
for you. you