Covenant Faithfulness From Thoughts
of God by John McDuff 1864 How precious are your thoughts unto
me, O God! For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart
from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says
the Lord who has mercy on you. Isaiah chapter 54 verse 10 The mountains are the most stable
objects in the material world, nature's noblest emblem of immutability. But these have change written
upon their stupendous brows. Time is furrowing them with wrinkles
and wearing down their colossal forms. Atmospheric influences
are subjecting them to continual waste and decay. The snowy-crowned
alp is included in the doom. All these things shall be dissolved. but more enduring than mountains
of granite, is God's kindness. Whatever is dearest to us may
change, and, sooner or later, must perish. The gourd we have
lovingly nurtured and tended may wither, like Jonah's, just
when most needed. The gold, we have taken a lifetime
to amass, may be forfeited by one adverse turn of capricious
fortune. The brook, which for long years
has sung its joyful way at our side, may be dried in its channel. The staff and beautiful rod,
which blossomed in our household, may be broken and strewed in
withered leaves at our feet. The cistern, hewn with such pains,
may be fractured by a stroke of the chisel while hewing it,
and lie scattered on the ground in fragments of shapeless ruin.
But God's love is immutable and immovable. Mark the succession
of golden links, precious thoughts in our motto verse. He speaks
of the covenant, the covenant of peace, of my peace, a covenant
not to be removed. These are glorious guarantees.
Mountains, rocks, forests, all may decay and will decay, but
the Lord lives. His years shall have no end. The mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him. Nothing can
assail the believer's safety or undermine his security. The
oriental shepherds used to surround their flocks and folds with a
belt of fire to scare away the devouring wolves. I, says God to his Zion and to
each child of Zion, I will be that fiery defense. This covenant
of my peace will be as a wall of flame, once within my fold. You are safe forever. My sheep
shall never, can never perish." "'Our cause,' says Luther, "'is
in the very hands of him who can say with unimpeachable dignity,
No one shall pluck them out of my hands.'" I would not have
it in our hands and it would not be desirable that it were
so. I have had many things in my
hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have been able
to place in God's hands, I still possess. As soon might Satan,
says Sharnak, pull God out of heaven, undermine the security
of Christ, and tear him from the bosom of the Father, as deprive
his people of their spiritual life. Believer, rejoice in this
faithful covenant-keeping God. Anchor your soul on this rock
of the divine veracity. The great adversary may try at
times to impair your confidence, shake your trust, lead you to
question your personal interest in the great salvation. But what
are his negatives compared to one affirmative of that God who
cannot lie? His covenant of peace has something
better than your own ever fluctuating frames and feelings to rest upon. It is ratified by his own oath
and promise. The counsel of the Lord stands
forever. The thoughts of his heart to
all generations just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem. So the Lord surrounds and protects
his people both now and forever. you