Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. God has created the world for
the purpose of demonstrating His defense, protection, and
deliverance of a people, which He chose and gave to the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Lord called men to build
cities surrounded by walls and bulwarks so that He might demonstrate
His defense and protection of His elect by the types and foreshadows
of these walls. In the same fashion, he has designed
that those walls built by the hands of men should ultimately
fail to protect the inhabitants of those cities in order to demonstrate
the captivity of men in sin and darkness, and their weakness
to mount a defense against this foe. But he has also manifested
himself as the champion of his people, who would deliver them
in the appointed time and cast about them a wall which could
never be breached, nor could any foe ever again successfully
assail. God is committed to the deliverance
and protection of his people, and will spare no expense to
provide it for them. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. The preaching
of the gospel is for the purpose of declaring the glory, beauty,
and impregnable nature of that defense which the Lord has surrounded
his beloved sons with. None but the heirs of grace shall
ever take delight in her boards or find rest inside those glorious
walls. This city appears but an irrational
sort of defense to those who have never felt the safety therein
or long for an entrance into this holy city. For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto
us which are saved it is the power of God. All of the saints
in every age have sought for the confines of this fortress,
even though many of them died, having only seen it from a distance.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country. We are not those who
have thus died without seeing these promises fulfilled, for
we have seen Him who is our shade by day and our defense by night.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not spite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve
thy soul. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the
Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. O ye
sons of the Most High God, look well to this board. Gaze upon
Him who was slain for your defense and suffered for your freedom.
See that salvation wrought by his mighty hand, even in the
very weakness of his human flesh. Tell it to the generations to
come. Declare it in the hearing of men. He is indeed a Savior,
mighty to save, one who is set for the deliverance and protection
of those for whom he shed his precious blood, and has risen
from the grave triumphant over sin, death, and hell. What shall
we say, then, to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall not he with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do
you reside inside the walls of this city? If you would like
a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.