In Praise of God

Today I read some comforting words from Scottish minister Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), from a sermon on Isaiah 41:14-16.  That text says, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel…”

Yet why shouldn’t we fear when we are faced with enemies and many fearful things?  Only because our trust is in the One who is strong enough to defend us.  Because of His great power, we know we have security in His care…and that unfailing care motivates us to act boldly and live fearlessly.  Rutherford explains:

“‘I will help thee, saith the Lord…’  What ground of comfort were this if it were said by one that could not help?–but the Lord says it.

“…He is a king of His word.  He helps indeed where He promises.  When God says ‘Fear not,’ albeit thou wert compassed about [even if you were surrounded] with enemies on all sides, and there were as many devils round about you as there are piles of grass upon the earth…thou needst not to fear; thou may go through the sea then, and the sea shall not drown you; thou may’st dance on the grave, for the grave shall not rot you.  And so this is a well-fard [well-favoured] word: ‘I will keep thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.’”

From Quaint Sermons of Samuel Rutherford (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1999), 2, 13.

Yesterday was a wonderful day. . .so wonderful that I’ve had a hard time deciding which was the REAL highlight of my day: reuniting with some of our church family from South Carolina, hearing RC Sproul and Mark Dever speak, or noticing some lilies of the valley (our wedding flowers) blooming out my window!!

Jeremy and I have been married 12 years and I’ve tried growing these flowers before, and it has just never worked. We’ve lived seven different places, and this location is, by far, the worst location of those seven, when it comes to nature (we are in the city in a tiny apartment). But outside my little kitchen window I can see a mass of these beautiful flowers, just growing wild on a CLIFF pushing through wild ivy and other stuff!  It feels like a special gift straight from the God who made me and knew I would see it as a personal gift from HIM (Matthew 6:25-34).  RC Sproul and other great men spoke to over 7,000 people today, BUT God, HIMSELF speaks straight to me. . . how can that compare???  My heart worships more humbly tonight.