“He loved us and gave Himself for us, and we have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

There is singing up in heaven such as we have never known,
Where the angels sing the praises of the Lamb upon the throne;
Their sweet harps are ever tuneful and their voices always clear,
Oh, that we might be more like them while we serve the Master here.

But I hear another anthem, blending voices clear and strong,
“Unto Him who hath redeemed us and hath bought us,” is the song;
We have come thro’ tribulations to this land so fair and bright,
In the fountain freely flowing He hath made our garments white.

Then the angels stand and listen, for they cannot join that song,
Like the sound of many waters, by that happy blood-washed throng;
For they sing about great trials, battles fought and vict’ries won,
And they praise their great Redeemer who hath said to them, “well done.”

So, although I’m no an angel, yet I know that over there
I will join a blessed chorus that the angels cannot share;
I will sing about my Savior who upon dark Calvary
Freely pardoned my transgressions, died to set a sinner free.

Chorus
Holy, holy, is what the angels sing,
And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring;
But when I sing redemption’s story they will fold their wings,
For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings.
                                              Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr.




For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.                                                                                                                  Hebrews 2:10

     Oh, my brothers and sisters, what delight and transport will seize the minds of those
who are redeemed!  How will God be glorified then!  Why, every wound of Christ will
cause an everlasting song!  As we shall circle His throne, rejoicing, will not this be the
very summit of all our harmony—“You were slain, and have redeemed us unto God by
Your blood”?  We must not say what God could do, or could not do, but it does seem
to me that by no process of creation could He have ever made such beings as we shall be
when we are brought to heaven; for if He had made us perfect, then we would have stood
through our own holiness; or if He had forgiven us without an atonement, then we would
never have seen His justice, nor His amazing love.  But in heaven we shall be creatures
who feel that we have everything, but deserve nothing; creatures who have been the
objects of the most wonderful love, and therefore, so mightily attached to our Lord, that
it would be impossible for a thousand Satans ever to lead us astray!
     Again—we shall be such servants as even the angels cannot be, for we shall feel
under deeper obligation to God than even they!  They are but created happy; we shall be
redeemed by the blood of God’s dear Son, and I am sure, brothers and sisters, day without
night we shall circle God’s throne rejoicing, having more happiness than the angels, for they
do not know what evil is, but we shall have known it to the fullest—and yet shall be perfectly
free from it!  They do not know what pain is, but we shall have known pain, and grief, and
death—and yet shall be immortal!  They do not know what it is to fall, but we shall look
down to the depths of hell and remember that this could have been our portion.  Oh, how
we will sing, how we will chant His praise, and this, I say again, shall be the highest note,
that we owe all to that bright one, that Lamb in the midst of the throne!  We will tell it over,
and over, and over again, and find it an inexhaustible theme for melodious joy and
song—that He became man, that He sweat great drops of blood, that He died, that He
rose again!  While the angels are singing, “Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,” we
will bid them stop the song a moment, while we say, “He whom you thus adore was once
covered with bloody sweat.” As we cast our crowns at His feet, we will say, “And He was
once despised and rejected of men.” Lifting up our eyes and saluting Him as God over all,
blessed forever, we will remember the reed, the sponge, the vinegar, and the nails; and
as we come to Him, and have fellowship with Him, He shall lead us beside the living
fountains of water!  And we will remember the black brook of Kedron of which He
drank, and the awful depths of the grave into which He descended.  Amid all the
splendors of heaven we shall never forget the agony, and misery, and dishonor of earth;
and even when they sing the loudest sonnets of God’s love, and power, and grace, we
will sing this after all, and before all, and above all, that Jesus, the Son of God died for
us, and this shall be our ever-lasting song—“He loved us and gave Himself for us, and
we have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”             
                                                                                           Charles H. Spurgeon  

Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours, and ours forever

Pensive, doubting, fearful heart,
Hear what Christ the Saviour says;
Every word should joy impart,
Change thy mourning into praise:
Yes, He speaks, and speaks to thee,
May He help thee to believe!
Then thou presently wilt see,
Thou hast little cause to grieve.

"Fear thou not, nor be ashamed,
All thy sorrows soon shall end:
I who heaven and earth have framed
Am thy Husband and thy Friend:
I the High and Holy One,
Israel's God by all adored,
As thy Saviour will be known,
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.

For a moment I withdrew,
And thy heart was fill'd with pain;
But my mercies I'll renew,
Thou shalt soon rejoice again:
Though I seem to hide my face,
Very soon my wrath shall cease;
'Tis but for a moment's space,
Ending in eternal peace.

When my peaceful bow appears,
Painted on the watery cloud;
'Tis to dissipate thy fears,
Lest the earth should be o'erflow'd:
'Tis an emblem too of grace,
Of my covenant love a sign;
Though the mountains leave their place,
Thou shalt be for ever mine.

Though afflicted, tempest-toss'd,
Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou canst be lost,
Thou art graven on my heart:
All thy wastes I will repair,
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear
What a God of love can do."
                 William Cowper


For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.             
                                                                                            Isa 54:5
                                                            
     Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours, and ours forever.  All the offices of
Christ are held on our behalf.  He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us
Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate Him as ours under
that name as much as under any other.  The shepherd's staff, the father's rod, the captain's
sword, the priest's mitre, the prince's sceptre, the prophet's mantle, all are ours.  Jesus
hath no dignity which he will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which he
will not exercise for our defence.  His fulness of Godhead is our unfailing, inexhaustible
treasure-house. 
     His manhood also, which He took upon Him for us, is ours in all its perfection.  To us
our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us He gives
the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us He bestows the reward procured by
obedient submission and incessant service.  He makes the unsullied garment of His life
our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of His character our ornaments and jewels; and
the superhuman meekness of His death our boast and glory.  He bequeaths us His manger,
from which to learn how God came down to man; and His Cross to teach us how man may
go up to God.  All His thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions,
were for us.  He trod the road of sorrow on our behalf, and hath made over to us as His
heavenly legacy the full results of all the labors of His life.  He is now as much ours as
heretofore; and He blushes not to acknowledge Himself "our Lord Jesus Christ," though
He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.  Christ
everywhere and every way is our Christ, forever and ever most richly to enjoy.  O my
soul, by the power of the Holy Spirit call Him this morning, "thy Redeemer."
                                                                                  Charles H. Spurgeon.

Believers meet with rubs and disappointments, which convince them, that if they obtain any thing, it is the Lord must do it for them

To the Reverend Mr. R.-------Letter 7

July 6, 1776
Dear Sir,
                                                            
.....To me you seem to be in a tolerable fair way:  but I know, in affairs of this
kind, Mr. Self does not like suspense, but would willingly come to the point at once: 
but Mr. Faith (when he gets liberty to hold up his head) will own, that in order to make
our temporal mercies wear well, and to give us a clearer sense of the hand that bestows
them, a waiting and a praying time are very seasonable.  Worldly people expect their
schemes to run upon all fours, as we say, and the objects of their wishes to drop into
their mouths without difficulty; and if they succeed, they of course burn incense to their
own drag, and say, This was my doing:  but believers meet with rubs and disappointments,
which convince them, that if they obtain any thing, it is the Lord must do it for them.  For
this reason I observe that he usually brings a death upon our prospects, even when it is
his purpose to give us success in the issue.  Thus we become more assured that we did
not act in our own spirits, and have a more satisfactory view that his providence has been
concerned in filling up the rivers and removing the mountains that were in our way.  Then,
when he has given us our desire, how pleasant it is to look at it, and say, This I got not
by my own sword, and my own bow, but I wrestled for it in prayer, I waited for it in
faith, I put it into the Lord's hand, and from his hand I received it.
     You have met with the story of one of our kings (if I mistake not) who wanted to
send a nobleman abroad as his ambassador, and he desired to be excused on account
of some affairs which required his presence at home:  the king answered, "Do you take
care of my business, and I will take care of yours."  I would have you think the Lord says
thus to you.....Watch in all things; endure afflictions; do the work of an evangelist; make
full proof of your ministry:  and when other thoughts rise in your mind (for you have no
door to shut them quite out), run with them to the throne of grace, and commit them
to the Lord.  Satan will perhaps try to force them upon you unseasonably and
inordinately; but if he sees they drive you to prayer, he will probably desist, rather
than be the occasion of doing you so much good.  Believe, likewise, that as the Lord
has the appointment of the person, so he fixes the time.  His time is like the time of the
tide;  all the art and power of man can neither hasten or retard it a moment:  it must be
waited for:  nothing can be done without it, and when it comes, nothing can resist it.  It is
unbelief that talks of delays; faith knows that properly there can be no such thing.  The
only reason why the Lord seems to delay what he afterwards grants, is, that the best hour
is not yet come.  I know you have been enabled to commit and resign your all to his
disposal.  You did well.  May he help you to stand to the surrender.  Sometimes he
will put us to the trial, whether we mean what we say.  He takes his course in a way
we did not expect; and then, alas! how often does the trial put us to shame!  Presently
there is an outcry raised in the soul against his management:  this is wrong, that
unnecessary, the other has spoiled the whole plan:  in short, all these things are
against us.  And then we go into the pulpit, and gravely tell the people how wise
and how good he is, and preach submission to his will, not only as a duty, but a
privilege!  Alas! how deceitful is the heart!  Yet, since it is, and will be so, it is necessary
we should know it by experience.  We have reason, however, to say, He is good and
wise; for he bears with our perverseness, and in the event shows us, that if he had listened
to our murmurings, and taken the methods we would have prescribed to him, we should
have been ruined indeed, and that he has been all the while doing us good in spite of ourselves.
     If I judge right, you will find your way providentially opened more and more; and yet
it is possible, that when you begin to think yourself sure, something may happen to put
you in a panic again.  But a believer, like a sailor, is not to be surprised if the wind changes,
but to learn the art of suiting himself to all winds for the time:  and though many a poor sailor
is shipwrecked, the poor believer shall gain his port.  Oh, it is good sailing with an infallible
pilot at the helm, who has the wind and weather at his command!
                                                                                                  John Newton  

Jesus has come and gone – come, because God loved the world – gone, because the world hated God

Ye simple souls that stray
Far from the path of peace,
That lonely, unfrequented way
To life and happiness,
Why will ye folly love,
And throng the downward road,
And hate the wisdom from above,
And mock the sons of God?

So wretched and obscure,
The men whom ye despise,
So foolish, impotent, and poor,-
Above your scorn we rise:
We through the Holy Ghost,
Can witness better things;
For he whose blood is all our boast,
Hath made us priests and kings.

Riches unsearchable
In Jesus’ love we know;
And pleasures springing from the well
Of life, our souls o’erflow:
The Spirit we receive
Of wisdom, grace, and power;
And always sorrowful we live,
Rejoicing evermore.

Angels our servants are,
And keep in all our ways,
And in their watchful hands they bear
The sacred sons of grace:
Unto that heavenly bliss
They all our steps attend;
And God himself our Father is,
And Jesus is our friend.
                       John Wesley


     Let us turn, for a moment, to the sixty-ninth psalm, which so vividly presents
our blessed and adorable Lord suffering from the hand of man, and appealing
to God for vengeance.....
     But let us look at the other side of the picture.  Turn to the twenty-second psalm,
which presents the Blessed One suffering under the hand of God.  Here the result is
wholly different.  Instead of judgment and vengeance, it is universal and everlasting
blessedness and glory.....
     These two quotations present, with great distinctness, the two aspects of the death
of Christ.  He died, as a martyr, for righteousness, under the hand of man.  For this
man will have to account to God.  But He died, as a victim, for sin, under the hand
of God.  This is the foundation of all blessing to those that believe in His Name.  His
martyr sufferings bring down wrath and judgment upon a godless world:  His atoning
sufferings open up the everlasting well-springs of life and salvation to the Church, to
Israel, and to the whole creation.  The death of Jesus consummates the world's guilt;
but secures the Church's acceptance.  The world is stained, and the Church purged,
by the blood of the cross.
     Such is the double bearing of the first of our three great New Testament facts. 
Jesus has come and gone – come, because God loved the world – gone, because
the world hated God.  If God were to ask the question – and He will ask it – "What
have you done with My Son?"  What is the answer?  "We hated Him, cast Him out,
and crucified Him.  We preferred a robber to Him."
     But, blessed forever be the God of all grace, the Christian, the true believer,
can look up to heaven and say, "My absent Lord is there, and there for me.  He is
gone from this wretched world, and His absence makes the entire scene around me a
moral wilderness – a desolate waste.”
                                                                                      C. H. Mackintosh

What shall we be, and whither shall we go

What shall we be, and whither shall we go,
When the last conflict of our life is o'er,
And we return from wandering to and fro
To our dear home through heaven's eternal door;
When we shake off the last dust from our feet,
When we wipe off the last drop from our brow,
And our departed friends once more we greet,
The hope which cheers and comforts us below?

What shall we be, when we ourselves shall see
Bathed in the flood of everlasting light,
And from all guilt and sin entirely free,
Stand pure and blameless in our Maker's sight,
No longer from His holy presence driven,
Conscious of guilt, and stung with inward pain,
But friends of God and citizens of heaven,
To join the ranks of His celestial train?

What shall we be, when we drink in the sound
Of heavenly music from the spheres above,
When golden harps to listening hosts around
Declare the wonders of redeeming love;
When far and wide through the resounding air
Loud Hallelujahs from the ransomed rise,
And holy incense, sweet with praise and prayer,
Is wafted to the Highest through the skies?

What shall we be, when the freed soul shall rise
With unrestrained and bold aspiring flight
To Him, who by His wondrous sacrifice
Hath opened heaven, and scattered sin's dark night;
When from the eye of faith the thin veil drops,
Like wreaths of mist before the morning's rays,
And we behold, the end of all our hopes,
The Son of God in full refulgent blaze?

What shall we be, when we shall hear Him say,
"Come, O ye blessed;" when we see Him stand,
Robed in the light of everlasting day,
Before the throne of God at His right hand;
When we behold the eyes from which once flowed
Tears o'er the sin and misery of man,
And the deep wounds from which the precious blood,
That made atonement for the world, once ran?

What shall we be, when hand in hand we go
With blessed spirits risen from the tomb,
Where streams of living water softly flow,
And trees still flourish in primeval bloom;
Where in perpetual youth no cheek looks old
By the sharp touch of cruel time imprest,
Where no bright eye is dimm'd, no heart grows cold,
No grief, no pain, no death invades the blest?

What shall we be, when every glance we cast
At the dark valley underneath our feet,
And every retrospect of troubles past
Makes heaven brighter and its joys more sweet;
When the remembrance of our earthly woe
Gives a new relish to our heavenly peace,
And draws our heart to Him, to whom we owe
Our past deliverance and our present bliss?

What shall we be, who have in Christ believed?
What through His grace will be our sweet reward?
Eye hath not seen, ear heard, or heart conceived,
What God for those who love Him hath prepared.
Let us the steep ascent then boldly climb,
Our toil and labour will be well repaid;
Let us haste onward, till in God's good time
We reap the fruit, a crown that doth not fade.
                C. J. P. Spitta,
                trans by H. Massie


I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.                       
                                                                                   Psalms 130:5

.....while we live here we are always children of hope; not miserable, because we
have a sweet taste of what we hope for, and not perfectly happy, because we want
fulness.  Before Christ they hoped for his coming in the flesh; since Christ, we look
for his 'second coming in glory;' in grace we look for glory; and when our souls are in
glory, they look for the redemption of the bodies, and for the day of restoring of all
things.  'How long, Lord, how long?' Rev. 6:10.  Else would this life be heaven to us;
and we should not desire or pray, 'Lord, let thy kingdom come.’.....This should whet 
in us our desires and prayers for our heavenly estate; and not make our heaven
here on earth, but desire earnestly the full harvest, by considering how excellent the
first-fruits of glory in this life are; and with the creature, Rom. 8:19, 'wait, and expect,
and long, and groan for the time of the dissolution of all things;' and make this a note to
discern of our estate; for it is a certain infallible token of a good frame of spirit in us,
if we can long for that better life in the fulness, that we have here; that we can desire
to be with Christ.  Furthermore, note this as a difference between the estates of 
the wicked and the godly.  The wicked must look for worse and worse continually. 
His best is here, and while he hath this world; but the godly, their worst is here, their
best is to come.                          
                                                                                         Richard Sibbes, D.D.

Brethren, Christ is real in all that he speaks unto you

The following is a part of a letter written by Reverend Joseph Alleine - 
August 11, 1665. 

    Brethren, understand mine office;—I preach not myself, but the Lord Jesus Christ,
and myself your servant for Jesus’ sake.  Give him your hearts, and I have my errand. 
I am but the friend of the bridegroom, and my business is but to give you to understand
his love, and to gain your hearts unto him.  He is an object worthy of my commendations
and of your affections.  His love is worth the writing of, and worth the thinking of, and
worth the speaking of.  O my brethren, never forget, I beseech you, how he loveth you. 
He is in heaven, and you are on earth:  he is in glory, and you in rags; he is in the shining
throne, and you in dirty flesh;—and yet he loveth you.  His heart is infinitely tender
over you, even now while he is at the right hand of the Majesty on high.  How feelingly
doth he cry out at the hurt of his poor members on earth, Saul, Saul why persecutest 
thou me?  Oh, of what quick sense is the sense of our dear Lord unto us!  When we
are touched on earth he feels it in heaven.
     Brethren, Christ is real in all that he speaks unto you.  He is not like a flourishing
lover, who fills up his letters with rhetoric, and hath more care of the dress of his
speech than of the truth.  Who ever gave demonstration of the reality of his love at
so dear a rate as Christ hath done?  Men do not use to die in jest.  Who will impoverish
himself to enrich his friend?  And divest himself of his honour to advance him?  And
debase himself to admiration below his own degree to contract affinity with him? 
And all this but to make him believe that he loves him?
     Brethren, possess your very hearts with this, that Christ's love doth go out with
infinite dearness towards you.  Even now, while he is in all his glory, he earnestly
remembers you still.  This is the High Priest that now is entered into the holy of holies,
doth bear your names particulary, remembering every poor believer by name.  He
bears your names, —but where? "upon his breast-plate, upon his heart," saith
the text, Exodus 28:29.  Ah! Christians, I may salute you as the angel did Mary,
Hail you that are highly favoured:  Blessed are you among men.  Sure
your lot is fallen in a happy place.  What! in the bosom of Christ?  Yea, and verily
you may believe, and doubt not.  I may apply that of Gabriel, O Daniel, thou art 
greatly beloved, unto you; you are beloved indeed, to have your names written
upon the very heart of Christ, now he is in glory.
     Oh, let his name be written then on your hearts.  Do not write his name in the
sand when he hath written yours upon his own breast!  Do not forget him who
hath taken such care, that where he is, he may never forget you, having recorded
your names only on his book, but on his flesh, and set you as a seal upon his heart. 
He hath you upon his heart,—but why?  "For a memorial before the Lord continually,"
so saith the text.  Beloved, your Lord is so far from forgetting you in all his greatness
and glory, that he is gone into heaven on purpose, there to present you before the
Lord, that you may be always in remembrance before him.  O beloved, glory, yea,
and triumph in his love.  Doubtless it must go well with us.  Who shall condemn? 
It is Christ that died, and rose again, and is now making intercession.  His interest is
potent.  He is always present.  Our advocate is never out of court.  Never did cause
miscarry in his hand.  Trust you safely in him.  Happy is that man for whom he shall
undertake to speak.
     Oh, the riches of Christ's love!  He did not think it enough to die for you.  His
love and care doth not end with his natural life on earth, but "he ever liveth to make
intercession for us."  His love is like his life, ever and ever; knowing no remission in
degree, nor intermission of time, no cessation of working, but is ever, ever in motion
towards us.
     But when shall I end, if I suffer my soul to run out its length, and my running pen to
enlarge according to the dimensions of this boundless field of divine love?  If the pens
of all the world were employed to write volumes of love; if the tongues of all the living
were exercised in nothing else but talking of this love; if all the hearts that be were made
up of love:  and all the powers and affections of the mind were turned into one, to wit,
the power of love; yet this were no less than infinitely too little, either to conceive, or to
express the greatness of Christ's love.
     O my dearly beloved, may your souls be swallowed up in this love.  Think, and think
while you will, you can never think how much you are beloved.  See that ye love again,
by way of gratitude, though not of requital.  What though, your souls be but narrow,
and your powers but little, yet love him with all you have.  Love him with all your hearts,
and all your strength.  To the meditations, and to the embraces of divine love I leave
you, thinking it now not worth while to tell you of my love, remaining
        Yours in the bonds
            of your most dear Lord Jesus,
                Joseph Alleine.  
 

The heathen raged

6    The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice,
the earth melted.
7    The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8    Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in
the earth.
9    He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow,
and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10    Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth.
11    The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.                
                                              Psalms 46:6-11

     I.  As King of nations, ruling the world by his power and providence, and
overruling all the affairs of the children of men to his own glory; he does according
to his will among the inhabitants of the earth, and none may say, What doest thou?
     1.  He checks the rage and breaks the power of the nations that oppose him
and his interests in the world (v. 6)....
     2.  When he pleases to draw his sword, and give it commission, he can make
great havoc among the nations and lay all waste (v. 8).....
     3.  When he pleases to sheathe his sword, he puts an end to the wars of the
nations and crowns them with peace, v. 9.....
     II.  As King of saints, and as such we must own that great and marvellous are 
his works, Rev. 15:3.  He does and will do great things,
     1.  For his own glory (v. 10):  Be still, and know that I am God.
     (1.)  Let his enemies be still, and threaten no more, but know it, to their terror,
that he is God, one infinitely above them, and that will certainly be too hard for them;
let them rage no more, for it is all in vain: he that sits in heaven, laughs at them; and, in
spite of all their impotent malice against his name and honour, he will be exalted
among the heathen and not merely among his own people, he will be exalted in the
earth and not merely in the church.  Men will set up themselves, will have their own
way and do their own will; but let them know that God will be exalted, he will have
his way will do his own will, will glorify his own name, and wherein they deal proudly
he will be above them, and make them know that he is so.  (2.)  Let his own people
be still; let them be calm and sedate, and tremble no more, but know, to their comfort,
that the Lord is God, he is God alone, and will be exalted above the heathen; let him
alone to maintain his honour, to fulfil his own counsels and to support his own interest
in the world.  Though we be depressed, yet let us not be dejected, for we are sure
that God will be exalted, and that may satisfy us; he will work for his great name, and
then no matter what becomes of our little names.  When we pray, Father, glorify thy
name, we ought to exercise faith upon the answer given to that prayer when Christ
himself prayed it, I have both glorified it and I will glorify it yet again.  Amen, Lord,
so be it.
     2.  For his people's safety and protection.  He triumphs in the former:  I will be
exalted; they triumph in this, v. 7 and again v. 11.  It is the burden of the song, "The
Lord of hosts is with us; he is on our side, he takes our part, is present with us and
president over us; the God of Jacob is our refuge, to whom we may flee, and in
whom we may confide and be sure of safety."  Let all believers triumph in this. 
(1.)  They have the presence of a God of power, of all power:  The Lord of hosts
is with us.  God is the Lord of hosts, for he has all the creatures which are called
the hosts of heaven and earth at his beck and command, and he makes what use
he pleases of them, as the instruments either of his justice or of his mercy.  This
sovereign Lord is with us, sides with us, acts with us, and has promised he will
never leave us.  Hosts may be against us, but we need not fear them if the Lord
of hosts be with us.  (2.)  They are under the protection of a God in covenant,
who not only is able to help them, but is engaged in honour and faithfulness to
help them.  He is the God of Jacob, not only Jacob the person, but Jacob the people;
nay, and of all praying people, the spiritual seed of wrestling Jacob; and he is our
refuge, by whom we are sheltered and in whom we are satisfied, who by his providence
secures our welfare when without are fightings, and who by his grace quiets our minds,
and establishes them, when within are fears.  The Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob,
has been, is, and will be with us--has been, is and will be our refuge:  the original includes
all; and well may Selah be added to it.  Mark this, and take the comfort of it, and say,
If God be for us, who can be against us?
                                                                                                 Matthew Henry