May 10

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee. - Zephaniah 3:17.

THE name of the church is Jehovah-shammah,-the Lord is there. “But will God in very deed dwell with men upon the earth?” This was the language of Solomon at the dedication of the temple; and it was not the language of uncertainty and doubt, but of wonder and admiration. When we reflect upon God’s greatness, his excellency and his holiness, and upon our meanness and vileness, we may well exclaim, with Solomon’s father, “Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” But is he not everywhere? “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” saith the Lord. “Whither can we go from his Spirit, or flee from his presence?” David recognises him as about his path, and as being acquainted with all his ways, and words, and thoughts. Yes, and we should remember that when his presence is spoken of in a way of promise and privilege it is to be always distinguished from the perfection of his nature or his omnipresence. It is his special and gracious presence which is then intended, in which sense he is said to be “far from the wicked,” but “nigh unto all them that call upon his name, to all that call upon him in truth.” Not as a mere observer and witness,-this is common to the wicked, as well as to themselves,-but as their Friend, their Helper, and their Saviour. “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Thus he is in the midst of the church universal; and thus he is in the midst of every assembly of his people; and thus he is in the midst of every individual believer, dwelling in his heart by faith. Thus he is in the midst of them, as the sun is in the midst of a garden, producing the fragrance, and the flowers, and the fruits; and in the midst of them as the soul is in the midst of the body, enlivening every member and penetrating every part. Upon this principle it was that Isaiah called upon the church to praise God:-“Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” Hence their security and happiness:-“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early.”

Hence the great groundlessness of the believer’s fears:-“Fear not, for I am with thee;” “He is at thy right hand, and therefore thou shalt not be moved.” The disciples in the storm imagined they were going to the bottom, and they repaired to the Saviour, saying, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” What faithlessness! what folly! Was not he on board? If they sunk, he must sink too. His presence, therefore, was their security; and it is ours; and, “because he lives, we shall live also.”