Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

"For He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsakethee." — Hebrews 13:5.A Wonderful PromiseBy Rev. Wm.It is interesting to note the context in which thispromise occurs. In the opening part of the verse we have awarning against covetousness and an exhortation tocontentment.Contentment is a wonderful blessing. Withoutit wecan never really be happy no matter how much we mayhave. We should all seek, like Paul to learn in whatsoeverstate we are therewith to be content.We have the secret of real contentment in our text.After exhorting his readers to be content, the writer goeson "for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsakethee."This promise of our text occurs quite often in theOld Testament in slightly different forms. To Jacob atBethel God said: "Behold I am with thee, and will keepthee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring theeagain into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I havedone that which I have spoken to thee of." In the desertGod said to Moses: "Certainly I will be with thee." ToJoshua he said: "As I was with Moses, so I will be withthee: I will not fail thee nor forsake thee." These OldTestament promises are for New Testament saints as well.So the promise is repeated here, not only for the benefit ofthe original readers of this letter, but for our benefit aswell.Note and remember thatit is God's promise. "Hehath said." The fact thatit is God's promise means thatitis sure. Not one word which He has spoken can ever fall tothe ground. He is the God "who cannot lie." "Heaven andearth may pass away," said the Lord Jesus Christ, "but Mywords shall not pass away."It is a wonderful promise. It is the promise of apresence./. It is a Divine Presence that is here promised. Eventhe presence of a mere human companion often means alot; how much more should the Divine Presence mean tous. We have already seen that the speaker here isGod Himself and He says: "I will never leave thee." He isthe great "I Am." That, you remember, was the name bywhich He revealed Himself to Moses when He promised tobe with him. So the presence promised here is thePresence of the great I Am—the Eternal God—God overall blessed for ever—omnipotent and omnipresent—without beginning of days or end of life—the One withwhom is no variableness nor shadow caused by turning.This Eternal God, although so exalted, hasnevertheless drawn near to us in His Divine Son, the LordJesus Christ, who became bone of our bone and flesh ofour flesh that He might in our nature obey the law whichwe had broken and endure its penalty in our stead andmight in short become Immanuel—God with us. TheDivine Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our SaviorWNE 23, 1971Young, B.A.from sin and our Divine Friend and Companion alonglife's way. He to whom all power has been given in heavenand on earth says to all His believing people: "Lo I amwith you always, even unto the end of the world."//. It is a Real Presence that is promised. We oftenhear about the "real presence" in connection with theLord's Supper. There is a real Presence in the Lord'sSupper, not in the sense in which the Roman Catholicssay—not in the sense that the bread and the wine arechanged into the actual body and blood of Christ—but inthe sense of a real spiritual Presence. The Presence of theLord Jesus Christ has been and is very real to His people asthey meet around His Table.The Lord Jesus Christ is present with us not onlywhen we meet around His Table, but whenever andwherever we meet in His name. "Where two or three aregathered together in My name there am I in the midst."He is present also with every individual believerwherever he or she may be. The earth is the Lord's and thefullness thereof and so wherever the believing heart turnsto the Lord Jesus Christ, there in very deed He dwells. Wehave a real Divine Presence with us day by day. Webecome conscious of that Presence by faith as the HolySpirit takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto usand opens our heart to the Savior.///. It is a quickening Presence that ispromised. It is evident from the context that the Lord ispresent not to minister to indolence or to excuse fromwatchfulness and prayer, but to quicken and inspire and tomake us bold and courageous. In the verse following ourtext the writer says: "So that we may boldly say, The Lordis my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do untome."Sometimes the presence of a person unnerves us andfills our heart with fear, but the Lord's Presence has thevery opposite effect. It had a quickening and inspiringeffect on men like Jacob, Moses and Joshua. In II Timothy4: 17, Paul writes: "Notwithstanding the Lord stood withme, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching mightbe fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear." Weall believe the Lord was with Martin Luther when he madehis noble stand at the Diet of Worms, but we believe theLord was also with him during his lonely confinement inthe castle of Wartburg, enabling him not only to endurepatiently but to persevere in his important work ofstudying and translating God's Word. God was with JohnBunyan in Bedford gaol and enabled him to write "ThePilgrim's Progress" which has been a means of blessing toso many burdened souls. Sir Ernest Shackleton testified tothe Presence of the risenChrist with him and his party inSee Page 16