Love Abounding, Love Complaining, Love Abiding

Love Abounding, Love Complaining, Love Abiding

(No. 1895)

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, APRIL 11, 1886,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"But now thus says the Lord that created you, O Jacob, and He that
formed you O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I ha ve called
you by your name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I
will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you:
when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, neither shall
the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of
Israel, your Savior: I ga ve Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba
for you. Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honorable,
and I have loved you: therefore will I give men for you, and people for
your life." Isaiah 43:1-4

"Butyou have not called upon Me, O Jacob, butyou have been weary of Me,
O Israel. You have not brought Me the small cattle of your burnt
offerings; neither have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not
caused you to serve with an offering, nor wearied you with incense. You
have bought Me no sweet cane with money, neither have you filled Me
with the fat of your sacrifices: butyou have made Me to serve with your
sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities."

Verses22-24.

"Remember these, O Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant: I have
formed you, you are My servant: O Israel, you shall not be forgotten of
Me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as
a cloud, your sins: return unto Me, for Ihave redeemed you. Sing, O you
heavens; for the Lord has done it: shout, you lower parts of the earth:
break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in
it: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel."
Isaiah 44:21-23.

WHEN two Christians met together who were sitting under a very lean and
starving ministry, one of them comforted his fellow concerning the
miserable discourse by saying, "Never mind, my Friend, there is not
much in the sermon, but the text is a feast by itself." So, this
morning, if my words should seem to be very poor and powerless, what
fullness there is in these three texts! Here you have a dainty meal of
three courses. You ought to be well nourished this morning, for I have
set before you, in these passages of Scripture, quite as much as the
largest capacity will be able to mark, learn and inwardly digest. Here
is good pasture for the flock, wherein they may not only feed, but lie
down! Did you say, "Too much text?" Possibly you might, on other
occasions, reproach me with having too little of God's Word and too
much of my own, but there can be no fault the other way–the more of
the Word of the Lord the better! What is man's word compared with God's
Word? It is as chaff to the wheat, at worst, and as mere gold-leaf to
solid bullion at best! Indeed, my word is of no value at all, except as
it is made up of the essence of the Divine Word. Far better than our
best exposition is the Word itself–this is the pure light of the
sun–ours is but a poor candle! Of the Scripture itself we cannot have
too much. If you derive no other profit from this assembling of
yourselves together but to have your earnest attention directed to this
precious part of Holy Writ, if the Spirit of God is with you, your
meditations will make this a profitable hour!

Notice concerning these three texts that they are very much alike in
this respect–they are each addressed to God's people under the names
of Jacob and Israel. The first text begins, "The Lord that created you,
O Jacob, and He that formed you, O Israel." And the second is like it,
"You have not called upon Me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of Me, O
Israel." And so is the third, "Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for
you are My servant." The Lord mentions both

the natural and the spiritual names of His servants–and this He does
out of love to them. As tender parents will lovingly repeat all their
children's names, sometimes calling them by one and sometimes by
another. As different memories arise in their minds, so the Lord
remembers Jacob, the name of His chosen given him at birth, by which he
was known as "the supplanter." And then He repeats that higher name of
Israel, the prevailing prince, which he won in a great spiritual
struggle when he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord and would not let
Him go. To make sure that the people should know to whom He spoke, the
Lord calls them both Jacob and Israel. We are so apt to set the promise
aside for someone else, that it is well to have the full address placed
at the head of these heavenly telegrams.

These texts are also like each other, again, from their being, each
one, overflowing with love. Their manner and their matter differ, but
their spirit is one. I do not know where the Lord's love is best
seen–when He declares it and tells of what He has done and is doing
for His people–or when He laments over their lack of love in return,
or when He promises to blot out their past sin and invites them to
return to Him and enjoy His restoring Grace. I trust that I may be
helped so to handle these words that a sweet fragrance of love shall
fill this house, as when choice ointment is poured forth. May you
believe and feel the love of God to you. And then may there arise out
of your own hearts the perfume of another love, born of the first, and
like unto it–the love of your renewed hearts towards your God. This
love is a spark of the eternal flame of God's love for you–may it
never be quenched!

I have to set before you Divine Love in three postures. The first text
represents love abounding; the second text, love lamenting; and the
third text represents love abiding–remaining constant to its
objective, notwithstanding all the provocations which have grieved it.

I. First, we have in our first text, from the first to the fourth
verses, LOVE ABOUNDING. Come, you that love the Lord, and dwell upon
His love! Concentrate your thoughts upon this wonderful theme, to which
I trust you are no strangers, for you live in that love and it is the
joy of your hearts. Oh for the melting power of the Holy Spirit to make
us feel it now!

Love abounding, I said, and I said well, for you will notice, first,
the time when that love is declared. The first verse begins, "But now,
thus says the Lord." And when was that? It was the very time when He
was angry with the nation by reason of their great sins! "Therefore He
has poured upon him the fury of His anger, and the strength of battle;
and it has set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned
him, yet he laid it not to heart." It was a time, then, of special sin
and of amazing hardness of heart. "It burned him, yet he laid it not to
heart." When a man begins to burn, he generally feels and cries out. He
must be far gone in deadly apathy when he is touched with fire and yet
lays it not to heart. Yet so the text describes the nation.

Notwithstanding this, however, though His people had so provoked Him,
and though they were so unfeeling under His chastisement, yet the Lord
interposes in tones of Grace with a word of infinite compassion. "But
now, thus says the Lord." It was a time of love with God, though a time
of carelessness with His people. You expect God's mercy words and love
words to come to you after your repentance and obedience and so,
indeed, they do, for the Lord has choice rewards of Grace for those who
walk with Him in holy fellowship. Yet He restrains not His mercy to our
good times, but He gives us glimpses of its sunlight in the midst of
the storm. He sends clear shining after rain. Though He may smite us
again and again to drive us from our iniquities, yet even then His
gracious heart overflows with love and He lets fall a word of pity for
His mourners.

Notice, next, that the Lord shows His abounding love in these verses by
the sweetness of His consolations. "But now thus says the Lord that
created you, O Jacob, and He that formed you, O Israel, Fear not."
"Fear not" is a little word measured by space and letters, but it is an
abyss of consolation if we remember who it is that says it and what a
wide sweep the comfort takes! Fear has torment and the Lord would cast
it out. Fear keeps us away from Him and so He would chase it quite
away. "Fear not," He says. As much as to say–I smite you, but fear not
that I will destroy you. I chasten you for your sin, but fear not that
I will disown you, for you are Mine. My countenance is dark with anger
against your iniquities, but still fear not, for my wrath against your
sin is but a form of My love to you–

"In love I correct you, your gold to refine, To make you at length in
My likeness to shine." You that are the people of God may at this hour
be smarting, crying and sighing. But, oh the love of God to you! He
hears your cries and His compassions are moved towards you. Nothing
touches Him like the groans of His children! Per-

haps you have brought this evil upon yourself by your own fault and you
know it–but the Lord is ready to put away your sin and make the bones
which He has broken to rejoice!

The consolations of God are small with you because there is some secret
wickedness with you, but, having revealed to you this wrong and having
subdued your heart by His Spirit, He now speaks to you as to one whom
his mother comforts, and He says, "Fear not." Be not broken down with
slavish fear. Do not imagine that the Lord has changed towards you. Do
not dream that His promises will fail, or that His mercy is clean gone
forever, so that He will be favorable no more. He knows your sin and He
has visited you for it, but still, "Fear not, for even this is a token
that He has not given you up to perish in your sins." He has redeemed
you and, therefore, He will purify you to Himself. He will never cast
you away. Is it not considerate love on the Lord's part that He would
not even have His children endure a fear? He not only removes our
dangers, but He soothes our fears! He bends over us and cries, "Let not
your hearts be troubled." He sends the Holy Spirit to be the Comforter
and chase all our fears away. There is a wonderful intensity of
affection in this passage spoken, as it is, by the great God to His
people while they are under the rod which they so richly deserve.

Again, notice that the fullness of God's love is to be seen in the way
in which He dwells with evident satisfaction upon His past dealings
with His people. When we love some favored one, we like to think of all
our love passages in years gone by–and the Lord so loves His people,
that even when they are under His chastening hand–He still delights to
remember His former loving kindnesses. We may forget the wonders of His
Grace, but He does not! He says, "I remember you, the love of your
espousals, when you went after Me in the wilderness." If He remembers
our poor love, you may be sure that He does not forget His own! In His
heart He stores up the memory of all His works of Grace towards His
chosen. See how He puts it–"Thus says the Lord that created you, O
Jacob, and He that formed you, O Israel." He regards His people as the
work of His own hands. He puts it twice over–He claims not only to
have created the materials of the nation, but to have formed them into
a people. The great Potter created our clay and then fashioned it with
infinite skill! Both as to body and soul, we are fearfully and
wonderfully made by the Lord our God.

The Lord thinks upon you as His dear people and remembers how He
created you–and how He new-created you– how, by His infinite Grace,
He made you new creatures in Christ Jesus and how He has gone on, by
His Spirit, to fashion you and mold you to His will, so that you are
becoming more and more like His dear Son. The Lord mentions this to
show His exceeding love. He has respect unto the work of His own hands.
He that has made you with so much care will not break you! He will not
abhor that which His infinite compassion has fashioned. In His great
love, He dwells upon His relationship to us as our Maker and says, "I
created you, I formed you." This is as true of our second creation as
of the first. The Lord flashed into our soul the first ray of
repentance! He created in us the first look of faith! He worked in us
the first dew of love and because of this Grace-work He turns in love
to us and remembers us still!

Then the Lord passes on to speak of His redemption of His people,
saying, "I have redeemed you." Oh, the fullness of Divine Love which
led the Lord to redeem His people and then to speak of that deed with
pleasure! He brought them out of Egypt, redeemed by the blood of the
Paschal Lamb and, in our case, He has brought us out of sin and death
by the blood of the Only Begotten. The Lord does not regret that He
paid such a price for such poor worthless things, but He glories in it.
"I have redeemed you." Our Lord Jesus remembers the agony we cost Him.
He cannot leave those to perish in their sins, whom He has ransomed
with His own life! O poor backslider! The broad arrow of the King is on
you–He cannot let His enemy rob Him of His purchase! Shall the prey be
taken from the mighty? Shall Jesus fail to see of the travail of His
soul? Picture in your mind, this morning, the Christ of God looking at
the print of the nails in His hands and feet, viewing those marks with
satisfaction and then, with equal satisfaction, looking upon us who are
His ransomed ones, a heritage purchased unto Himself. He cannot be
weary of us, for He dwells upon what He has done for our redemption! He
chose us for His love and then loved us for His choice! He redeemed us
because He loved us and now He loves us because He redeemed us!

Moreover, he adds, "I have called you by your name." He did so to that
nation, but we will dwell, rather, at this time, upon His having
personally called us to Himself. Oh the love which shines in our
effectual calling! It must burn on forever! There was a day and we can
never forget it, when the Gospel of God came to us with a pointed and
personal power such as we never felt before. Like as Mary Magdalene did
not know the Savior until He said unto her, "Mary," so we did not know
the Lord until He called us by our name! Surely, no love-call with
which our mother awakened us in the morning from the happy sleep of
childhood was ever more distinct than the call of God's Grace to us
when He spoke to us

and said, "Seek you My face." Blessed was the day when our heart
replied, "Your face, Lord, will I seek." The Lord appeared of old unto
us. He knew our name, for He called us by it, and He knew how to reach
our hearts by convicting us of secret sin–He sent His servants to
describe our character and to say to us, as Nathan to David, "You are
the man." We could not mistake the personal appeal which fastened cords
of love about us and drew us till we ran to Him who called us! As the
Lord of old said to little Samuel, "Samuel, Samuel," and he answered,
"Here am I," so has God said to some of us, as clearly as if we had
heard it with our ears, "Come to Me," and we have come to Him! He is
pleased to remember that He has called us by our name and this shows
that He does not repent of having called us.

Observe, also, how He dwells upon His possession of His people. "You
are Mine," He says. The Lord God was not ashamed to acknowledge His
Israel and, now, Jesus is not ashamed to call us Brethren! The Father
is not ashamed to call us children and the Spirit of God is not ashamed
to call our bodies His temples! "I have called you by your name; you
are Mine." Have you forgotten that you are the Lord's? Yet does He not
forget that you are His! You may be false to your covenant and steal
away from God, but He has set His mark upon you and you can never
obliterate it! He claims you, still, notwithstanding all your wandering
and your forgetfulness–and He joyfully asserts His property in you. "I
have called you by your name; you are Mine." He defies all comers to
take from Him those whom He did foreknow by name and whom He,
therefore, called! Behold the fixity of Divine Love and the warmth of
heart which causes the Lord to dwell upon His past loving kindnesses!
Does not this bring tears to your eyes?

If you desire to see the overflowing of God's love in another form,
notice in the next verse how He declares what He means to do. He says,
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you." His
love casts its eye upon your future! The Lord does not promise you that
you shall never go through the waters, nor pass through the fires. He
loves you too well to make your way to Heaven free from adversity and
tribulation, for these things work your lasting good. You will have to
go through fire and through water on your way to Glory. But He does
promise you this–that the deepest waters shall not overflow you and
the fiercest torrents shall not drown you, for this one all-sufficient
reason–that He will be with you. When you come to the fires, however
terrible their flames, they shall not consume you. No, they shall not
even kindle upon you. Like the three holy children in the furnace, not
even the smell of fire shall pass upon you because His Presence shall
preserve you to the end.

Oh the love of God, that in the foresight of every grief and every
sorrow that can ever befall His children, He pledges Himself never to
forsake them! He pledges His word that He will be at their side in
every trying hour and this word He pledges to them even though He has
felt bound to chasten them. He says, "Fear not, I am with you; be not
dismayed, I am your God." He has said, "I will never leave you nor
forsake you," come life, come death, come temptation, come poverty,
come sickness, come assault of Satan, come whatever may from Heaven, or
earth, or Hell, the Lord has promised that He will bear you through and
preserve you to His Kingdom and Glory. Oh the Perseverance, the
Omnipresence, the Omnipotence of Divine Love! Who is he that shall
measure the length and breadth and depth and height of the love of God?
Nothing can separate us from it and nothing can harm us while we abide
under its shadow! O cold hearts, do you not feel the warmth of this
marvelous love?

Still this is not all. The overflowing of Divine Love is seen in the
Lord's avowing Himself, still, to be His people's God–"I am Jehovah
your God," He says, "the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." God gives
Himself to you, Beloved. What a gift! He endows us not merely with
Heaven and earth, things present, and things to come–nor even with the
half of His Kingdom–but He gives us Himself! He says, "I will be their
God." He bids us call Him, "Our Father." All that God is, He gives to
His chosen and lays Himself out for their salvation. "I am Jehovah your
God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Oh, how He must love us and
with what boundless affection must He regard us, when He counts Himself
to be none too great a portion to bestow on us!

Though one would think He might have come to a close here, the Lord
adds His valuation of His people. This was so high that He says, "I
gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you." To save Israel,
He plagued Egypt! Fast and heavy were His blows, until He smote all the
first-born of Egypt, the chief of all her strength! Pharaoh and his
firstborn were nobodies as compared with Jacob's seed! Further on in
history, after Isaiah's day, the Lord moved Cyrus to set Israel free
from Babylon, and then gave to the son of Cyrus a rich return for
liberating the Jews, for He made him conqueror of Egypt and of Ethiopia
and of Seba. God will give more than the whole world to save His
Church, seeing He

gave His only begotten Son! He seems to say to each one of you, "I give
everything for you: I value you so much, that all things else shall be
as nothing to Me so long as I can bless and save you." It has certainly
been so with some of us–all Providence has lent itself to promote our
welfare–the angels of God have been our servants and the Spirit of God
has been our Guide and Teacher. We cannot avoid seeing how great events
have been made subordinate to the good of persons so insignificant–how
the Lord has even bowed the heavens that He might come down to our
rescue!

Then the Lord adds another note of great love. He says that He has
thought so much of His people that He regarded them as
honorable–"Since you were precious in My sight, you have been
honorable, and I have loved you." He publishes His love, not only by
His deeds, but by express words. I cannot pronounce these words as
God's Prophet must have spoken them, much less as God, Himself, would
speak them. What a wealth of Grace is here! They were poor Israelites
and they had been very guilty–and so they had dishonored
themselves–but the Lord says, "Since you were precious in My sight,
you have been honorable." What an honor the Lord puts upon those who
believe in Jesus! "Unto you that believe, He is honor." I have known
those that have fallen into great sin and have been made dishonorable,
thereby, but when Grace has renewed them, they have been pure and holy
and honorable, made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light! Blood-washed sinners are Heaven's right-honorables!
Men and women renewed by God's Grace are the courtiers of Heaven, the
peers of the Divine Kingdom! What love is that which has made us heirs
of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ!

Such is the Lord's love, that even in the time when they were not
acting as they should, but grieving Him, He stands to His love of them
and sets the same value on them as before–"Since you were precious in
My sight, you have been honorable, and I have loved you: therefore will
I give men for you, and people for your life." As if He said, "What I
have done I will do again. My love is unalterable. I will give the same
price for you as of old, if it is necessary." Remember how it is said
of the Lord Jesus, "having loved His own which were in the world, He
loved them to the end"? Notwithstanding all their ill-manners He was
still their Savior! And it is so with Jehovah, the Covenant God of
Israel–having loved us until now with love so wonderful, He holds to
it despite everything which might have turned away His heart. He
declares, "You have been honorable, and I have loved you; therefore
will I give men for you, and people for your life."

Thus, in a very sorry way, I have skimmed the surface of this great sea
of love. I beg you, now, to follow me while we listen to Divine Love as
it speaks in quite another tone.

II. Our second text is in the minor key, it is LOVE LAMENTING–"But you
have not called upon Me, O Israel" (v. 22). Observe the contrast, for
it runs all through and may be seen in every sentence–I have called
you by your name; but you have not called upon Me, O Israel. I have
called you Mine; but you have been weary of Me. I have redeemed you
with a matchless price; but you have bought Me no sweet cane with
money. You can work out the contrast yourself and you will find it most
remarkable. I cannot tarry to go into detail.

Israel rendered little worship to God. She gave the Lord little prayer
and little praise. Come, Brothers and Sisters, I will bring no
accusations against you, but I will make confession of sin for myself.
When we think of God's delight in us and His love to us, is it not
shameful that we should have been so seldom engaged in devotion towards
Him? Oh, how slack we have often been in private prayer! How hurried,
how superficial! How little of praise have we brought. Now and then a
hymn, but this only when we were in the public congregation! How little
of secret praise and reverent adoration have we rendered! The Lord has
done great things for us and heaped honor upon us, but how seldom has
His name been joyously upon our tongue! How little have we spoken of
Him or to Him! It takes a world of trouble to drive some of God's
children to their Father–they live without Him and are tolerably
comfortable! And even when darkness lowers, they are slow to run to
Him. Alas, they hasten to some human friend instead of returning at
once to Him who has dealt so bountifully with them! I am not going to
dwell upon this because tender hearts will only need a hint. It we
grieve those whom we greatly love, they have only to drop half a word
and we see their drift at once and endeavor to amend. If we have no
love in our hearts, what is the use of a lengthened accusation? It will
only embitter and harden. Brothers and Sisters, may not the Lord of
Infinite Mercy justly say to some of us, "But you have not called upon
Me, O Jacob"?

Notice, next, that there has been little fellowship, for the Lord goes
on to say, "You have been weary of Me, O Israel." The Lord has
delighted in us, for He joyously recounts His dealings towards us,
saying, "I have created you and formed you. I have redeemed you and
called you, and made you Mine." If He had been weary of us, we need not
have wondered–but we ought to blush and be silent for shame because we
have wearied of Him! Brothers and Sisters, are we

tired of our God? If not, how is it that we do not walk with Him from
day to day? Really spiritual worship is not much cared for in these
days, even by professing Christians! Many will go to a place of worship
if they can be entertained with fine music, or grand oratory. But if
communion with God is the only attraction, they are not drawn thereby.
They can spend many an evening where all sorts of levity and nonsense
waste the hour, but when do they spend an evening with their God? If
some of you had ever done such a thing, it would be marked down in your
diaries as a wonder! Can any of you say, "I did once spend a night with
God?" Is it not, then, true, "You have been weary of Me"? Alas, some of
my hearers have never spoken with God in all their lives! They are not
on speaking terms with Him–they do not know Him! Small wonder is it
that you do not believe in Him–he only truly believes in God who has
come to know Him. He that lives with God and walks with God, has no
questions or doubts about His existence–he has risen long ago above
that wretched state of mind. God grant that any of you who are weary at
the very mention of eternal things may be delivered from your
earth-bondage and made to rejoice in the Lord!

We are moved by this passage to confess how little of spirituality has
been found in the worship which we have rendered. "You have not honored
Me with the sacrifices." When we have come to worship in public and in
private, we have not honored the Lord by being intense in it. The heart
has been cold, the mind has been wandering. Often we have the posture
of devotion without devotion; the words of praise without the praise;
the language of prayer without supplication; attendance at the Lord's
Supper without communion. Ah me! How hosannas languish on our tongues!
How nearly our devotion dies! Let us repent and pray for better things.

Again, the Lord mentions that His people have brought Him little
sacrifice. "You have not brought Me the small cattle of your burnt
offerings; you have bought Me no sweet cane with money: neither have
you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices." Everything we have, God
has given us–and He has given to us far beyond our deserts or even our
expectations! What small returns we have made! In the religion of
Christ there is no taxation. Everything is of love. It spoils our gifts
if we give because we must–it is the voluntariness of what we do for
Christ that is the excellence of it. Under the old Law there was a
certain tithe to pay, but the devout who loved their God were not
content with this– they, of their own accord, bought sweet cane with
honey and gave it for the making of incense to be used upon the altar
of the Lord. Saints of those times denied themselves luxuries that they
might have the high joy of contributing to the worship of the Lord whom
they loved. Some saints do this, now, and find great delight in it,
even as Mary delighted to pour the very precious ointment from her
alabaster box upon the head of the Well-Beloved. Alas, how little have
some done in this direction! I will not dwell upon it, for, as I have
already said, a hint is all that is needed by a loving heart. Yet is it
not sadly true that many offer to the Lord only that which costs them
nothing? If it comes to making sacrifices for the Truth's sake, they
will have nothing to do with it.

Once more, it is said that we have been very slack in our consideration
of our God. The Lord says, "I have not caused you to serve with an
offering, nor wearied you with incense; but you have made Me to serve
with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities." The Lord is
thoughtful of us, but we are not thoughtful towards Him. He considers
our feelings, but we treat Him with heartless brutishness. God has made
us honorable, but we have not made Him honorable. He has treated us as
dear friends, but we have made a servant of Him–made Him to serve with
our sins. Many treat the Lord as if it was most fit that He should be
forgotten. They profess to believe in Him and yet live atheistical
lives, unmindful of His Presence, not regarding His Law. Doubtless many
come into His courts unwashed and defiled, having forgotten to seek
cleansing through the Atonement of His dear Son. They dare to stand
before a holy God in their willful unholiness! Beloved, is it not so?
Have not even those who are His people too often spoiled their praises,
their prayers and their secret devotions by a lack of preparedness of
heart and cleansing of spirit? Let this question go round and he that
has the most renewed mind will be the most likely to accuse himself.

I must not fail to remind you that I commenced by declaring that in
each of the three voices of the Lord the tone was always that of love.
If the Lord did not love us very much, He would not care so much about
our love towards Him. Only true love knows how to burn with jealousy.
How greatly God must love me, since I see that He desires to have my
whole heart! What condescending tenderness that the Lord of Glory
should complain, "You have bought Me no sweet cane with money!" It is
the plaint of love! Remember, the Lord does not need our sweet canes
nor our money. "The silver and the gold are His, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills." He says to His enemy, "If I were hungry I would not
tell you." He needs nothing at our hands. But when He chides us for
withholding our love-tokens, it is because He values our love and

is grieved when it grows cold. Yonder father does not need anything of
his child and yet, when his birthday comes round, and there are
whispers all over the house and little contributions that something may
be given to dear Father, he is greatly pleased! He is more charmed with
the little ones' trifling gifts than with the gold he wins on the
Exchange! It is sweet to live in the thoughts of those we love. You
that are blessed with happy domestic life, you know that in these
matters you do not look for bare duty, but the free suggestions of love
bear the palm. It is because the Lord loves us so much that He bemoans
our lack of grateful affection and sadly mourns–"You have not called
upon Me, O Jacob; you have been weary of Me, O Israel."

What has the Lord done that we should treat Him so? O Brothers and
Sisters, let us mend our ways! Surely we have treated everybody better
than our God. In Him we live and move and have our being and yet, by
the way we act, one would think we had never heard of Him! He has loved
us with an everlasting love and dealt with us in amazing mercy– and
yet we are ungrateful and cold. Well may we smite upon the breasts
which harbor such stony hearts and pray that the Holy Spirit may
inspire us with ardor of love to Him who loved us and gave Himself for
us! God bless these words to you, dear Brethren, by His Grace!

III. I have now to finish with my third text, which I felt bound to
take, lest I should conclude with mourning and lamentation. Our third
text exhibits LOVE ABIDING.

Notice, in the 21st verse of the 44th chapter, how the Lord still calls
His people by the same name. "Remember these, O Jacob and Israel."
Still are the names of His elect like music in the ears of God. One
would have feared that He would have dropped the, "Israel," that
honorable name which came of prevailing prayer, since they had not
called upon Him. Why call him a prevailing prince, who had grown weary
of his God? We would not have marveled if the Lord had only called them
by their natural and carnal name of Jacob. But no, He harps upon the
double title–He loves to think of His Beloved as what they were and
what His Grace made them. O heir of Heaven, God still loves you! God
still earnestly remembers you! Jehovah Jesus wears upon His
breast-plate the names of His people and He has not torn one of the
gems from its setting, neither has He erased a single name of Reuben,
Simeon, Gad, or Levi from its jewel! Your name is still upon the palms
of His hands! If nothing has touched you before, this ought to awaken
your conscience and melt your heart! O, child of God, your God
remembers you! He still calls you by name and acknowledges you as His!

Notice in the text how the Lord claims His servants. "You are My
servant: I have formed you; you are My servant." He has not discharged
us, though He has had cause enough for doing so. How often have I
prayed, "Dismiss me not from Your service, Lord," when I have seen the
faultiness of my obedience! I dwell with supreme pleasure upon that
sweet assurance, "You are My servant; you are My servant." He has not
turned us out of doors, nor given us our wages and said, "Be packing, I
shall never make My money's worth of you." I am sure He will never part
with us, now, for if He meant to do so, He would have done it long ago!
When we grow old and gray-headed, He will not send us off, as so many
firms have lately done with old servants who had given them their youth
and their manhood. No, the Lord will not cast off His people! Even to
gray hairs He is the same. This should bind us to Him. This should
quicken our pace in His service. This should make us eager and earnest
to show forth His praise.

Then notice how the Lord assures us in the next line, "O Israel, you
shall not be forgotten of Me." God cannot forget His chosen! You that
have Bibles with margins will find that it is also written there, "O
Israel, forget not Me." The Lord longs to be remembered by us. Did not
our loving Lord institute the sacred Supper to prevent our forgetting
Him! Oh hear Him at that table of fellowship tenderly saying, "Do not
forget Me!" Let us each one cry, "We will remember You!" Can you, O
heir of immortality, forget Him who died for you? Can you forget Him
that gives you eternal life? You who come forth from God's own love,
begotten unto a lively hope by the Father's Grace, you can not forget
Him by whom you live. Let us think of our Lord's memory of us and of
His desire that we should remember Him–and then let our love flame
forth.

Notice with delight the triumph of love, how He still pardons. "I have
blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud,
your sins." I have seen the clouds come hurrying up, driven by the
wind. They were black as night in the distance and, for a while, they
spread darkness around us. Soon, however, drops of rain have fallen,
for an April shower has come and the clouds, where were they? Not a
vestige remained! The clouds were blotted out, the sky was blue and all
things glittered in the sunlight as if hung with pearls! Thus our God
beholds our sins gathering like clouds. He cannot endure them–He
sweeps them away–no trace is left! "As far as the east is from the
west, so far has He removed

our transgressions from us." Child of God, your Lord forgives you! If
you are ashamed and confounded for all your shortcomings, He has put
them all away. Therefore return unto your God! Return to your first
love! Return to all your former joy and rise to a still higher joy!

See how our text closes with the Lord's own precept to be glad. "Sing,
O you heavens; for the Lord has done it: shout, you lower parts of the
earth: break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every
tree in it: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in
Israel." Out of all dejection, arise! Out of all sorrow, soar aloft!
There is more cause for gladness than for sorrow! What you have done
should cause distress of heart, but what the Lord has done is cause for
rapture! Heaven and earth help you to praise! The mountains join in
your music! The trees of the forest sing out in harmony with your
delight! Infinite love has drowned your sins! Almighty Grace restores
your wanderings! Eternal mercy establishes your goings! Oh for a
well-tuned harp! Oh to be taught some flaming sonnet of pure spirits
who are before the Throne of God!

Wait a while and be not weary. Love the Lord, here, and so prepare for
beholding Him above. Live after the manner which the whole theme
suggests. What manner of persons ought we to be who are so supremely
loved! To the glorious name of Jehovah, the God of Love, be Glory
forever and ever! Amen.