THE TESTIMONY

 

OCTOBER 19

 

THE TESTIMONY
 
I have been young, and now am old;
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25
 
 
The aged are often tempted to believe
  that God will forsake them.
Their sins of omission stare them in the face;
  their lack of conformity to God's preceptive
  will rises up before them; and
  their many sins of commission appear
  set in array against them.

In consequence of this,
they have feared that God would withdraw,
and leave them entirely to themselves;
and at times they have been ready to 

  conclude that he has,
  so that they have cried,

Will the Lord cast off for ever?
  and will he be favourable no more? 
Is his mercy clean gone for ever?
  doth his promise fail for evermore? 
Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
  hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?
 

Did you ever, my aged friend,
  feel inclined to make use of such language as this?
Did your unbelief ever lead you to fear?
If you are a Christian, I know it has.
 

But you have lived long enough to see 

  the fallacy of all this.
You have never yet been forsaken.
No, nor you never will.

You have known many believers,
  you have seen them in deep trials,
  in strange conflicts, in peculiar difficulties;
  but did you ever see them forsaken?

You have perhaps thought at times,
  on account of the inconsistencies you
  have witnessed in them,
  that you should not wonder if they were.

But what Jeremiah testified of Israel
  has been true of them; it is a most blessed,
   a most encouraging passage.

For Israel hath not been forsaken,
  nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts;
  though their land was filled with sin
  against the Holy One of Israel. 
 

As you have never been forsaken yourself, and
  as you have never seen any of the
  Lord's true people forsaken,
  however tried and tempted,
  it is for you to bear your testimony,
  in order that God may be glorified, and
  poor tried believers comforted.
 

For the LORD will not forsake his people
  for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased
  the LORD to make you his people.   1 Samuel 12:22

 
JAMES SMITH 1869