“And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” — Genesis 32:12
When Jacob was on the other side of the brook Jabbok, and Esau was coming with armed men, he earnestly sought God’s protection, and as a master reason he pleaded, “And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” Oh, the force of that plea! He was holding God to His word — ”Thou saidst.” The attribute of God’s faithfulness is a splendid horn of the altar to lay hold upon; but the promise, which has in it the attribute and something more, is a yet mightier holdfast — ”Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good.” And has He said, and shall He not do it? “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” Shall not He be true? Shall He not keep His word? Shall not every word that cometh out of His lips stand fast and be fulfilled? Solomon, at the opening of the temple, used this same mighty plea. He pleaded with God to…
remember the word which He had spoken to his
father David, and to bless that place. When a man gives a promissory note,
his honour is engaged; he signs his hand, and he must discharge it when the
due time comes, or else he loses credit. It shall never be said that God
dishonours His bills. The credit of the Most High never was impeached,
and never shall be. He is punctual to the moment: He never is before His
time, but He never is behind it. Search God’s word through, and compare it
with the experience of God’s people, and you shall find the two tally from
the first to the last. Many a hoary patriarch has said with Joshua, “Not
one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake
concerning you; all are come to pass.” If you have a divine promise, you
need not plead it with an “if,” you may urge it with certainty. The Lord
meant to fulfil the promise, or He would not have given it. God does not
give His words merely to quiet us, and to keep us hopeful for awhile with
the intention of putting us off at last; but when He speaks, it is because He
means to do as He has said.
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Producer: Todd Adkins
Voice Artist: Ian Cullen