--Habakkuk 3:6
What He hath done at one time, He will do yet again. Man's ways
are variable, but God's ways are everlasting. There are many reasons
for this most comforting truth: among them are the following--the
Lord's ways are the result of wise deliberation; He ordereth all
things according to the counsel of His own will. Human action is
frequently the hasty result of passion, or fear, and is followed by
regret and alteration; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise,
or happen otherwise than He has foreseen. His ways are the outgrowth
of an immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled
attributes of God are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One
Himself can undergo change, His ways, which are Himself in action,
must remain for ever the same. Is He eternally just, gracious,
faithful, wise, tender?--then His ways must ever be distinguished for
the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: when
those natures change, their conduct varies also; but since God cannot
know the shadow of a turning, His ways will abide everlastingly the
same. Moreover there is no reason from without which could reverse
the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might.
The earth is said, by the prophet, to be cleft with rivers, mountains
tremble, the deep lifts up its hands, and sun and moon stand still,
when Jehovah marches forth for the salvation of His people. Who can
stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou? But it is not might
alone which gives stability; God's ways are the manifestation of the
eternal principles of right, and therefore can never pass away. Wrong
breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good have about
them a vitality which ages cannot diminish.
This morning let us go to our heavenly Father with confidence,
remembering that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever, and in Him the Lord is ever gracious to His people.
