On Thy Name
” The name of the Lord is a strong To-wer; the Righteoua runneth into it, and is safe.” — Prov. xviii. 10.
Strong indeed! “Salvation is for walls and for bulwarks.” Every attribute of Godhead is such a tower — every perfection such a Bulwark — all combined to insure the Believer’s everlasting security.
My soul! “walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark well her bulwarks, consider her palaces!” Mark the strong Tower of Omnipotence! It proclaims that Almightiness is on thy side — - that there is ONE with thee and for thee, boundless in His resources, greater far than all that can be against thee!
Mark the strong tower of Unchangeableness! All earthlj fabrics are tottering and crumbling around thee — the dearest of all thine earthly refuges has written on it the doom of the dust. But, sheltered here, thou canst gaze unawed on all the fitful changes of life, and exult in an unchanging God!
Mark the strong Tower of Wisdom! When dealings are dark, and chastisements mysterious, dost thou know what it is to retire within this fortress, and to be reminded that all, all that befalls thee, is the planning of unerring rectitude and faithfulness? — to see inscribed on the chamber- walls, “The only Wise God!”
Mark the strong Tower oiLove! When the hurricane has been fierce — thy heart breaking with new trials — the past dark — the future a dreary waste — no lull in the storm — no light in the clouds — oh! is it no comfort to thee to retire into this most hallowed of bulwarks, and read the living motto — emblazoned on its every turret — “God is love!”
My soul! art thou safe in this impregnable
I fortress? Hast thou entered within the gate? Kemember, it is not to be “near the city, but m it. ISTot to know about Christ, but to “win Him, and be found in Him!” One footstep without, and the Avenger of blood can cut thee down!
“Turn, then, to the stronghold as a “prisoner of hope!” Once, these were colossal walls to exclude. low, they are unassailable barriers to protect — a citadel where His saints are “kept” by the power of God. Every portal is open; and the God of Mercy issues the gracious proclamation, — “Come, my people, enter into thy chambers!”
How safe — how happy here! “If there be tossing and doubting, it is the heaving of a ship at anchor — not the dashing on the rocks.” — (Evans.) In God! “There is, in this,” says President Edwards, speaking of the same blessed truth, “secured to me, as it were, a calm, sweet cast, or appearance, of glory in almost everything.” “We can hear, amid the surges of life, a voice high above the storm — the Name of the Lord — “It is //” ‘’ It is //” remarks Bishop Hall, “were as much as a hundred names. It is I! — 1 1 your Lord and Master. I! the Commander of winds and waters. I! the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth. I! the God of Spirits. Let Heaven be but as one Scroll, and let it be written all over with titles — they cannot express more than — It is I! Oh, sweet and seasonable word of a gracious Saviour! — able to calm all tempests — able to revive all hearts — say but so to my Soul, and I am safe!”
I WILL BOTH LAY ME DOWN IN PEACE AND SLEEP; FOB THOU, LORD, ONLY MAKEST ME DWELL IN SAFETY