January 24 PM

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Isaiah 40:1.

(1st.) Who are the people of God? “I am of that number,” saith one; “for I feel my heart is full of comfort, as ever it can hold.” It may be so. Then, this text is not for thee. But it will do thee no harm to examine into the nature of thy comforts, the tendency of them, and how thou contest by them. Saith another, “I am sure I cannot think myself one of the people of God.” Why not? “Because, instead of the comforts of God’s children, I have continual sorrows and conflicts, am oppressed by Satan, harassed with temptations, groan under a body of sin and death, and dread, after all, that I shall perish in my sins, through unbelief. Thou art the very person, one of the happy number of the Lord’s people, of whom he here speaks. He describes his people as poor and afflicted, who trusted in his name. (Zeph. 3:12.) What is his holy and blessed will concerning you? Why, (2d.) That you should be comforted. He knows your sorrows, He sees you want comfort. He, therefore, commands it to be administered unto you. This is a commission, peculiarly directed to the Lord’s ministers. I am not honoured with that high calling; yet the Lord may graciously condescend to administer comfort, by means of so weak and mean an instrument as I. For St. Paul says to private Christians, “Comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:18.) Therefore, it is our duty. The Lord succeed us in it! Mind then, thou poor sorrowful sinner, who art afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted: behold, thy Lord is mindful of thee. Take notice of the love of his heart; the sounding of his bowels over thee; and the vehemence with which he speaks concerning thee—Comfort, comfort. Thou hast sorrow upon sorrow in thyself. Here is comfort upon comfort from thy Lord. He is the God of all comforts. He would have thy soul to be comforted. Nay, look not within to find any cause why thy Lord should have such love to thee, or concern for thee. The cause lies in his own loving heart. He freely gave his Son for thee; he freely promises his Spirit to thee; he commands comforts, comforts to be spoken to thee. Now, wilt thou go and indulge thy besetting sin of unbelief, and say, after all this, “My Lord careth not for me; he hath forgotten to be gracious unto me?” O! rather bring that bosom-sin of unbelief to thy Lord. Beg of him to slay its power, that it dishonour him no more by disbelieving his precious word. For he saith, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion upon the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee.” (Isa. 49:15.)