"O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Uphold me according unto thy word; and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 1 Ps. vii, 1. 2 Lam. iii, 59-62. 3 Ps. x, 14. 4 Ps. lxix, 12, 13. 5 Ps. lxxi, 10-12. 6 Ps. lxxiv, 22, 23, 10. 7 Ps. cxxiii, 1. 8 Ps. cxliii, 9. 9 Ps. cxix, 116, 117. God's assistance promised to his people. "Fear not; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. As thy days, so shall thy strength be. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Only be thou strong and very courageous; be not afraid, heither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, 'Fear not; I will help thee.' 5 Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.-"Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee. I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” 1 Gen. xv, 1. 2 Deut. xxxiii, 25. 5 Ex. xiv, 13, 14. 3 Josh. i, 5, 7, 9. 4 Is. xli, 13. 6 Is. xli, 11, 12, 14. ILLUSTRATION. Daniel protected in the lions' den. "It pleased king Darius to set over his kingdom an hundred and twenty princes; and over these, three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: because an excellent spirit was found in him. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, 'We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.' "Then they assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him; 6 King Darius, live for ever. We have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.' Wherefore king Darius signed the decree. "Now when Daniel knew that it was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. "Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Then they came near, and said before the king, 'That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast F signed, but maketh his petitions three times a day.' Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. But these men said unto him, 'Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is: That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.' "Then Darius commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake, and said unto Daniel, 'Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.' And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. "Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. And he arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice, and said, 'O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?' Then said Daniel unto the king, 'O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.' Then was Darius exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. "And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions; them, their children, and their wives. And the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den." 1 Dan. vi, 1-7, 9-24. Confidence in the help of God. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He hath said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee;' so that we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.' I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.-Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. "The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. "He delivereth and rescueth,-he delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.-In God have I put my trust I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.' 1 Rom. viii, 31. 2 Heb. xiii, 5, 6. 32 Cor. xii, 10. 4 Mic. vii, 8. more; ILLUSTRATION. Paul's account of his sufferings. "Paul, an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father), saith; 2Are others ministers of Christ? I am in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. "In Damascus, the governor under Aretas the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me. And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.-3But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God." 1 Gal. i, 1. 22 Cor. xi, 23-25, 32, 33, 26-28. 3 Acts xx, 24. |