Great Is Thy Faithfulness預覽

THE SAINT’S HIDING PLACE

In preparing this, I researched what past writers have said about the faithfulness of God. Our greatest theologians and preachers have pondered this subject for centuries. In the 1600s, for example, a Puritan named Richard Sibbes wrote a classic sermon on God’s faithfulness, which he titled “The Saint’s Hiding Place in the Evil Day.”

Since it was written four hundred years ago, I’ve taken the liberty of paraphrasing a portion of his message for modern readers.

I now want to speak about the quality of God that should move us to trust in Him, namely, that He is a faithful Creator— faithful in His nature, in His Word, and in His works. Whenever you read a promise in the Bible, you can say about it: “This is a faithful saying.”

Considering, therefore, that God is so faithful, let us make special use of it. Treasure up all the promises you can of the forgiveness of sins, of protection and preservation, that He will never leave us, but be our God to death—and then consider that He is faithful in performing the same. And in every promise, single out what best suits your present condition. If you are in any great distress, think upon the mighty power of God. If you are perplexed about your directions, single out the attribute of God’s wisdom and ask Him to teach you the way to go. If you are wronged, fly to His justice and say, “O God, to whom vengeance belongs, hear and help Your servant.” When you are disappointed in another, retire to God and to His promises, and build upon this—that God will not fail to do anything that may do you good. God’s faithfulness will never disappoint you.

You will always find in God something to support your soul in the greatest extremity that can befall you. The more we discover God is faithful, the more faithful we will be in trusting Him. We should make it a continual act, every day of our lives, to commit all we have to the Lord’s disposal, and to see how He discharges that trust committed to Him upon all occasions . . . how faithful He is in delivering us in our greatest extremities and in our worst times.

Sibbes’s main point remains applicable today: in stormy times we hide ourselves in the faithfulness of God until the weather changes. He didn’t use Psalm 138:1–2 as his primary text, but his message perfectly reflects the theme of those verses. Psalm 138 is ascribed to David, and it’s a song of praise about God’s faithfulness—the saint’s hiding place in difficult days.

He doesn’t always keep us from trouble, but He preserves us in trouble. God’s presence and assistance to support His children in trouble is invincible. –Richard Sibbes