Habakkuk 3:19

REFLECTIONS

HAIL! thou Almighty Lord Jesus! do I not behold thee in this precious scripture, set forth as the great Saviour and Redeemer of thy Church and people? Truly, Lord, thy goings forth have been, in this divine character, from everlasting. Before the earth was formed; yea, before thou hadst gone forth in any acts of creation, thou didst stand up at the call of thy Father, thy Church's glorious head and husband, from all eternity. And until the fulness of time appointed in the counsel of peace arrived, what were all the manifestations in the Old Testament Church, but tokens how ardently thou didst long openly to come and tabernacle in our nature, for the redemption of thy people. Didst thou reveal thyself to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob; didst thou call Moses at the bush, and go before thy Church, when bringing the Church out of Egypt; didst thou give the law at Sinai, and make the inhabitants of Palestina and Midian to tremble; what, dearest Jesus, what were all these, and numberless other revelations of thyself, but to testify how assuredly thou wert come forth for the salvation of thy people. And what is it now, O Lord, now thou hast finished redemption work, and art returned to glory, but every day, and all the day, renewed manifestations of the same, that Jesus will bring home his ransomed ones finally, fully, and completely; that where he is, there they shall be also. Hail then, thou glorious, gracious, great I AM; the visible Jehovah of thy Church and people! Oh! grant, that like thy servant the Prophet, whether fig-trees blossom or withhold their fruit; whether the olives fail, or fields yield their meat; Jesus lives and loves, and will live and love forever. He is a rock, his work his perfect: and He is the rock of my salvation. Farewell Habakkuk! thy God is my God; and He is the horn of his people. Blessed be the Lord for this sweet ministry of thine; and blessed be thy labours. Above all blessed, blessed forever be the God of all mercies in Jesus Christ. Amen.