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#3.
"I will not forsake thee."
pp. 101, 102
Whenever we hear the words, "I will not leave thee", we immediately add, if only
mentally, the words, "neither will I forsake thee". In one sense "leaving" and "forsaking"
have an almost synonymous meaning, and, indeed, the same original word is sometimes
rendered "leave" and sometimes "forsake". There are, however, one or two passages that
we ought not to omit from our study together, and we trust that the survey will minister
something of the joy of faith to any who may know something of what it means to be
forsaken here below.
At the dedication of the temple, Solomon blessed the Lord, saying:--
"Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that
He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised
by the hand of Moses His servant. The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our
fathers; let Him not leave us, nor forsake us" (I Kings 8: 56, 57).
The way in which Solomon links together the fulfillment of the promise with the plea,
"leave us not, neither forsake us", leads our thoughts back to the beginning of Israel's
history in the land, under Joshua:--
"As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee nor forsake thee . . .
And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts
and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord
your God spake concerning you: all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath
failed thereof" (Josh. 1: 5, 23: 14).
Let us notice one or two features that minister to the comfort of the believer.
(1) The fact that the Lord will not forsake His people is a pledge of their preservation:
"For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints: they are preserved for ever"
(Psa. 37: 28). Surely it must minister to our joy to realize that in spite of all the
opposition of the enemy, and of the betrayal of our own failings, the saints are not
forsaken, and their preservation is assured.
(2) The fact that the Lord will not forsake His people is a part of His great purpose of
grace: "For the Lord will not forsake His people for His great name's sake: because it
hath pleased the Lord to make you His people" (I Sam. 12: 22).
(3) The fact that the Lord will not forsake His people is because He is gracious and
merciful, and slow to anger:--
". . . . . in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but Thou art a
God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and
forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy