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(2) "I will not leave thee" is also implicit in the fact that we so belong to the God of
our Salvation, that we are called by His name:
"O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy Name's sake: for our
backslidings are many; we have sinned against Thee. O the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in
time of trouble, why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that
turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest Thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man
that cannot save? Yet Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by Thy Name:
leave us not" (Jer. 14:7-9).
The context of this passage is one of terrible retribution. Not until Daniel, in is prayer of
the ninth chapter, pleads for the city "which is called by Thy name...and They people
(that) are called by Thy name" (Dan.9:18, 19) does an answer of peace come.
Nevertheless, in spite of the long wait of 70 years, the prayer was heard. We are called by
His name; He has called us by our name, and we can confidently put up the plea: "We are
called by Thy name: leave us not".
(3) "I will not leave thee" is implied in the promises of God:
"And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
keep thee in all places whither though goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will
not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (Gen.28:15)
Here is a ground of strong confidence. "I am with thee"; I will keep thee"; "I will
bring thee" are all implied in the words: "For I will not leave thee until..."
(4) "I will not leave thee" is our strength in the conflict and our pledge of victory:
"Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He it is
that doth go with thee, He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Deut. 31:16).
"I will not forsake thee"
Whenever we hear the words, "I will not leave thee", we immediately add, if only
mentally, the words, "neither will I forsake thee". In on 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" (1 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: