DECEMBER 5

"This man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land." MICAH 5:5

    THAT the Messiah is the person here intended, will not be denied by those who read the verses immediately preceding, and which speak so expressly of his incarnation and glory. The word man, indeed, as the italics apprize us, is not in the original. The sentence therefore reads,

    And this shall be the peace "this person of whom the prophet had been just speaking; He who was born as the ruler in Bethlehem, and whose goings forth were from everlasting: "He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God ; and then shall abide : for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth."  The translators, therefore, should rather have put in the word Ruler or Shepherd. Put whatever be the supplement, it all comes to the same, provided He himself be understood, who is all our salvation and all our desire. For this shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land."

    But who is this Assyrian ? The word cannot be taken literally. The Assyrians never entered Judea after the birth of Christ. It is therefore used metaphorically for some enemy ; nothing being more common than for the sacred writers to express, by the name of Egypt, Assyria, or Babylon, any significant adversary, as those powers had distinguished themselves by their hatred, oppression, and enslaving the Jews. The intimation, therefore, is better than if it had been more definite, as we may now include everything that annoys and alarms, everything that would injure or destroy. Be the case what it may, he is our principal, our only relief. he does not exempt us from trouble and conflict, but he affords us assistance, comfort, and deliverance. Storms may arise, but he is our strong-hold. Enemies may assail us, but he will give us victory at last, and even now keep our minds in perfect peace, being stayed on him.

    Let us think of several of these Assyrians, and see how, when they invade us and would swallow us up, He is our peace. Does the broken law of God threaten us? I say, the broken law of God : a man has nothing to fear from it when it is perfectly kept; for the man that doeth these things shall live in them. But the soul that sinneth it shall die. The curse enters through every breach of transgression. And who is not therefore exposed? Who can be so ignorant as to imagine that He has continued in all things written in the book of the law to do them? Now here is a condition to be in. The commandment coming, sin reviving, hope dying, and nothing expected but a certain fearful looking for of judgment. But He is our peace, who died for our offences, and rose again for our justification.

"Go, ye that rest upon the law,
And toil, and seek salvation there:
Look to the flames that Moses saw,
And fear and tremble and despair.

But I'll retire beneath the cross Saviour,
at thy dear feet I lie;
And the keen sword that justice draws,
Flaming and red, shall pass me by."

    Or does our adversary the devil terrify ? Oh, you say, when I think of his wiles and strength, and his successes for near six thousand years ; and when I consider myself, here is enough to fill me not only with dread, but despair. What am I to the powers of darkness ? No more than a "worm to a mountain." Well, be it so: the promise is, "Fear not, thou worm Jacob ; for thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small as the dust." In the Lord you have not only righteousness, but strength. Think of him, and take courage. In all these things you are more than conquerors, through him that loved you.

    Or do we complain of the sin that dwelleth in us? A Christian must feel this, and ought to feel it, and be deeply humbled before God on the account of it. Paul felt it, and felt it more than he felt all his sufferings. "0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" But where does he find relief? "I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." "He will save me from my sins; and not only from their dominion, but their very being. He has begun a good work in me, and he will finish it. My sanctification will be as complete as my justification now is. He is not only able to keep me from falling, but to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."

    Or do we consider the troubles of life? In accordance with this very case, he said to his disciples, In the world ye shall have tribulation ; but in me ye shall have peace. And they found it so, and could acknowledge, "As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." Modern Christians may not be called to suffer persecutions as they did, but they may be the subjects of personal and relative trials, which require the same support and solace ; and they equally belong to him, and are never dearer to his heart than in the hour of affliction, and he will not leave them comfortless. Is it nothing to know that he has removed every thing penal from thy sufferings ; that he will never leave thee, nor forsake thee ; that his grace shall be sufficient for thee ; and that all thy sorrows shall yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness?

    But death ! Death is called the king of terrors. Who can wonder that we should feel at the approach of it? And where would be the triumph of faith, if we did not? But it is possible to rise above this enemy. We know it from Scripture; we know it from observation. And whence comes the victory? Persons may die insensibly, or they may banish the subject from their minds ; but if a man thinks of it, and thinks of it properly, there is only one relief when this Assyrian approaches us. It is to see Him that has," abolished death." It is to hear him saying, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and he that liveth and believeth in me, shall never die."

    And this is not all. The enemy is not only disarmed by him, but turned into a friend. The curse is converted into a blessing. To die is gain ; and gain too, generally in the experience, as well as always in the result. Well therefore could David say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

    Behold the Consolation of Israel. Whatever would dismay us, let as look towards him, and say, This same shall comfort us." Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

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