Spurgeon: August PM
* 08/21/PM
"I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain."
--Isaiah 45:19
We may gain much solace by considering what God has not
said. What He has said is inexpressibly full of comfort and
delight; what He has not said is scarcely less rich in
consolation. It was one of these " said nots " which preserved
the kingdom of Israel in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash,
for "the Lord said not that He would blot out the name of Israel
from under heaven." 2 Kings 14:27. In our text we have an
assurance that God will answer prayer, because He hath " not
said unto the seed of Israel, Seek ye Me in vain." You who write
bitter things against yourselves should remember that, let your
doubts and fears say what they will, if God has not cut you
off from mercy, there is no room for despair: even the voice of
conscience is of little weight if it be not seconded by the
voice of God. What God has said, tremble at! But suffer not
your vain imaginings to overwhelm you with despondency and
sinful despair. Many timid persons have been vexed by the
suspicion that there may be something in God's decree which
shuts them out from hope, but here is a complete refutation to
that troublesome fear, for no true seeker can be decreed to
wrath. "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the
earth; I have not said," even in the secret of my unsearchable
decree, "Seek ye Me in vain." God has clearly revealed that He
will hear the prayer of those who call upon Him, and that
declaration cannot be contravened. He has so firmly, so
truthfully, so righteously spoken, that there can be no room for
doubt. He does not reveal His mind in unintelligible words, but
He speaks plainly and positively, "Ask, and ye shall receive."
Believe, O trembler, this sure truth--that prayer must and shall
be heard, and that never, even in the secrets of eternity, has
the Lord said unto any living soul, "Seek ye Me in vain."