God the Comforter.
"I, even I, am he that comforteth you." All depends upon who it is that comforts us in the great crises of life. We are so apt to lean on those that excuse our weaknesses and comfort us in our sins.
I. GOD HIMSELF IS A COMFORTER. This is his nature. There is emphasis in it. "I even I"—the Lord of hosts; the God of whom it is said, "There is nothing too hard for the Lord." We gain comfort when we gain confidence. It is faithlessness that makes us feeble. Let us read the revelation of what God is, and study the history of what God has done for his saints in every age, and we shall find comfort.
II. MAN AT THE BEST IS BUT MAN. Why be afraid of him? Study yourself, your failings, timorousness, and frailty, and be sure that your brother man is just like this.
1. We are unreasonably afraid of men. Their power is limited. Their pretension is greater than their power. Do not be deceived by appearances.
2. We are the subjects of forgetfulness. "Man shall be made as grass!" We cannot have a better image of the feebleness of human strength. We think too much of man, and forget the Lord our Maker. Look at the heavens.. Look at the foundations of the earth. What can shake what God upholds? "Where is the fury of the oppressor?" Ask Pharaoh; and be at rest.—W.M.S.