God our Comforter.
It is the province of the teacher to instruct, of the father to direct, of the elder brother to lead, and of the mother to console. She is the comforter of the troubled heart. God, as revealed in Jesus Christ, is to us all of these in one. Like as a mother comforts her children, he comforts us.
I. AS TENDERLY AS SHE. In a way so gracious and considerate that one who had received much of his healing ministry could write—
"Oh, 'tis a blessed thing for me
To need thy tenderness!"
II. AS UNFAILINGLY AS SHE. No child feels that the number of times he (or she) has come before us is any reason for doubting the welcome that ha will receive if he comes again. There is an inexhaustible supply of sympathy in that pitying heart.
III. AS EFFECTUALLY AS SHE. The true mother knows in what way to comfort, whether in silence, or by speech, or by action. God, who knows our hearts as even a parent does not, will adapt his comforts to our natures and our necessities.—C.