1315. God has Us in His Heart

God has Us in His Heart

"And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually" (Exo_28:29).

The high priest of Israel had the names of the tribes of Israel written upon the breastplate which he wore over his heart. The heart, of course, is the seat of affection and tender love. There, the breastplate was a type of God's loving care for His people.

What is true of Israel, is also true of the Church. "As a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings," even so would the Lord Jesus have gathered Israel. Under His wings was their safety. What a picture of the refuge which we too may find in the love and tender mercies of our Lord!

He hides us in the secret of His presence. "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence" (Psa_31:20). In the presence of the Lord there is an unapproachable light. We are hid in light, rather than in darkness. Our God is a God of tender compassion and of loving care. There are five things said of Him which are well worth everything to the believer.

1. He is "great in faithfulness." It is fresh every morning and renewed every evening. Again, "God is faithful, by Whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son" (1Co_1:9). The mother may forget her child, but our God will never forget His own. We may prove faithless, but He is faithful. He has us in His heart.

2. "He is endless in His love." "Having loved His own which were in the world He loved them unto the end" (Joh_13:1). There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Through tribulation and famine, through sword and pestilence, He loves us still.

3. He is tender in His mercies. Zachariah prophesied that John would give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins through the "tender mercy of God" (Luk_1:78). Let us not think of God as a master standing over His slaves with a whip. We are indeed His servants, but our Master is our Lord, our Lord is our Saviour, and our Saviour has us in His heart. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He is rich in mercy.

4. He is precious in His watchcare. "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. * * Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin" (Mat_6:26-28). If then God feeds the fowls and clothes the grass, why should we be anxious as to what we shall eat, or what we shall drink, or wherewith we shall be clothed? For our Heavenly Father knoweth that we have need of all these things. He watches over us and He will supply our need according to the riches of His grace. We need not worry about to-morrow, for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself. Our God will go before us and pick out the place where we shall pitch our tents. He will supply the manna for our sustenance. He will give us each day our daily bread. He has us in His watchcare.

5. He is gracious in pity. There is a wonderful passage in Psa_103:13 : "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." Our God is our Father. No father of our flesh ever cared for his children with a keener compassion, or a wiser leadership than our God cares for us. How we do like to shelter underneath those wonderful words "like as a Father." Such words are applicable only to those who are born again. As Jesus Christ delighted to speak of God as "Father," so we, who are in Christ, have access unto the Father and He is to us all that the father-heart is to his sons.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR