xix. 18-20. _In that day shall five cities, &c._
+I. God is able to raise up monuments and trophies of His grace in
the most unlikely places+ (vers. 18, 19). For the historical
fulfilments of these predictions, see the ordinary commentaries. They
should teach us not to despair of the progress of religion in the
most unlikely _places,_ the most unlikely _times,_ among the most
unlikely _persons._ The grace of God is able to subdue the hardest
hearts, to enlighten the darkest minds, to convert the most guilty
natures, to cast out Satan where his power seems strongest and his
interest most secure. Despair not of your own salvation (H. E. I.,
2376), of the salvation of those dear to you, of the final triumph of
the cause of truth (H. E. I., 979, 1166-1168). But recollect that all
that has been done has been done by the use of appropriate means: the
altar to God in Egypt was built by human hands, the Ark was not built
by miracle but by means; all the triumphs we anticipate are to be
achieved by the diffusion of Divine truth, by the prayers and efforts
of the Church. What effort are _you_ making?
+II. God often overrules the trials of life to produce a spirit of
prayer, and to bring men to Himself.+ _"They shall cry unto the Lord
because of their oppressors."_[1]
+III. It is God's prerogative to raise up a Saviour+ (ver. 20).
Whatever comforts or deliverances you have had through the medium of
creatures, the hand of God is to be pre-eminently acknowledged in
them all. Spiritually we need a great Saviour, and God has provided
one equal to the emergency of the case. Our guilt is very great, our
danger very threatening, our enemies very powerful, our ruin very
awful, but help is laid on One that is mighty. The greatness of
Christ as a Saviour appears from the essential dignity of His nature
(Heb. i. 1), from the certain efficacy of His atonement (Heb.
vii. 25), from the countless number of the redeemed (Rev. vii. 9),
from the completeness of the salvation He imparts (1 Cor.
i. 30).--_Samuel Thodey._