In 1 Samuel 7, Israel had been suffering under the oppression of the neighboring Philistines for 20 years. Led by the prophet Samuel, they gathered in the wilderness of Mizpah to cry out to the LORD in repentance, asking Him to deliver. And did He ever!
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up… and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now (or “hitherto”) the LORD has helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:12)
Preaching to his congregation from this text, Charles Spurgeon urged them to follow in their footsteps of gratitude and faith in God’s future grace.
It is certainly a delightful thing to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints. But, beloved, would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of his truth, as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before?
Let us review, I say, our own diaries. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the Divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? The God that spoke to Abraham at Mamre, hath he never spoken to you? The angel that wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, hath he never wrestled with you? He that stood in the fiery furnace with the three holy children, hath he never trodden the coals at your side?
O beloved, forget not these manifestations; fail not to rejoice in them. Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters? Surely, beloved, the goodness of the God of old has been repeated unto us.
I beg you, therefore, dear friends, for a little time this morning, to fix your thoughts upon your God in connection with yourselves; and, while we think of Samuel piling the stones and saying, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,” let us lay the emphasis upon the last word and say, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped US.” And if you can put it in the singular, and say, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped ME,” so much the better.
This Sunday we will hear two “hitherto” stories from members of our own Grace family, Steve & Jenny Earle and Paul & Kym Gusiff.
As they reflect on the ways God’s grace has brought them (and continues to bring them) through, may it spark our own reflections of God’s faithfulness and grace to us through the years, increasing our faith in His future grace.
See you Sunday, Grace. Come hungry!
Song of the Week
Forever by Chris Tomlin
From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God we will carry on
His love endures forever