I. Because their God is a glorious God. There is no one like him, who is infinite in glory and excellency. He is the highest God, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, and doing wonders. His name is excellent in all the earth, and his glory is above the earth and the heavens. Among the gods there is none like unto him; there is none in heaven to be compared to him, nor are there any among the sons of the mighty that can be likened unto him. Their God is the fountain of all good, and an inexhaustible fountain; he is an all-sufficient God, able to protect and defend them, and do all things for them. He is the King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle: a strong rock, and a high tower. There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rideth on the heaven in their help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is their refuge, and underneath is everlasting arms. He is a God that hath all things in his hands and does whatsoever he pleases: he killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up; he maketh poor and maketh rich: the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s. Their God is an infinitely holy God; there is none holy as the Lord. And he is infinitely good and merciful. Many that others worship and serve as gods are cruel beings, spirits that seek the ruin of souls; but this is a God that delighted in mercy; his grace is infinite and endures forever. He is love itself, an infinite fountain and ocean of it.
Such a God is their God! Such is the excellency of Jacob! Such is the God of them who have forsaken their sins and are converted! They have made a wise choice and have chosen this for their God. They have made a happy exchange indeed, that have exchanged sin and the world for such a God!
They have an excellent and glorious Saviour, who is the only begotten Son of God; the brightness of his Father’s glory; one in whom God from eternity had infinite delight; a Saviour of infinite love; one that has shed his own blood and made his soul an offering for their sins, and one that is able to save them to the uttermost.
II. Their people are excellent and happy people. God has renewed them, and in stamped his own image upon them, and made them partakers of his holiness. They are more excellent than their neighbors, Prov. xii. 26. Yea, they are excellent of the earth, Psalm xvi. 3. They are lovely in the sight of the angels, and they have their souls adorned with those graces that in the sight of God himself are of great price.
The people of God are the most excellent and happy society
in the world. That God whom they have chosen for their God is their Father; he
has pardoned all their sins, and they are at peace with him, and he has admitted
them to all the privileges of his children. As they have devoted themselves to
God, so God has given himself to them. He is become their salvation and their
portion: his power and mercy and all his attributes are theirs. They are in a
safe state, free from all possibility of perishing: Satan has no power to
destroy them. God carries them on eagle’s wings, far above Satan’s reach, and
above the reach of all the enemies of their souls. God is with them in this
world; they have his gracious presence. God is for them; who then can be
against them? As the mountains are around Jerusalem, Jehovah is round
about them. God is their shield and their exceeding great reward, and their
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And they
have the divine promise and oath that in the world to come they shall dwell
forever in the glorious presence of God.
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