Edom's princes saw the whole country left desolate and counted it as good as conquered. Easy prey! But there was one great difficulty in their way—quite unknown to them—"The Lord was there." And in his presence lay the special security of the chosen land.

Whatever schemes and devices the enemies of God's people may hatch, they crash against this same effectual barrier. The saints are God's heritage. He dwells in their midst. He will protect his own.

What comfort this assurance brings in our troubles and spiritual conflicts! We are constantly opposed, and yet perpetually preserved! How often Satan shoots his arrows against our faith! But our faith defies the power of hell's fiery darts. They are not only turned aside—they are quenched upon its shield. Why? "The Lord is there."

Our good works are the subjects of Satan's attacks. Listen: A saint never yet had a virtue or a grace which was not the target for hellish bullets. Whether it be hope bright and sparkling, or love warm and fervent, or patience all-enduring, or zeal flaming like coals of fire—the old enemy of everything good has tried to destroy it. The only reason why anything virtuous or lovely survives in us is this: "The Lord is there."

If the Lord be with us through life, we need not fear our dying confidence. When we come to die, we shall find that "the Lord is there." Where the billows are most tempestuous and the water most chill, we shall feel the bottom and know that it is good. Our feet shall stand upon the Rock of Ages when time is passing away.

Beloved, from the first of a Christian's life to the last, the only reason he does not perish is because "the Lord is there." When the God of everlasting love shall change and leave his elect to perish, then may the Church of God be destroyed—but not till then, because it is written, Jehovah Shammah, "The Lord is there."