by J. C. Ryle
“I will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Let every believer grasp these words and store them up in his heart.
Keep them ready, and have them fresh in your memory; you will need them one day.
The Philistines will be upon you, the hand of sickness will lay you low, the king of terrors will draw near, the valley of the shadow of death will open up before your eyes.
Then comes the hour when you will find nothing so comforting as a text like this, nothing so cheering as a real sense of God’s companionship.
Stick to that word, “never”. It is worth its weight in gold. Cling to it as a drowning man clings to a rope. Grasp it firmly, as a soldier attacked on all sides grasps his sword. God has said, and He will stand to it, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”
NEVER! Though YOUR HEART be often faint, and you are sick of self, and your many failures and infirmities overwhelm you - even then the promise will not fail.
NEVER! Though THE DEVIL whispers, “I shall have you at last; yet a little time and your faith will fail, and you will be mine.” Even then the Word of God will stand.
NEVER! When the cold chill of DEATH is creeping over you, and friends can do no more, and you are starting on that journey from which there is no return-even then Christ will not forsake you.
NEVER! When the day of JUDGMENT comes, and the books are opened, and the dead are rising from their graves, and eternity is beginning- even then the promise will bear all your weight;
Christ will not leave His hold on your soul.
Oh believing reader, trust in the Lord for ever, for He says, “I will never leave you.”
Lean back all your weight upon Him, do not be afraid. Glory in His promise. Rejoice in the strength of your consolation.
You may say boldly, “The Lord is my Helper, I will not fear.”