The Father’s Love And Care For His People

Edward Samuel | Added: Apr 07, 2025 | Category: Theology

God the Father being our God and our Father in the everlasting covenant of grace, He is ours with all His attributes; He is ours with all that belong to Him. The mercy of God, which is a glorious attribute, is engaged on the behalf of His dear children. Mercy is the tender compassion of a covenant-God toward His children. Not only the fruits of His mercy, but His very heart is towards them. Hence the mercies of God are through Scriptures frequently styled His bowels; ‘Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, or thy bowels of mercy (Psalm 25:6; 51:1). And, in the New Testament; ‘through the bowels of the mercy of our God’ (Luke 1:78). I am not speaking of the absolute mercy of God, but of covenant mercy, which the Father manifests to His children in and through a precious Christ. Pardon of sin is the fruit and effect of His mercy. God the Father delights in pardoning the sins of His people, to pass by transgressions, to blot out iniquity, and never to remember their sins any more. This attribute is His great glory and delight, and the only life and hope of His dear children. There is a height, depth, length, and breadth in this covenant mercy. It pardons many great and heinous sins. It is everlasting and endures forever. O what comfort, joy, rest, and settling of soul does this afford to the family of heaven! When mercy, through the atoning sacrifice, pardons the sins of God’s people, their consciences are at rest, their bleeding wounds are healed, and their broken bones are bound up. ‘Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee’, says the Lord of mercy. When these words are spoken by the power of God, the Eternal Spirit, to living souls, then confidence of access to God is felt, and an assurance of salvation is produced within. If God is our God, mercy is also ours (Hebrews 8:10-12; Jeremiah 33:8; Micah 7:19, 20). God the Father will forgive the sins of all His children, though the sins of others are sealed up, and stand in record against their souls (Ezekiel 36:25; Luke 7:42; Ezekiel 18:22; Jeremiah 31:20).

The children of God are interested in the holiness of their heavenly Father. Holiness is the glory of His dear children. Hence the Spirit of grace is also called the Spirit of holiness. They who are styled holy, are also styled ‘the glory’ (Isaiah 4:3-5). Holiness is necessary to glory, to that glory which shall be revealed; it is a preparation for it, for ‘without holiness no man shall see the Lord’. It is essential for our present communion with God; ‘what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?’ It is a sure pledge of future glory. It is the distinguishing character of the people of God; they are a holy priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people. The remnant in Jerusalem shall be called holy. They are the holy temple of God. God the Father being a holy God, he will make all His children holy. He has given Christ to them, who is their sanctification; and He gives them His Holy Spirit and grace which is their internal holiness. This holiness He will increase by increasing their graces, and He will preserve them in holiness ‘to the end that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints’. God loves and takes delight in His people because of this holiness, for it is His own image in them, and finally he will crown their holiness with glory.

The children of God are interested in the omniscience of God. They derive great comfort from the fact that their heavenly Father knows them. ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his’; He knows the integrity of their hearts: He knows all their wants and their distresses, all their desires, prayers, and tears, and all their works and sufferings. This knowledge is a knowledge of approbation. ‘The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous’, that is, He approves of their ways. It is a knowledge that is compassionate, ‘I have surely seen the afflictions of my people, I know their sorrow’. ‘The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble’, and He ‘knoweth them that trust in him’. God has a perfect knowledge of all His children’s enemies, He knows the enmity of their hearts, their counsels and devices against His people, and defeats their counsels, frustrates their devices, and ultimately will destroy them. God knows His people and they shall know Him, ‘They shall all know me, saith the Lord’. The children of God are interested in His wisdom. By His wisdom He rules and overrules all for the good of His children. Sometimes they abound, at other times they are in want, sometimes they are in honour, at other times in dishonour; sometimes they enjoy the good things of time, at other times they suffer loss; sometimes afflictions and crosses, but all these, infinite wisdom will cause to work together for their good. The tempest and the calm, the winter and the summer, all that befalls them, shall advance the good of their souls. He will proportion all their trials, temptations, and afflictions, and will find means and ways to deliver His children out of all their troubles. He will make them wise unto salvation, wise in their walk and conversation, wise stewards, wise virgins, wise to know the day of their visitation, to redeem the time, to remember their latter end, to choose the better part and the best paths; to look forward for a solemn eternity, to prefer spiritual things to temporal, and to make sure of Christ and glory.

The dear children of God are interested in the omnipotence of their heavenly Father. The omnipotence of Jehovah is manifested in the creation of the world out of nothing, in the sustentation of the whole world, the guidance of every creature in every motion, in the wonderful works wrought by Him in the world, exceeding all created power, and especially in the production of the human nature of Christ. This is a glorious fountain of comfort and consolation. They may cast all their care upon Him for soul and body. Though their wants may be many, great, and frequent, omnipotence is able to supply them all. The Apostle says, ‘He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think’. The children of God ask many things, think of, and need many things, and their heavenly Father is able to supply all, yea, exceed even all their thoughts; His power exceeds all their wants. In some things we may be supplied by our friends, but spiritual wants exceed all the powers of creatures, but not the power of God. Do the children of God need knowledge, wisdom, mercy, grace, comfort, strength, deliverance, faith, patience, love, meekness, joy, peace, friends, and houses, food and raiment &c.? Their heavenly Father is able to supply them with all these. All things that are possible, yea, and that are impossible for the creature, God can supply. The children of Israel being in bondage, they wanted liberty, and God gave it them. At the Red Sea they wanted salvation, and He gave it them. In the wilderness they wanted water, the rock is smitten and water is given. They wanted bread, and God rained down manna; and they wanted flesh, and God sent them quails, &c. Such a Friend is God to His children, who can perform all things for them, who has power to help them against all temptations, against all corruptions, help them in all afflictions, and in all necessities, yea, and all extremities. His help alone is sufficient for them, they need none but their God to do them good. No creature can do them good without God, but God can dispense with all creatures, and do them good Himself. When God is determined to do His children good, none can hinder Him. ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure’. ‘Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the balance’. ‘All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity’. Beloved, your omnipotent God is more than a match for all your enemies, let them be men or devils. ‘Behold he taketh up the isles as a very little thing, he weigheth the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance!’ ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’

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