Zechariah 8:7-8. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
Mark God’s emphatic language, how full it is of "shalls" and "wills." "I will," and "they shall," saith he, again and again; and if God saith, "I will," who shall dare to say that it shall not be? What God declareth shall certainly come to pass. Surely this is golden language of comfort to those who are bowed down; then, how great must be the sinfulness of that unbelief which dares to despair when God says "shall" and "will"! That one sentence in the eighth verse contains the whole gospel in two short sentences: "They shall be my people, and I will be their God." This is the tenor of the covenant of grace. There is no "if," nor "but," nor "peradventure" in it, God does not say, "I will be their God if they will be my people;" nor, "I will love them if they will keep my laws." That is the old covenant of works, which has been broken for ever; but the covenant of grace runs thus, "They shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."
Zechariah 8:7-8. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
Mark God’s emphatic language, how full it is of "shalls" and "wills." "I will," and "they shall," saith he, again and again; and if God saith, "I will," who shall dare to say that it shall not be? What God declareth shall certainly come to pass. Surely this is golden language of comfort to those who are bowed down; then, how great must be the sinfulness of that unbelief which dares to despair when God says "shall" and "will"! That one sentence in the eighth verse contains the whole gospel in two short sentences: "They shall be my people, and I will be their God." This is the tenor of the covenant of grace. There is no "if," nor "but," nor "peradventure" in it, God does not say, "I will be their God if they will be my people;" nor, "I will love them if they will keep my laws." That is the old covenant of works, which has been broken for ever; but the covenant of grace runs thus, "They shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."