A most sovereign antidote – Thomas Brooks

God is with His people to counsel them in all doubtful and difficult cases, and to defend and secure them against all their enemies and opposers. God’s presence is infinitely better than the presence of all outward comforts.

A sound sincere Christian can . . . never have enough power against sin, nor ever enough strength against temptation, nor ever enough weanedness from this world, nor ever enough ripeness for heaven, nor ever enough of the presence of the Lord.

The special presence of God with His people is a most sovereign antidote.

Troubles will be no troubles, distresses will be no distresses, dangers will be no dangers,  if the divine presence is with you.

Mountains will be molehills, stabs at the heart will be but as scratches upon the hand if the divine presence is with you.

God’s special presence will turn . . . storms into calms, winter nights into summer days, prisons into palaces, banishments into enlargements, weakness into strength, poverty into plenty, death into life.

Just so, while a Christian enjoys the singular presence of God with him, he will make nothing of this affliction and that affliction, of this trouble and that trouble, of this loss and that loss. God’s presence makes . . . heavy afflictions light, and long afflictions short, and bitter afflictions sweet.

A man in misery, without this gracious presence of God, is in a very hell on this side of hell. God’s gracious presence makes every condition to be a little heaven to the believing soul. There is nothing, there can be nothing, but heaven where God is specially present.

“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress!” Psalm 46:7

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1