I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE,NOR FORSAKE THEE
Based on a Sermonpreached in PCC morning Worship Service on 22 July 2001, by Ps Jeff O’Neil

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such thingsas ye have:
for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
(Hebrews 13:5)

I once saw a van, which had an advertisement on its sides. It read: “A promiseis nothing until it is delivered.” I thought, “That’s a good point!” But onmature consideration, I realise that it is suitable for business and for theworld, but cannot be applied to God. “Faithful is he,” declares the ApostlePaul. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that heshould repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shallhe not make it good?” (Num 23:19).

Here in our text is a precious promise, a great and exceeding precious promise!And it is the design of the Apostle, throughout this epistle, to fortify andstrengthen these Hebrew Christians against apostatising from the faith, and toencourage them to bear up under pressures and persecution from their fellowcountry men.

They had “endured a great fight of afflictions” (Heb 10:32). They were “agazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions” (Heb 10:33), and even “tookjoyfully to the spoiling of [their] goods” (Heb 10:34).

He exhorts them to “the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Heb12:12); and to have patience (Heb 10:36); and to “be content with such thingsas [they] have…” (Heb 13:5). They were not to be covetous, but content for Hewould never leave them. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6),teaches the Apostle Paul. And he says that, not only by precept but by example,for as he makes clear: “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewithto be content” (Phil 4:11). The Christian through Christ can do what Adam orthe angels could not. Adam was in paradise and yet was not content. Fallenangels were in heaven, and yet not contented.

In their circumstances, they needed to realise an important truth and promise:“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Subjects of the Promise

And the Apostle takes this promise from the Old Testament where it is repeatedseveral times. It was spoken by Moses to the people of Israel (see Deuteronomy31:6). It was spoken by David to Solomon (see 1 Chronicles 28:20). It wasspoken by God to the Church (see Isaiah 41:10–13). Here the Apostle applies itparticularly and pertinently to these New Testament Hebrew Christians, and thatis a great comfort! For God had given this promise originally to Joshua (Jos1:5). But he lifts it out of the past and applies it directly to New TestamentChristians, thus showing that all the promises are for the Church of all agesand for individuals. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in himAmen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Cor 1:20).

We should have no reluctance then, to appropriate this sweet promise toourselves in our circumstances. It is relevant at all times,and to all times! When Joshua had to take over leadership andgo into the Promised Land, not really knowing what the future held, God assuredhim: “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thylife: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, norforsake thee” (Jos 1:5).

But the fact that the Hebrews had different circumstances to Joshua and yetwere given the same promise, gives us the right and privilege to use it in ourindividual situations.

Whatever your particular problem, anxiety, uncertain future, or whether theproblem you are carrying is physical, mental or spiritual, this promise is foryou!

You may be frightened of the future; you may be wrestling with family problems;you may be hiding a malady of body or soul,—whatever your secret trial andburden,—this promise is for you!

Whether you are living in anticipation of your circumstances, or battling inthe middle of it right now, God has promised to be alongside you. “[He] willnot leave you comfortless.”

Did not the three young men suffer for their uncompromising faith when theywere thrown into the fiery furnace? What a trial it must have been for them?But did they not find, in the midst of their experience, that one walked withthem whose form was like unto the Son of God (Dan 3:25)?

Did not two of the Lord’s disciples walk on the road to Emmaus, downcast andsad at the death of their Lord? Did they not find their hearts strangely warmed(Lk 24:32) when the Lord Himself drew near and walked with them?

Did not the Church, in the wilderness experience, find the “angel of hispresence” going with them and that “In all their affliction he was afflicted”(Isa 63:9)? If so, the Church in the New Testament can expect the same presencewith her!

Was it not a great promise He left us when He departed this world: “lo, I amwith you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Mt 28:20)? Did not the ApostleJohn say of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Having loved his own which were in theworld, he loved them unto the end” (Jn 13:1)?

So then, He cannot leave nor forsake us. He is bound not only by His eternallove, but by His own promise, and He is debtor to His own faithfulness.

Character of He Who Promised

Who said this? Our text says: “For he hath said,” quoting the words of the Lordto Joshua. And I am told that this expression is peculiarly emphatic. Noticethat it is not Moses, or another prophet, but He has said: the infinite, allwise, omnipotent one has promised!

We look to a promiser and assess whether he has the intention, or resolve, orthe ability, to fulfil his promise, but Paul stresses, “He hath said.” Hisresources are limitless; His power unlimited; His immutabilityeternal,—unchanging in purpose, in being, and in ability. “Jesus Christ thesame yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8).

The Immutable has said: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Content of Promise

What has He said? In this glorious promise, we have a twofold pledge, whichguarantees divine presence and divine assistance.

In the first place, “He will never leave thee,” literally means “He will neversend thee back!” That is, He will never go on without you, that you are leftalone. God has pledged His presence every step of the way. The task and futureahead of Moses were immense, but God said, “My presence shall go with thee, andI will give thee rest” (Ex 33:14; cf. Isa 63:9).

A child will say to his mother, perhaps in darkness, or in sickness, or introuble: “Don’t leave me, ma ma.” And Christians can be fearful when indistress, of faith and emotions, but God says: “My child, I will never leavethee nor forsake thee.”

In the second place, “Nor forsake thee,” means “never leave you down in.”Whatever circumstance, you will find yourself in, “I will never leave you down:You will have my divine assistance.” Friends, or even family, will leave usdown when we most need help, but He assures us: “I am not like that, I will notleave you to fend for yourself, I will never forsake you.”

And faith must lay hold of that promise. When you are passing through a tryingtime; or circumstances appear as a mountain before you; or the outlook seemsbleak, faith, the hand of faith, is to grasp it and make it your own. Swinnocksays it well: “Faith and prayer will at the last, like a skilful midwife, deliverthe promises safely.”

I have found that every Christian carries a private burden, an anxiety thatthey do not share with others save someone they can unburden to. At a recentconference this was confirmed to me when talking one to one with Christiansthere: Everyone had a cross to carry! Behind the public face there is aheartache or an anguish, or something that seems so insurmountable.

Behind the cheerful conference fellowship, there were walking problems! And allcongregations are like that, no doubt this one. But I want to urge you, in theloneliness of your condition, to trust in the sincerity and faithfulness ofthis particular saying: God means it, you take it! God knows what is best foryou.

Strength of Promise

Now, I want to tell you something lovely about this promise: something sweetand precious, something that strengthens its dependability and something thatencourages the soul to believe and name its own!

In the original, there are two features about this promise that do not come outin the English.

In the first place, the verse may be read like this, “I will in no wise leavethee, nor in any wise forsake thee.” Now that seems to add a dimension ofimpossibility that God would at any time, or any occasion, forsake His people.

But the second reading which underlies this promise is wonderful in itsstipulation. In the original (Greek: ou mê seanô oud’ ou mê se egkatalipô), this text has five negativeparticles, and it may be read: “I will never, never, leave thee; never, never,never forsake thee.”

It has the force of five negatives! It is as if God in Christ cannot stress oremphasise enough, that in your affliction, it is an impossibility for Him toneglect your need, or ignore your pain: “I will never, never, leave thee;never, never, never forsake thee!”

What a promise to support you! What a promise to rest in! What a promise toquicken your hope and expectation! In the light of that, what does faith do?Well, notice the following verse: “So [i.e., on the grounds of that immutablepromise] that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper” (v. 6). Contrast withverse 5. There it is written, “he hath said,” but here, “We… boldly say.” Thatis faith responding to the promise and responding boldly. It is notpresumption, nor a psychological trick, but rather the boldness of faithreacting to the preciousness of promise! On account of what the Lord said, Ican declare with all boldness: “The Lord is my Helper!”

It is instructive to note that the Apostle is, in fact, citing Psalm 118:6—“TheLORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” This statementin the context of the Psalm is clearly the Psalmist’s reaction of faith, for inthe previous verse, we read: “I called upon the LORD in distress” (Ps 118:5a).The Psalmist had his problems, but faith conquered and set itself upon the Godwho is there at all times and all places!

If God has pledged never to abandon me, then I will believe that He is myHelper; He will be my Strength; that underneath me are His everlasting arms, constantly!

Conclusion and Application

1. Consider the faithfulness of God who promised. The Apostle Peter encouragesus: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise” (2 Pet 3:9). There is noforgetfulness, or want of principle, or pettiness, or lack of ability, withGod. He is faithful and true; the God who cannot lie; the unchanging sovereignLord who says what He means and means what He says! “I am the LORD, I changenot” (Mal 3:6), He says. And so our blessed Lord Jesus assures us: “If it werenot so, I would have told you” (Jn 14:2), and that is true of all His words andpromises.

Thus the saints of old spoke with great confidence concerning the promises ofGod: “Doth his promise fail for evermore?” (Ps 77:8), asked David. The sense inthis rhetorical question is that it is unthinkable that God should fail to keepHis promise. A generation later, Solomon confirms that his father’s confidencewas not in vain: “Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his peopleIsrael, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word ofall his good promise” (1 Kgs 8:56a).

Be like Abraham, who “staggered not at the promise of God” (Rom 4:20). The Lordpromised: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5). Take thispromise into your heart, into your life, into your experience, into the pocketof your soul.

2. Consider, dear friends, the various facets of this promise according to theScripture:

Listen, my friends, there is nothing then, that can separate you from thepresence and assistance of God, or His love in Christ Jesus: You cannot sinkinto the depth; you cannot be scorched by fire; you cannot walk in lonelinessand despair; you do not face the trials and temptations alone, for God said: “Iwill never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

3. Consider the application of this promise in the circumstance you are in:

4. Consider that this promise is not only true for individuals, but also truefor the church. If, as a church, you set your hearts and faith upon thispromise, you will find, whatever the future holds, that faithful is He thatpromised.

If He was with the church in the wilderness, He will be with the church in Singapore.

If He proved His presence and assistance to the infant church in Acts, will Henot work here? Yes, wolves will seek to scatter the flock. Yes, inevitablypersonality clashes will arise, and it may result in strivings within andfighting without. Yes, the leadership will be tested, and loyalty passedthrough the furnace. But He hath said: “I will never leave thee, nor forsakethee.”

Don’t be covetous of others, or other churches. But be content in yourprovidence and be guided by your providence, for He will never, never leavethee; never, never, never forsake thee.

—Ps Jeff O’Neil
(edited by JJ Lim)