THE changes of society may well illustrate the immutability of God. In the days of David, Jerusalem was looked upon as an impregnable fortress. It is surrounded by a natural rampart of hills, and appears to lie in the center of an amphitheatre raised purposely for its defense. By the ancient Jew it was considered to be an impregnable citadel. How changed now are the manners of war! A small troop could easily take the city, and it must indeed be a strong army that would be able to garrison it in its present condition. Yet while Jerusalem is changed, and the figure has become inappropriate, Jerusalem’s God remains the same, for with Him is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” We must this morning consider the text, not as we would understand it in our day, but as we would have understood it in David’s time. Da- vid looked upon the city of Jerusalem and he thought within himself, “No army can ever be able to sur- prise this city and however numerous may be the invading hosts; my people will always be able to hold their own in the midst of a city so firmly fortified both by Nature and by God.” In his time, indeed, and in the time of his son, Solomon, I suppose it would have been utterly impossible for any enemy, pos- sessed only of the tactics of ancient warfare, to have scaled those mighty ramparts of earth which God had piled about the city. Therefore, when David said in his day, “As the mountains are round about Jeru- salem, so the Lord is round about His people,,” he meant this—“As Jerusalem is fortressed by the moun- tains, so are God’s people castled in the covenant, fortressed in the Omnipotence of God, and therefore, they are impregnably secure.”
