That old house, still standing in the High Street at Chester, is a lasting proof of the power of faith, with its old letters cut in the black wood, "God's Providence is my inheritance." When Nelson's bombardment fell upon Copenhagen, one house upon which not a shot or shell ever fell stood safely, though the Danish town seemed given over to destruction. Strong faith has always a particular immunity in times of trouble. Let the desire for a house to be rebuilt be lifted up, and let faith lay hold upon the Providence that is your inheritance.
There is not only a bath in which to wash the sinner, but there is a fountain opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, for God's own people, that they may wash and be clean. The Lord who restores the soul can surely order the restoring of walls and roof. I have known the drunkard hate the very house where he used to get his drink; the swearer cured of his blasphemy in a minute. If He can rebuild a shattered character, shall He not rebuild a shattered dwelling? The meaning of our text as opened up by the context is most evidently that there shall be a restoration, and the will which originated salvation shaped and formed it. No man originated the idea of restoration for our race, God Himself willed it, and it is from the purpose of His Grace that all our hopes begin.
You know what it is to be received into a house? You go, you knock, the door opens, you are received. This is all you have to do in the matter of salvation, too! You go as you are to Christ. You knock. You are received. This Man permits the guilty, the once profane, to associate themselves with Him, to wear His name, to sit in His house. Here is the fierce tiger and the wild hyena, creatures of all kinds come here and find shelter! That any of us should be willing to seek after the lost seed of the house of Adam is nothing wonderful, they are of our own race. But when the Lord turns and fixes His eyes intently, what thoughtful love is there! That look of Christ severs a soul from the crowd. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for there the heart is made tender and ready to receive. His worst wounds are those which He receives in the house of His friends, yet He prays for them, and the effect of that prayer is made apparent in restoration.
Let prayer be made without ceasing. The mother may pity her child when it is sick, but she may be alone in the house and not able to find a physician; therefore God has put in, not merely the affection, but the strength of pity. Our Heavenly Father pities those who cry to Him, and His strength is effectual. Would the weary man vex his soul with misgivings about whether it is God's purpose that his need be met? When the provision is spread out before him, let him eat. Pray on, for the Lord will restore.