“Prove me now ” (Malachi 3.10.)
Introduction. God says to all his unbelieving children who are doubtful of his goodness and grace, ‘Prove me now.’ When we are in trial and trouble we will believe the devil when he says that God will forsake us. But if our God promises anything, we say, ‘Surely this is too good to be true.’ If you think that God’s arm is so short that it cannot save, come, ask, and he will stretch it out to defend you. If you are suspicious, make proof of God’s promises, and your suspicions shall be removed.
(1) A Fact Couched. The fact is that God allows himself to be proved—‘Prove me now.’ All the works of creation are proofs of God’s eternal power and godhead. The meanest and mightiest of his created works prove his love in some degree and teach us how marvelous is his nature. But the things of earth prove God unintentionally. The saint alone proves God with intent, judgment, and will. You will remember Mary Magdalene, who had indulged in the foulest lust, but who was brought to Christ; she was made to prove the richness of our Saviour’s pardoning grace. The whole of the divine character will be proven. God intends us to live in this world to prove him. And all his promises shall be fulfilled in the united experience of the church.
(2) A Challenge Given. There are different sorts of promises given in God’s word. They must be proved in different ways. To prove conditional promises, it is necessary for us to fulfill their condition. “He that calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” What a blessed promise! But you cannot prove the promise unless you call on the name of the Lord. And you must ask God for grace to fulfill the condition. The promise of Christ’s future advent we cannot fully prove yet. But we prove it in part by patient waiting for him. The absolute promise is the best and largest kind. If God had simply said, ‘He that believeth shall be saved,’ we would all be lost for lack of strength to believe. But there is an absolute promise to back up the condition. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love…with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” The absolute promise is not to be proved by doing any thing, but by believing in it. Conditional promises cheer the soul; but the absolute promise is the rock that faith delights to stand upon.
(3) A Season Mentioned. ‘Prove me now.’ The most perilous time in a Christian’s life is ‘now’ because it is just the time when he thinks he can trust God the least. You compare yourself with some brother, and feel quite sure that if you were like him, you would have faith. Go and speak to this brother, and he will say, ‘If I were like you I would be better off.’ And so each fails to trust God under his own circumstances. ‘Prove me now,’ says God. Lift up that life-giving cross. Proclaim the word of life. Why be unbelieving? We are weak; so what? Are we not strongest in God when we are weakest in ourselves? Do you shrink from truth and shame? Then you love not your Master as you should. Let us trust him. He will be with us even to the end.
(4) An Argument Suggested. We should prove God because that will glorify him. The poor hungry child of God who trusts his Lord for bread when his cupboard is bare brings more glory to God by that simple proof than by the hallelujahs of the archangels. Try God. Prove God again like you did before. Let your life become a standing proof that his promises did not fail.
Selection from Conclusion. “Thou thinkest thyself to be a lost one; therefore, I urge thee in Christ’s name to prove this promise, ‘I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions.’”
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