You are bound by your vow, and God will enable you to perform it.  Turn, my dear, to the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, where Peter preaches to the very murderers of our blessed Saviour, and charges the guilt upon them, verse twenty-second; and again in verse thirty-sixth, ’Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that this same Jesus whom ye crucified, God hath made both Lord and Christ; and when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts.’  Read on, my dear; Peter exhorts even them to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ, for the remission of sins.  I make no doubt but many have made vows in a rash manner; but, so far as I know, you have vowed only to serve the Lord; this you are bound to do with or without a vow; and if the Lord makes this vow the means of keeping you watchful and humble, and firm in avoiding what you have vowed against, it will, by his overruling Spirit, prove a blessing.

“You ‘do not know where to look for comfort!’ To, Jesus, my dear; not to yourself, nor to any creature.  ’Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:  for I am God, and there is none else.’  Isa. 45:22.  ‘O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help.’  Hosea 13:9; chap. 14.  Take a view, my dear, of the character of God in his dealings with his perverse Israel, after they had made the molten calf, and sinned otherwise grievously against God.  He, at the intercession of Moses, forgave their sin, and proclaimed that wonderful name, which to this day is the encouragement of convicted sinners, and mine in particular.  And the Lord passed by him (Moses) and proclaimed, ’The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.’  And how can God do this, whose law is, as himself, immutable; and who adds ’that he will by no means clear the guilty?’ Exodus 34:6.  Look now to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, where you will find your Redeemer standing in your stead.  In the thirtieth chapter is another amazing display of God’s forgiveness.  The prophet begins the chapter with, ‘Woe to the rebellious children!’ and lays grievous things to their charge till you come to the eighteenth verse, where he says, ’Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious to you; therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment, blessed are all they that wait for him.’  Once more look at the proclamation, Jeremiah 3:12.  God has provided a sacrifice of sufficient value to atone for our most aggravated transgressions, and a righteousness answerable to the uttermost extent of his holy law.  Both are made over to the sinner by free gift.  ’He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’ 2 Cor. 5:21. In Him—­He, our surety, having fulfilled all righteousness for us, as our surety and representative.