The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:7
(ML 290.1)
“Emmanuel, God with us,” this means everything to us. What a broad foundation does it lay for our faith. What a hope big with immortality does it place before the believing soul. God with us in Christ Jesus to accompany us every step of the journey to heaven. The Holy Spirit with us as a comforter, a guide in our perplexities, to soothe our sorrows, and shield us in temptation. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”
(ML 290.2)
God commanded Moses for Israel, “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” and He abode in the sanctuary, in the midst of His people. Through all their weary wandering in the desert, the symbol of His presence was with them. So Christ set up His tabernacle in the midst of our human encampment. He pitched His tent by the side of the tents of men, that He might dwell among us and make us familiar with His divine character and life....
(ML 290.3)
Since Jesus came to dwell with us, we know that God is acquainted with our trials and sympathizes with our griefs. Every son and daughter of Adam may understand that our Creator is the friend of sinners....
(ML 290.4)
“God with us” is the surety of our deliverance from sin, the assurance of our power to obey the law of heaven.
(ML 290.5)
Christ sought to teach the grand truth so needful for us to learn, that God is always with us, an inmate of every dwelling, that He is acquainted with every action performed on earth. He knows the thoughts that are framed in the mind and endorsed by the soul. He hears every word that falls from the lips of human beings. He is walking and working in the midst of all our transactions in life. He knows every plan, and He measures every method.
(ML 290.6)