 
The Ten Commandments

Life Application of the Ten Commandments

With Additional Chapters on Sin, Salvation, Prayer, and More

Thomas Watson

Contents

Obedience

Love

The First Commandment

The Second Commandment

The Third Commandment

The Fourth Commandment

The Fifth Commandment

The Sixth Commandment

The Seventh Commandment

The Eighth Commandment

The Ninth Commandment

The Tenth Commandment

The Law and Sin

The Wrath of God

The Way of Salvation

Prayer

Thomas Watson – A Brief Biography
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Obedience

Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God. You shall therefore obey the Lord your God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today. (Deuteronomy 27:9-10)

What is the duty that God requires of man?

Obedience to His revealed will. It is not enough to hear God's voice, but we must obey. Obedience is part of the honor we owe to God. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? (Malachi 1:6). Obedience carries in it the lifeblood of religion. "Obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and laws that I am giving you today." Obedience without knowledge is blind, and knowledge without obedience is lame. Rachel was fair to look upon, but being barren, said, Give me children, or else I die (Genesis 30:1). Just so, if knowledge does not bring forth the child of obedience, it will die.

To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). Saul thought it was enough for him to offer sacrifices, even though he disobeyed God's command; but to obey is better than sacrifice. God refuses to accept sacrifice if obedience is lacking. I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, "Obey My voice" (Jeremiah 7:22-23). This does not mean that God prohibited these sacrifices and offerings, but the meaning is that He looked primarily for obedience. Without obedience, sacrifice was merely devout foolishness! The purpose as to why God has given us His laws is for us to learn obedience. God says, You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 18:4). Why does a king publish an edict unless he expects it to be observed?

What is the rule of obedience?

The written Word of God. Proper obedience is that which the Word requires. Our obedience must correspond with the Word, just as a copy must correspond with the original. To seem to be zealous, if it is not according to the Word, is not obedience, but is only worship of the will. Roman Catholic traditions that have no footing in the Word are abominable, and God will ask, "Who has required this at your hand?" (Isaiah 1:12). The apostle Paul condemns the worshiping of angels, which had a show of humility. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind (Colossians 2:18). The Jews might say they were reluctant to be so bold as to go to God themselves, but they would be more humble and would prostrate themselves before the angels and desire them to present their petitions to God; but this show of humility was hateful to God and there is no Scripture to justify it.

What are the aspects of our obedience that make it acceptable to God?

It must be free and cheerful. It must be voluntary and not forced. If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land (Isaiah 1:19). Even though we serve God with weakness, it must be with willingness. You love to see your employees go cheerfully about their work. Under the law, God wants a freewill offering. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you (Deuteronomy 16:10).

Hypocrites obey God grudgingly and against their will; they do good, but not willingly. Cain brought his sacrifice, but not his heart. It is a true rule that what the heart does not do is not really done. Willingness is the soul of obedience. God sometimes accepts the willingness without the work, but He never accepts the work without the willingness. Cheerfulness shows that there is love in the duty. Love is to our duties what the sun is to fruit – it mellows and ripens them and gives them a better flavor.

Obedience must be devout and fervent. Fervent in spirit (Romans 12:11). As water that boils over, so the heart must boil over with hot affections in the service of God. The glorious angels, who, because they are burning in fervor and devotion are called seraphim, have been chosen by God to serve Him in heaven. Under the law, the snail was unclean because it is a dull, slothful creature. Obedience without fervency is like a sacrifice without fire. Why should our obedience not be lively and fervent? God deserves the flower and strength of our affections.

The Roman emperor Domitian did not want his statue to be carved in wood or iron, but he wanted it to be made of gold. Enthusiastic affections make our duties as of gold. It is fervency that makes obedience acceptable. Elijah was fervent in spirit, and his prayer opened and shut heaven. He prayed again, and fire fell on his enemies (2 Kings 1:10). Elijah's prayer brought down fire from heaven because, being fervent, it carried fire up to heaven.

Obedience must be extensive. It must reach to all God's commands. Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all Your commandments (Psalm 119:6). All God's requirements demand equal effort. There is a stamp of divine authority upon all God's commands. If I obey one precept because God commands, I must obey them all. True obedience runs through all duties of the Christian religion, just as the blood runs through all the veins. A good Christian makes gospel piety and moral equity unite. Some people discover their hypocrisy in this. They will obey God in some things that are easier, and they may raise their reputation; but they will leave other things undone. One thing you lack (Mark 10:21). Herod would hear John the Baptist, but would not leave his incest. Some will pray, but not give to others. Other people will give to others, but will not pray. You tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). The badger has one foot shorter than the other, and these hypocrites are shorter in some duties than in others. God does not like such partial servants who will do some part of the work He wants them to do, but will leave other parts undone.

Obedience must be sincere. We must aim at the glory of God in it. In the Christian religion, the purpose is everything. The purpose of our obedience must not be to stop the mouth of conscience or to gain applause or success, but our purpose must be to grow more like God and bring more glory to Him. Do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

That which has diminished many glorious actions and made them lose their reward is that people's purposes have been wrong. The Pharisees gave alms, but they blew a trumpet so that they might have the glory of men (Matthew 6:2). Alms should shine, but not blaze. Jehu did well in destroying the Baal worshipers, and God commended him for it; but because his reasons were not good (he aimed at settling himself in the kingdom), God looked upon it as no better than murder. I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel (Hosea 1:4).

Let us look to our purpose in obedience. It is possible that the action might be right, but not the heart. Amaziah did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart (2 Chronicles 25:2). Two main things are to be observed in obedience: the principle and the end. Though a child of God comes up short in his obedience, his purpose must be right!

Obedience must be in and through Christ. He has made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6 JUB). It is not our obedience, but Christ's merits, that procures our acceptance with God. In every part of worship, we must present Christ to God in the arms of our faith. Unless we serve God in this way, in the hope and confidence of Christ's merits, we provoke Him rather than please Him, as when King Uzziah tried to offer incense without a priest. God was angry with him and struck him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16-20). Just so, when we do not come to God in and through Christ, we offer up incense to Him without a priest, and what can we expect except severe rebukes?

Obedience must be constant. How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times! (Psalm 106:3). True obedience is not like a face that becomes red when one is in a fit of anger, but it is a steady complexion. It is like the fire on the altar that was always kept burning (Leviticus 6:13). The obedience of hypocrites lasts only for a season. It is like plastering work that is soon washed off, but true obedience is constant. Though we meet with affliction, we must go on in our obedience. The righteous will hold to his way (Job 17:9).

We have vowed to be faithful. We have vowed to renounce the emptiness and foolishness of the world and to fight under Christ's banner to death. When a servant has entered into covenant with his master and the agreement is sealed, he cannot go back; he must serve out his time. In the same way, there are contracts drawn up in baptism, and in the Lord's Supper the agreements are renewed and reviewed on our part stating that we will be faithful and constant in our obedience.

Therefore, we must imitate Christ, who became obedient unto death. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). The crown is set upon the head of perseverance. He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, . . . I will give him the morning star (Revelation 2:26, 28).

This condemns those who live in contradiction to the text and have cast off the yoke of obedience. As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! (Jeremiah 44:16). God instructs men to pray in their family, but they live in the total neglect of it. He commands them to sanctify the Lord's Day, but they follow their own pleasures on that day. He tells them to abstain from even the appearance of sin (1 Thessalonians 5:22), but they do not even abstain from the act of sin. They live in the act of revenge and in the act of uncleanness. This shows high contempt for God. It is rebellion, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23).

Why is it that people do not obey God? They know their duty – but do not do it.

They do not obey God because of lack of faith. Who has believed our message? (Isaiah 53:1). If people believed that sin was so bitter and that hell followed at the heels of it, would they continue in sin? If they believed that there was such a great reward for the righteous and that godliness was great gain, would they not pursue it? But they are atheists, not fully brought into the belief of these things, and that is why they do not obey. Satan's masterpiece, his dragnet by which he drags millions to hell, is to keep them in unbelief! He knows that if he can just keep them from believing the truth, he is sure to keep them from obeying it.

They do not obey God because of lack of self-denial. God commands one thing, and men's lusts command another. They would rather die than deny their lusts. If lust cannot be denied, God cannot be obeyed.

Application 1

Obey God's voice. This is the beauty of a Christian.

What are the great arguments or incentives to obedience?

Obedience makes us precious to God – His favorites. You will be My portion, My treasure, the apple of My eye. If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples (Exodus 19:5). You are honored and I love you (Isaiah 43:4)

There is nothing lost by obedience. To obey God's will is the way to have our will. Do we want a blessing in our situation in life? Let us obey God.

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. (Deuteronomy 28:1-5)

To obey God is the best way to thrive in your situation in life.

Do we want a blessing in our souls? Let us obey God. Obey My voice, and I will be your God (Jeremiah 7:23). My Spirit will be your guide, sanctifier, and comforter. Christ became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9). While we please God with our obedience, we also please ourselves. While we give Him the duty, He gives us the dowry. You lose nothing by obeying God. The obedient son has the inheritance settled on him. Obey, and you will have a kingdom. Your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Disobedience is a terrible sin!

Disobedience is an irrational sin. We are not able to outlast God in defiance against Him. Are we stronger than He is? Does the sinner think that he can win against God? Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we? (1 Corinthians 10:22). He is God Almighty who can command legions of angels. If we have no strength to resist Him, it is irrational to disobey Him.

It is irrational because it is against all law and equity. We have our daily subsistence from Him. In Him we live and move and exist (Acts 17:28). Is it not right that since we live by Him, we should also live to Him? Since He gives us our allowance, should we not give Him our allegiance?

Disobedience is a destructive sin. The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8). He who refuses to obey God's will when He commands will certainly obey His will when He punishes!

While the sinner thinks to slip the knot of obedience, he twists the cord of his own damnation, and he perishes without excuse. The servant who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes (Luke 12:47). God will say, "Why did you not obey? You knew how to do good, but you did not; therefore, your blood is upon your own head."

Application 2

Serious consideration.

Consider that God's commands are not grievous. He commands nothing unreasonable. This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). It is easier to obey the commands of God than the commands of sin. The commands of sin are burdensome. How that person tires himself who is under the power of any lust! What hazards he runs, even to endangering his health and soul, in trying to satisfy his lusts! They weary themselves committing iniquity (Jeremiah 9:5). Are not God's commands easier to obey? John Chrysostom said, "Virtue is easier than vice; temperance is less burdensome than drunkenness." Some have gone with less difficulty to heaven than others have to hell!

God commands nothing except what is beneficial. Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). To obey God is not so much our duty as our privilege. His commands carry food in the mouth of them.

He commands us to repent – and why? That our sins may be blotted out. Repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). He commands us to believe – and why? That we may be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). There is love in every command. It is as if a king would command one of his subjects to dig in a gold mine, and then let him keep the gold for himself.

Earnest supplication.

Implore the help of the Spirit to carry you on in obedience. God's Spirit makes obedience easy and delightful. If the magnet draws the iron, it is not hard for it to move. If God's Spirit gives life to and draws the heart, it is not hard to obey. When a gale of the Spirit blows, we go full sail in obedience. Turn His promise into a prayer: I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes (Ezekiel 36:27). The promise encourages us, and the Spirit enables us to obey.
Love

The rule of obedience is the moral law, which is wrapped up in the Ten Commandments. The next question, then, is:

What is the summary of the Ten Commandments?

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

The summary of the Ten Commandments is love. The duty called for is love – yes, the strength of love – with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. God does not want to lose any of our love. Love is the soul of the Christian religion, and it is that which constitutes a real Christian. Love is the queen of graces. It shines and sparkles in God's eye, just as the precious stones on the breastplate of Aaron.

What is love?

Love is a holy fire kindled in the soul whereby a Christian strongly seeks after and follows God as the supreme good.

What is the antecedent of love to God?

The antecedent of love is knowledge. The Spirit shines upon the understanding and reveals the beauties of wisdom, holiness, and mercy in God. These things entice and draw out love to God. Those who do not know God cannot love Him. If the sun has set in the understanding, it will be dark in the emotions.

Wherein does the formal nature of love consist?

The nature of love consists in delighting in an object. As Thomas Aquinas said, "The lover's delight in his beloved." This is loving God – to take delight in Him. Delight yourself in the Lord (Psalm 37:4), as a bride delights herself in her jewels (Isaiah 61:10). Grace changes a Christian's goals and delights.

How must our love to God be qualified?

If it is a sincere love, we love God with all our heart. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart (Mark 12:30). God demands the whole heart. We must not divide our love between Him and sin. The true mother did not want the child divided (1 Kings 3:26), and God does not want our hearts divided. We must give Him the whole heart.

We must love God for Himself, for His own intrinsic excellencies. We must love Him for his loveliness. It is a harlot's love to love the portion more than the person. Hypocrites love God because He gives them corn and wine (Genesis 27:28; Hosea 2:8). The sincere Christian loves God for Himself – for those shining perfections that are in Him. Gold is loved for itself.

We must love God with all our might. In the Hebrew text, this is "with all our vehemency." We must love God as much as we are able. Christians should be like the seraphim, burning in holy love. We can never love God as much as He deserves. Even the angels in heaven cannot love God as much as He deserves.

Love to God must be active in its sphere. Love is an active affection! It sets the head studying for God, the hands working, and the feet running in the ways of His commandments. It is called the labor of love (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Mary Magdalene loved Christ and poured her ointments on Him. We can never do enough for the person whom we love.

Love to God must be supreme. God is the essence of beauty, a whole paradise of delight. He must have the priority in our love. Our love to God must be above all other things, just as the oil swims above the water. We must love God above our possessions and our family. Great is the love to our family. Our love to God must be above that of father and mother. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37). We may give the creature the milk of our love, but God must have the cream! The spouse keeps the juice of her pomegranates for Christ. I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates (Song of Solomon 8:2).

Our love to God must be constant. It should be like the fire that the Vestal virgins kept in Rome, which did not go out. Love must be like the motion of the pulse that beats as long as there is life. Many waters cannot quench love (Song of Solomon 8:7), not even the waters of persecution. We should be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17). A branch that does not grow on a root withers, and love, so that it does not die, must be well rooted.

What are the visible signs of true love to God?

If we love God, our desire will be for Him. Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls (Isaiah 26:8). He who loves God breathes after communion with Him. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God (Psalm 42:2). People in love desire to be often conversing together. He who loves God desires to be much in His presence. He loves the Word of God; it is the mirror where the glory of God shines brightly. In the Holy Scriptures we meet with Him whom our souls love. We have God's smiles and whispers and some foretastes of heaven. Those who have no desire for the Word of God have no love for God.

He who loves God cannot find contentment in anything without Him. Give a hypocrite who pretends to love God corn and wine, the good things of this life, and he can be content without God; but a soul filled with love for God cannot be without Him. Those who are in love grow weak if they do not have sight of the one whom they love. A gracious soul can do without health, but cannot do without God, who is the health of his countenance (Psalm 43:5).

If God would say to someone who loves Him completely, "Take your ease, swim in pleasure, comfort yourself in the delights of the world – but you will not enjoy My presence," this person would not be content. No, and if God would say, "I will let you be taken up to heaven, but I will withdraw into another room and you will not see My face," that person could not be content. The philosopher says there can be no gold without the influence of the sun. Then certainly there can be no golden joy in the soul without God's sweet presence and influence.

He who loves God hates anything that would separate between him and God – and that thing is sin. Sin makes God hide His face; therefore, the zeal of a Christian's hatred is set against it. I hate every false way (Psalm 119:128). Things that are contrary cannot be reconciled. You cannot love health unless you hate poison, and we cannot love God unless we hate sin, for sin would destroy our communion with Him.

The fourth visible sign of love to God is empathy. Friends who love grieve for the sorrows that befall each other. Homer, describing Agamemnon's grief when he was forced to sacrifice his daughter, brings in all his friends weeping with him and accompanying him to the sacrifice in mourning. Those who love each other grieve together.

If we have true love in our heart for God, we will grieve for those things that grieve Him. We will lay to heart that which dishonors Him: the luxury, drunkenness, and contempt of God and of true Christianity. My eyes shed streams of water (Psalm 119:136). Some speak of the sins of others and laugh at them, but they certainly have no love for God who can laugh at that which grieves His Spirit! Does he love his father who can laugh to hear him insulted?

He who loves God labors to present Him as lovely to others. He not only admires God, but he praises Him to others so that he may allure and draw others to love Him, too. She who is in love will praise the man she loves. The lovesick spouse extols Christ. She makes a praiseful oration of His worth so that she might persuade others to be in love with Him.

My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. His head is like gold, pure gold; His locks are like clusters of dates and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, and reposed in their setting. His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, banks of sweet-scented herbs; his lips are lilies dripping with liquid myrrh. His hands are rods of gold set with beryl; his abdomen is carved ivory inlaid with sapphires. His legs are pillars of alabaster set on pedestals of pure gold; his appearance is like Lebanon choice as the cedars. His mouth is full of sweetness. And he is wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. (Song of Solomon 5:10-16)

True love to God cannot be silent. It will be eloquent in proclaiming His preeminence. There is no better sign of loving God than to speak of Him as lovely and to draw converts to Him.

He who loves God weeps bitterly for His absence. Mary comes weeping and saying, They have taken away my Lord (John 20:13). Someone cries, "My health is gone!" Another says, "My wealth is gone!" But he who loves God, cries out, "My God is gone! I cannot enjoy Him whom I love!" What can all worldly comforts do for us when God is absent? It is like a funeral banquet where there is much food, but no cheer. I go about mourning without comfort (Job 30:28).

If Rachel mourned greatly for the loss of her children, what pencil can shadow out the sorrow of that Christian who has lost God's sweet presence? Such a soul pours forth floods of tears, and while lamenting, seems to say to God, "Lord, You are in heaven hearing the melodious songs and triumph of angels, but I sit here in the valley of tears, weeping because You are gone. Oh, when will You come to me and revive me with the light of Your countenance! Or, Lord, if You will not come to me, let me come to You, where I will have a perpetual smile of Your face in heaven and will never more complain that My beloved has withdrawn Himself."

He who loves God is willing to do and to suffer for Him. He willingly and cheerfully obeys God's commands. He submits to God's will. If God commands him to mortify sin, love his enemies, or be crucified to the world – he obeys. It is in vain for someone to say he loves God while ignoring His commands! One who loves God submits to His will. If God wants him to suffer for Him, he does not complain, but obeys. Love endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). Love caused Christ to suffer for us, and love will cause us to suffer for Him.

It is true that every Christian is not a martyr, but he has a spirit of martyrdom in him. He has a disposition of mind to suffer, if God calls him to it. I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come (2 Timothy 4:6). Not only were the sufferings ready for Paul, but he was ready for the sufferings. Origen chose rather to live in exile than to deny the faith and be great in the prince's favor. They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death (Revelation 12:11).

Many say they love God, but will not suffer the loss of anything for Him. If Christ would have said to us, "I love you well; you are dear to Me, but I cannot suffer for you. I cannot lay down My life for you," we would have questioned His love very much. May not the Lord question our love when we pretend to love Him, but will endure nothing for His sake?

Application 1

What will we say to those who do not have even a grain of love in their hearts for God? They have their life from Him, yet do not love Him. He spreads their table every day, yet they do not love Him. Sinners fear God as a judge, but do not love Him as a father. All the strength of the angels cannot make the heart love God. Judgments will not do it. Omnipotent grace alone can make a stony heart melt in love to God. How sad it is to be empty of love to God. When the body is cold and has no heat, it is a sign of death. Just so, he is spiritually dead who has no heat of love in his heart for God. Will such people live with God who do not love Him? Will God lay an enemy in His own bosom? Those who will not be drawn with cords of love (Hosea 11:4) will be bound in chains of darkness (2 Peter 2:4)!

Application 2

Let us be moved to love God with all our heart and might. Let us take our love off other things and place it upon God. Love is the heart of religion and the fat of the offering. It is the grace that Christ inquires most after. Simon, son of John, do you love Me? (John 21:17). Love makes all our duties acceptable. It is the musk that provides the fragrance. It is not so much duty, as love to duty, that God delights in. That is why serving and loving God are put together. Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant (Isaiah 56:6). It is better to love Him than to serve Him. Obedience without love is like wine without the spirits. Be motivated to love God with all your heart and might.

It is nothing but your love that God desires. The Lord could have demanded your children to be offered in sacrifice. He might have ordered you to cut and stab yourselves. He could have required you to lie in hell awhile! But He only desires your love. This is the prize He desires. Is it a hard request to love God? Was ever any debt easier paid than this? Is it any labor for the wife to love her husband? Love is delightful.

Love must by definition be sweet, as Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) explained. What is there in our love that God would desire it? Why would a king desire the love of a woman who is in debt and diseased? God does not need our love. There are angels enough in heaven to adore and love Him! How is God better off for our love? It does not add the least amount to His essential blessedness. He does not need our love, and yet He seeks it. Why does He desire us to give Him our heart? Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways (Proverbs 23:26). It is not that He needs our heart and our love, but He desires our heart so that He may make it better.

It will be our great benefit if we love God. He does not pursue our love so that we would lose by it. Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). If you will love Him, you will have a reward that is greater than you could imagine. He will betroth you to Himself in the dearest love. I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion (Hosea 2:19). The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).

If you love God, He will give you a share in all His riches and glories. He will give you heaven and earth for your dowry. He will set a crown on your head. Emperor Vespasian gave a great reward to a woman who came to him and professed she loved him, but God gives a crown of eternal life to those who love Him. He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

Love is the only grace that will live with us in heaven. In heaven we will need no repentance, because we will have no sin. We will not need faith, because we will see God face to face. But love to God will abide forever. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). We should greatly nourish this grace that will outlive all the graces and run parallel with eternity!

Our love to God is a sign of His love to us. We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). By nature, we have no love for God. We have hearts of stone. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). How can there be any love in hearts of stone? Our loving Him is a result of His loving us. If the glass burns, it is because the sun has shone on it, and if our hearts burn in love, it is a sign that the Sun of Righteousness has shone upon us.

Application 3

What should we do in order to love God as we should?

Read the Word of God and listen to biblical preaching. As faith comes by hearing, so does love. The Word sets forth God in His incomparable excellencies. It deciphers and portrays Him in all His glory, and a sight of His beauty inflames love.

Beg of God that He will give you a heart to love Him. When King Solomon asked God for wisdom, it pleased the Lord (1 Kings 3:10). God is pleased, too, when you cry to Him, "Lord give me a heart to love You. My heart aches that I do not love You more!" Surely this prayer will please the Lord, and He will pour out His Spirit upon you. His golden oil will make the lamp of your love burn bright.

If you have love to God, keep it burning upon the altar of your heart. Love, like fire, is always ready to go out. You have left your first love (Revelation 2:4). Through neglect of duty, or because of too much love of the world, our love to God will cool. Preserve your love to Him! As you would be careful to preserve the natural heat in your body, so be careful to preserve the heat of love to God in your soul. Love is like oil to the wheels – it refreshes us in God's service. When you find that your love for God has diminished and grown cool, use all means to revitalize it. When the fire is going out, you throw on fuel, and when the flame of love is going out, make use of the Word of God and prayer as sacred fuel to keep the fire of your love burning!
The First Commandment

You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3)

This commandment is addressed to each person in particular, because the commandment concerns everyone. God wants each person to take it as if spoken to Him by name. Though we are eager to take privileges to ourselves, we tend to try to shift duties from ourselves to others!

We come now to the first of the ten commandments: You shall have no other gods before Me. This may well lead the group and be set in the front of all the commandments, because it is the foundation of all true religion.

The message of this commandment is that we should sanctify God in our hearts and give Him precedence above all created beings. There are two parts of this commandment:

  1. We must have God for our God.
  2. We must have no other God.

1. We must have God for our God.

It is clear that we must have a God, and who is God, besides the Lord? (2 Samuel 22:32). The Lord God is the true, living, eternal God, and it is He whom we must have for our God.

In order to have God be God to us, we must acknowledge Him as God. All the gods of the peoples are idols (Psalm 96:5). We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one (1 Corinthians 8:4). That is, it has nothing of God in it. If we cry, "Help, O idol," an idol cannot help. The idols themselves were carried into captivity, so that an idol is nothing (Isaiah 46:2).

Uselessness is ascribed to it, and therefore we do not acknowledge it to be a god. Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we hope in You, for You are the one who has done all these things (Jeremiah 14:22). We have this God to be God to us when from the heart we acknowledge Him to be God. All the people fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God" (1 Kings 18:39).

Yes, we acknowledge Him to be the only God. O Lord, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth (2 Kings 19:15). Deity is a jewel that belongs only to His crown.

Further, we acknowledge that there is no God like Him. Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. He said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You" (1 Kings 8:22-23). Who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord? (Psalm 89:6). In the Chaldee language it is "Who among the angels?" None can do as God does. He brought the world out of nothing. He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing (Job 26:7).

God is really God to us when we are convinced in our hearts, confess with our tongues, and subscribe with our hands that He is the only true God and that there is none comparable to Him.

In order to have God be God to us, we must choose Him. Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). It is one thing for someone's judgment to approve of God, and another for someone's will to choose Him. True Christianity is not a matter of chance, but choice.

Before choosing God for our God, there must be knowledge. We must know Him before we can choose Him. Before any man chooses the woman he will marry, he must have some knowledge of her. In the same way, we must know God before we can choose Him for our God. Know the God of your father (1 Chronicles 28:9).

We must know God in His attributes – as glorious in holiness, rich in mercy, and faithful in promises. We must know Him in His Son. As the face is represented in a mirror, so in Christ, as in a transparent glass, we see God's beauty and love shine forth. This knowledge must come before choosing God. Lactantius (AD 250-320) said, "All the learning of the philosophers was without a head, because it lacked the knowledge of God."

This choosing is an act of mature deliberation. Having viewed the supreme excellences in God, and being stricken with a holy admiration of His perfections, the Christians singles Him out from everyone and everything else to set his heart upon. He says with Jacob, Then the Lord will be my God (Genesis 28:21).

He who chooses God devotes himself to God. We should be God's servants and should serve Him with reverence (Psalm 119:38). As the vessels of the sanctuary were consecrated and set apart from common to holy uses, so he who has chosen God to be his God has dedicated himself to God and will no longer be devoted to worldly uses.

In order to have God be God to us, we must enter into a solemn covenant with Him that He will be our God. After we choose, the marriage covenant follows. God makes a covenant with us: I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David (Isaiah 55:3). So we make a covenant with Him: They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul (2 Chronicles 15:12). This one will say, "I am the Lord's"; and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, "Belonging to the Lord," and will name Israel's name with honor – like soldiers who proudly volunteer to serve their country (Isaiah 44:5). This covenant, that God will be our God, we have often renewed in the Lord's Supper. Like a seal to a bond, it binds us fast to God and so keeps us that we do not depart from Him.

In order to have God be God to us, we must give Him adoration, which consists in reverencing Him. God is to be greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all those who are around Him (Psalm 89:7). The seraphim, who stood around God's throne, covered their faces (Isaiah 6), and Elijah wrapped himself in a cloak when the Lord passed by, in a display of reverence (1 Kings 19:13). This reverence shows the high esteem we have of God's sacred majesty. Adoration consists in bowing to Him or worshiping Him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2 JUB). They bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:6). Divine worship is the distinct honor belonging to the Godhead. God is jealous of this and will have no creature share in it with Him. I will not give My glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). Earthly judges may have a civil respect or veneration, but only God should have a pious adoration.

In order to have God be God to us, we must fear Him – fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 28:58).

  1. To fear God is to have Him always on our mind and heart: I have set the Lord continually before me (Psalm 16:8). My eyes are continually toward the Lord (Psalm 25:15). He who fears God knows that no matter what he is doing, God looks on, and as a judge, weighs all his actions.
  2. To fear God is to have such a holy awe of God upon our hearts that we dare not sin. Tremble, and do not sin (Psalm 4:4). The wicked sin and fear not, but the godly fear and sin not. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God? (Genesis 39:9). Encourage me to sin, and you encourage me to drink poison! It is a saying of Anselm (1033-1109), "If hell were on one side and sin on the other, I would rather leap into hell than willingly sin against my God!" He who fears God will not sin, though it is ever so secret.

You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:14). Suppose you would curse a deaf man – he could not hear you. Suppose you were to lay a stumbling block in a blind man's way and cause him to fall – he could not see you do it. But the fear of God will even make you forsake sins that cannot be heard nor seen by people!

The fear of God destroys the fear of man. The three Hebrew children feared God, and therefore they did not fear the king's wrath (Daniel 3:16-18). The louder noise drowns out the quieter noise. The noise of thunder drowns out the noise of a river. In the same way, when the fear of God is supreme in the soul, it drowns out all worldly fear. It makes God to be God to us when we have a holy affectionate fear of Him.

In order to have God be God to us, we must trust in Him. My eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord; in You I take refuge (Psalm 141:8). The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my savior (2 Samuel 22:2-3). There is none in whom we can trust but God. All creatures are a refuge of lies. They are like the Egyptian reed – too weak to support us, but sharp enough to wound us (2 Kings 18:21).

The immovable is undisturbed by any commotion. Only God is a sufficient foundation to build our trust upon. When we trust Him, we make Him God to us. When we do not trust Him, we make Him an idol. Trusting in God is to rely on His power as a Creator and on His love as a Father. Trusting in God is to commit our chief treasure, our soul, to Him. Into Your hand I commit my spirit (Psalm 31:5). As the orphan trusts his estate with his guardian, so we trust our souls with God. Then He becomes God to us.

But how will we know that we trust in God rightly? If we trust in God properly, we will trust Him at one time as well as another. Trust in Him at all times (Psalm 62:8). Can we trust Him in our difficulties? When the fig tree does not flourish and when our earthly crutches are broken, can we lean upon God's promise? When the pipes are cut off that used to bring us comfort, can we live upon God, in whom are all our fresh springs? When we have no bread to eat except the bread of affliction (Ezekiel 12:19), will we still trust in God? When we have no water to drink except tears, can we then trust in God's providence to supply us? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and You have made them to drink tears in large measure (Psalm 80:5).

A good Christian believes that if God feeds the ravens, He will feed His children. He lives upon God's all-sufficiency, not only for grace – but for food. He believes that if God gives him heaven, He will give daily bread. He trusts God's promise. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:3-4). Can we trust God in our fears? When conflicts increase, can we display the banner of faith? When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You (Psalm 56:3). Faith cures the trembling in heart. it gets above fear, just as oil swims above the water. Trusting in God makes Him to be God to us.

In order to have God be God to us, we must love Him. In godly people, fear and love are united.

In order to have God be God to us, we must obey Him. I will write more about this in the chapter about the second commandment.

Why must we hold on to the Lord as our God?

Because of its rightness. It is only just that we should cleave to Him from whom we receive our being. Who can have a better right to us than He who gives us our breath? It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 100:3). It is unjust and ungrateful to give away our love or worship to any but God.

Because of its practicality. If we cleave to the Lord as our God, then He will bless us. God, our God, blesses us (Psalm 67:6). He will bless us in our belongings. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock (Deuteronomy 28:4-5). We will not only have our sacks full of corn, but we will have money in the mouths of the sacks (Genesis 44:1).

God will bless us with peace. The Lord will bless His people with peace (Psalm 29:11). God will bless His people with outward peace, which is a companion of plenty. He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat (Psalm 147:14). God provides His people with inward peace, a smiling conscience, which is sweeter than the dropping of honey.

God will turn all evils to our good. We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28). He will make a healing potion out of poison. Joseph's imprisonment was a means for his advancement. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive (Genesis 50:20). Out of the bitterest drug, He will distill His glory and our salvation. In short, He will be our guide to death, our comfort in death, and our reward after death. The practicality of it, therefore, should make us cling to the Lord as our God. How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 144:15).

Because of its necessity. If God is not our God, He will curse our blessings – and God's curse destroys wherever it comes. "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the Lord of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart" (Malachi 2:2). If God is not our God, we have no one to help us in misery. Will God help His enemies? Will He assist those who reject Him? If we do not make God to be our God, He will make Himself to be our judge; and if He condemns, there is no appealing to a higher court. There is a necessity, therefore, for having God for our God, unless we intend to be eternally joined to misery!

Application 1

If we must have the Lord God for our one God, then that condemns the atheists who have no God. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). There is no God he believes in or worships. When Seneca reproved Nero for his impieties, Nero said, "Do you think I believe there is any God, when I do such things?" The duke of Silesia was so deceived that he stated that there was neither God nor devil.

We can see God in the works of His fingers. The creation is a great volume in which we may read a Godhead, and he who denies God must have put out his own eyes! Aristotle, though a heathen, not only acknowledged God when he cried out, "You Being of beings, have mercy on me," but he thought that he who did not confess a Deity was not worthy to live. Those who will not believe God will still experience Him: It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Application 2

Professing Christians are condemned who profess to have God for their God and yet do not live as if He were their God.

They do not believe in Him as God. When they look upon their sins, they are apt to say, "Can God pardon?" When they look upon their needs, they say, "Can God provide? Can He prepare a table in the wilderness?"

They do not love Him as God. They do not give Him the cream of their love, but are prone to love other things more than God. They say they love God, but they will not give up anything for Him.

They do not worship Him as God. They do not give Him that reverence, nor pray with that devotion, as if they were praying to a god. How dead are their hearts! If they are not dead in sin, they are certainly dead to duty. They pray as if they are praying to a god who has eyes but cannot see, who has ears but cannot hear. In hearing the Word, how much distraction, and what dull hearts so many people have! They are thinking of their shops and the world. Would a king take it well, if, when speaking to us, we would be playing with a feather?

When God is speaking to us in His Word and our hearts are taken up with thoughts about the world, is this not playing with a feather? Oh, how it should humble most of us that we do not make God to be a god to us! We do not believe in Him, love Him, or worship Him as God. Many heathens have worshiped their false gods with more seriousness and devotion than some professing Christians do the true God. O let us rebuke ourselves – did I say rebuke? Let us abhor ourselves for our deadness and formality in our Christianity! How we have professed God, and yet have not worshiped Him as God.

We must have no other god.

You shall have no other gods before Me. What is meant by the words "before Me"? It means "before My face" or "before My sight." Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret (Deuteronomy 27:15). Some people would not bow to the idol in the sight of others, but they would secretly bow to it. Even though this would be out of man's sight, it is not out of God's sight. That is why God says that the person is cursed who puts the image in a secret place.

You shall have no other gods.

  1. There is really no other god.
  2. We must have no other.

1. There is really no other god.

The Valentinians believed that there were two gods. The polytheists believe that there are many gods. The Persians worshiped the sun. The Egyptians worshiped the ox and elephant. The Grecians worshiped Jupiter. But there is no other than the true God. Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:39).

There is only one First Cause. God has His being of Himself, and all other beings depend upon Him. As in the heavens, the Primum Mobile moves all the other orbs, so God is the Great Mover. He gives life and motion to everything that exists.

There is only one Omnipotent Power. If there were two omnipotent beings, we would suppose that there would always be competition between the two. That which one would do, the other, being equal, would oppose, and so all things would be brought into confusion. If a ship would have two pilots of equal power, one would be always opposing the other. When one would want to sail, the other would cast anchor. There would be confusion, and the ship would perish.

The order and harmony in the world, the constant and uniform government of all things, is a clear argument that there is but one Omnipotent being, one God who rules all. I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me (Isaiah 44:6).

2. We must have no other god.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

This commandment forbids serving a false god and not the true God. As the thief is shamed when he is discovered, so the house of Israel is shamed; they, their kings, their princes and their priests and their prophets, who say to a tree, "You are my father," and to a stone, "You gave me birth." For they have turned their back to Me (Jeremiah 2:26-27).

This commandment forbids joining a false god with a true. They feared the Lord and served their own gods (2 Kings 17:33). This is forbidden in the commandment. We must adhere to the true God, and no other. God is a jealous God and He will endure no rival. A wife cannot lawfully have two husbands at once, and we cannot have two gods. You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied (Psalm 16:4).

The Lord interprets embracing any other god as forsaking Him. They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger (Judges 2:12). God does not want His people to even make mention of other gods and idols. Do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth (Exodus 23:13).

God looks upon going after other gods as breaking the marriage covenant. Therefore, when Israel committed idolatry with the golden calf, God refused to acknowledge His association with them: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves" (Exodus 32:7). God had previously called Israel His people, but when they went after other gods, the Lord told Moses, "Now they are no longer My people, but your people." She is not my wife (Hosea 2:2). She does not keep faith with Me and she has stained herself with idols; therefore, I will divorce her. She is not my wife.

To go after other gods is what God cannot bear. It makes the fury rise up in His face. It was such an important matter to God, that there were serious consequences to the Israelites if they pursued other gods:

If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods" (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. (Deuteronomy 13:6-9)

What does it mean to have other gods besides the true God?

I am afraid that upon examining this, we will realize that we have more idolaters among us than we were aware of.

To trust in anything more than God is to make it a god.

If we trust in our riches, we make riches our god. We might take comfort in riches, but we should not put confidence in them. It is a foolish thing to trust in them. Riches are deceitful, and it is foolish to trust in that which will deceive us (Matthew 13:22). Riches have no solid consistency. They are like dreams of gold, which leave the soul empty when it awakens or comes to itself. Riches are not what they promise. They promise to satisfy our desires, but they only increase them! They promise to stay with us, but they fly away. They are hurtful. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt (Ecclesiastes 5:13). It is foolish to trust in that which will hurt us. Who would take hold of the edge of a razor?

Riches are often fuel for pride and lust. Your heart is lifted up because of your riches (Ezekiel 28:5). It is foolish to trust in our riches, but many do so, and they make money their god! The rich man's wealth is his fortress (Proverbs 10:15). He makes the bar of gold his hope (Job 31:24-25). God made man of the dust of the earth, and man makes a god of the dust of the earth! Money is his creator, redeemer, and comforter. Money is his creator, for if he has money, he thinks he is made and has achieved success. Money is his redeemer, for if he is in danger, he trusts in his money to redeem him. Money is his comforter, for if he is sad, money is the golden harp that he tries to use to drive away the evil spirit. Thus, by trusting in money, we make it a god.

If we trust in the arm of flesh, we make it a god. Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:5). The Syrians trusted in their army, which was so numerous that it filled the country; but this arm of flesh withered. The sons of Israel killed of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day (1 Kings 20:29).

Whatever we make our trust, God makes our shame. The sheep run to the hedges for shelter, and they lose their wool. In the same way, we have run to other things apart from God to help us, and we have lost much of our golden fleece! People have not only been weak reeds to fail us, but they have been sharp thorns to prick us! We have broken our human crutches by leaning too hard upon them.

If we trust in our wisdom, we make it a god. Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom (Jeremiah 9:23). Boasting is the height of confidence. Many people make an idol of their wit and wisdom. They deify themselves, but how often does God take the wise in their own craftiness! He captures the wise by their own shrewdness, and the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted (Job 5:13). Ahithophel had much intelligence. His counsel was as the oracle of God (2 Samuel 16:23), but his wisdom brought him to the noose! When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home, to his city, and set his house in order, and strangled himself; thus he died (2 Samuel 17:23).

If we trust in our morality, we make it a god. Many trust in this. No one can accuse them of blatant sin. Morality is simply sinful nature that is refined and cultivated. A person can be outwardly washed but not inwardly changed. His life may be moral, yet there may be some reigning sin in his heart! The Pharisee could say, "I am no adulterer" (Luke 18:11), but he could not say, "I am not proud." To trust in one's morality is to trust in a spider's web. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isaiah 64:6).

If we trust in our duties to save us, we make them a god. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Put gold in the fire, and much dross comes out – and our most golden duties are mixed with weakness. We are apt either to neglect duty or to idolize it. Use duty, but do not trust in it, for then you make it a god. Do not trust in your praying and hearing; they are means of salvation, but they are not saviors. If you make duties your life jackets to trust in, you may find yourself drowning.

If we trust in our kindness, we make a god of it. Kindness is only a creature; if we trust in it, we make it an idol. Kindness is imperfect, and we must not trust to that which is imperfect to save us. I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering (Psalm 26:1). David walked in his integrity, but did not trust in his integrity. I have trusted in the Lord. If we trust in our kindness and generosity, we make a Christ of them. They are good graces, but bad Christs.

To love anything more than God is to make it a god.

If we love our things more than God, we make them a god. The young man in the gospel loved his gold better than his Savior; the world lay nearer his heart than Christ. When the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property (Matthew 19:22). Gold with its glitter blinds the eyes. The covetous man is called an idolater. No immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5). Why? Because he loves his things more than God, and so makes it his god. Though he does not bow down to an idol, if he worships the engraved image in his coins, he is an idolater. We make a god out of that which has most of our heart.

If we love our pleasure more than God, we make a god of it. Lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4). Many let loose the reins and give themselves up to all manner of sensual delights; they idolize pleasure. They sing to the timbrel and harp and rejoice at the sound of the flute. They spend their days in prosperity, and suddenly they go down to Sheol (Job 21:12-13).

I have read of a place in Africa where the people spend all their time in dancing and making merry. Do not we also have many who make a god of pleasure, who spend their time in going to theaters and dances and games, as if God had made them like the leviathan, to play in the water (Psalm 104:26)?

Let those who make a god of pleasure read just these two Scriptures: The mind of fools is in the house of pleasure (Ecclesiastes 7:4), and To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning (Revelation 18:7). Sugar laid in a damp place turns to water; so all the sweet joys and pleasures of sinners will turn to the water of tears at last.

If we love our belly more than God, we make a god of it. Whose god is their appetite (Philippians 3:19). Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215) writes of a fish that had its heart in its belly – an emblem of epicures, whose heart is in their belly. Their belly is their god, and to this god they pour drink offerings. The Lord allows what is proper for the care of nature. He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied (Deuteronomy 11:15). But to care for little else but the indulging of the appetite is idolatry. Whose god is their appetite. What a pity it is that the soul, that splendid part that sways the scepter of reason and is related to angels, should be enslaved to the beastly part!

If we love a child more than God, we make a god of him or her. How many are guilty in this way? They think more of their children and delight more in them than in God. They grieve more for the loss of their firstborn than for the loss of their first love. This is to make an idol of a child and to set it in God's place. This may be a reason why God may sometimes be moved to take away our children. If we love the jewel more than Him who gave it, God will take away the jewel so that our love may return to Him again.

Application 1

The First Commandment reproves those who have other gods, and so renounce the true God.

It reproves those who set up idols. According to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah (Jeremiah 2:28). Their altars are like the stone heaps beside the furrows of the field (Hosea 12:11).

It reproves those who associate with the occult. This is a sin condemned by the law of God. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Sometimes if people have lost any of their goods, they go to wizards and fortune-tellers to know how they can get them back again. What is this but to make a god of the devil by consulting with him and putting their trust in him? What! Because you have lost your goods, you will you lose your souls too? Thus says the Lord, "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?" (2 Kings 1:6). Is it not because you think there is not a God in heaven that you ask counsel of the devil? If any of you are guilty, be humbled.

Application 2

It calls for us to retreat from our sin. Let it call us off from idolizing any creature. Let it lead us to renounce other gods and to cleave to the true God and His service. If we go away from God, there is no restoration and no way to make things right.

It is honorable to serve the true God. "To serve God is to reign." It is more honor to serve God than to have kings serve us.

Serving the true God is delightful. Even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7). God often displays the banner of His love in a command and pours the oil of gladness into the heart. All God's ways are pleasantness, and His paths are peace (Proverbs 3:17).

Serving the true God is beneficial. In serving God, we have great gain here, the hidden manna, inward peace, and a great reward to come. Those who serve God will have a kingdom when they die and will wear a crown made of the flowers of paradise. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). Serving the true God is to our benefit. God has twisted His glory and our salvation together. He instructs us to believe. Why? That we may be saved. Therefore, renouncing all others, let us cleave to the true God.

You have promised to serve the Lord God, renouncing all others. When one has entered into covenant with his master, and the contracts are drawn and sealed, he cannot go back – but must serve out his time. We have covenanted in baptism to take the Lord for our God, renouncing all others, and we have renewed this covenant in the Lord's Supper. Will we not keep our solemn vow and covenant? We cannot turn away from God without the highest perjury. If he shrinks back [as a soldier who runs away from his regiment], My soul has no pleasure in him (Hebrews 10:38). "I will pour vials of wrath on him, and make My arrows drunk with blood" (Deuteronomy 32:42; Revelation 15-16).

No one ever had reason to regret being faithful to God and to His service. Some have regretted that they had made a god of the world. Cardinal Wolsey (1473-1530) said, "Oh, if I had served my God as I have served my king, he would never have left me thus!" No one ever complained about having served God – it was their comfort and their crown on their deathbed.

* * *

 The Primum Mobile was a concept from the medieval era, introduced by Ptolemy, that there was an outer sphere in the universe that moved around the earth every twenty-four hours, causing the inner spheres to move with it.

 This seems to be an old saying. For example, it was the motto of poet William Crashaw (1572-1625/6).
The Second Commandment

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

You shall not make for yourself an idol.

This commandment does not necessarily forbid making an image for civil use. "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's" (Matthew 22:20-21). The commandment does forbid setting up an image for religious use or worship.

Or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. All ideas, portraitures, shapes, and images of God, whether by effigies or pictures, are here forbidden. Watch yourselves carefully . . . so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure (Deuteronomy 4:15-16). God is to be adored in the heart, not painted for the eye!

You shall not worship them or serve them. The intent of making images and pictures is to worship them. No sooner was Nebuchadnezzar's golden image set up than all the people fell down and worshiped it (Daniel 3:7). God forbids such bowing down before an idol. The thing prohibited in this commandment is image worship. To set up an image to represent God is to debase Him. If anyone would make images of snakes or spiders and say that he did it to represent his prince, would not the prince take it as disrespect? What greater belittling to the infinite God than to represent Him by that which is finite? Will we represent the living God by that which is without life, and the Maker of all by something that is made?

To make a true image of God is impossible. God is a spiritual essence and, being a Spirit, He is not visible to the natural man. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). You did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire (Deuteronomy 4:15). How can anyone paint the Deity? How can they make an image of that which they never saw? The church father Ambrose (AD 340-397) said, "There is no depicting the invisible."

You did not see any form. It is impossible to make a picture of the soul or to paint the angels, because they are of a spiritual nature; much less can we paint an image of God, who is an infinite, unchanging Spirit.

To worship God by an image is absurd and irrational. The builder of the house has more honor than the house (Hebrews 3:3). If the workman is better than the work, and no one bows to the workman, then how absurd is it to bow to the work of his hands! Is it not an absurd thing to bow down to the king's picture when the king himself is present? It is even more absurd to bow down to an image of God when God Himself is everywhere present.

To worship God by an image is unlawful. It is against the teaching of the church, which says, "The images of God, our Savior, the Virgin Mary, are of all others the most dangerous; therefore the greatest care ought to be had that they stand not in temples and churches." So we see that image worship is contrary to our own teaching, and it offends the authority of the Church of England. Image worship is directly against the letter of Scripture: You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 26:1). You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates (Deuteronomy 16:22). Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images (Psalm 97:7). Do we think that we will please God by doing that which is contrary to His mind and that which He has specifically forbidden?

Image worship is against the practice of the saints of old. Josiah, that renowned king, destroyed the groves and images. He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people (2 Kings 23:6). Constantine got rid of the images that had been set up in temples. The Christians destroyed images at Baste, Zurich, and Bohemia. When the Roman emperors would have thrust images upon them, they chose rather to die than denounce their profession of faith in Jesus Christ by idolatry. They refused to allow any painter or sculpturer into their society because they did not want any carved statue or image of God. When Seraphion bowed to an idol, the Christians excommunicated him and delivered him up to Satan.

Application 1

The Church of Rome is reproved and condemned, which, from the beginning of its religion to the end, is entirely idolatrous! Roman Catholics make images of God the Father, painting Him in their church windows as an old man! They also make an image of Christ on the crucifix. And because it is against the letter of this commandment, they sacrilegiously blot this commandment out of their catechism and divide the tenth commandment into two. Image worship must necessarily be very impious and blasphemous, because it is giving the religious worship to the creature that is due to God only. It is vain for Roman Catholics to say that they give God the worship of the heart while giving the image only the worship of the body, for God deserves the worship of the body as well as the worship of the heart. To give outward veneration to an image is to give the adoration to a creature that belongs to God alone. I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8).

The Roman Catholics say they do not worship the image, but only use it as a means through which to worship God. The Roman Catholic priest and theologian Thomas Aquinas (1125-1274) said, "Not even to a statue of Christ is any reverence owed, since it is only a piece of carved wood."

Where has God directed them to worship Him by an effigy or image? Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? (Isaiah 1:12). The Catholics cannot say with the devil, It is written (Matthew 4).

The heathen can bring the same argument for their shameless idolatry as the Catholics do for their image worship. What heathen has been so simple as to think that gold or silver or the figure of an ox or elephant was God? These were simply emblems and hieroglyphics to represent God. They worshiped an invisible God by such visible things, just as the Catholics claim to do. When one worships God by an image, God sees the worship as being to the image itself.

But, say the Roman Catholics, images are like books to the lay worshipper, and they are good to put them in mind of God. One of the Roman Catholic councils even affirmed that we might learn more by an image than by much study of the Scriptures. What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols (Habakkuk 2:18). Is an image a layman's book? Then see what lessons this book teaches. It teaches lies, and it represents God, who is invisible, in a visible shape. For Roman Catholics to say they make use of an image to put them in mind of God is as if a woman would say she keeps company with another man to put her in mind of her husband.

But, you might wonder, did not Moses make the image of a bronze serpent? Why, then, cannot we set up images? That was done by God's special command. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live" (Numbers 21:8). There was also a special use in it, both literal and spiritual. What! Does the setting up of the image of the bronze serpent justify setting up images in churches? What! Because Moses made an image of God's design, does that mean that we can set up an image of our own devising? Because Moses made an image to heal those who were harmed, is it lawful to set up images in churches to harm those who are whole?

No – that very bronze serpent that God Himself commanded to be set up, Hezekiah defaced, and called it Nehushtan, mere brass, when Israel looked upon it with too much reverence and began to burn incense to it; and God commended him for so doing. He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel (2 Kings 18:3-5).

But is not God represented as having hands, eyes, and ears? Why can we not, then, make an image to represent Him and help our devotion? Although God is pleased to stoop to our weak capacities and speak of Himself in Scripture as having eyes to signify His omniscience, and hands to signify His power, yet it is absurd to bring forth an argument for images and pictures from such metaphors and figurative expressions. By that rule, God can be pictured by the sun, fire, and a rock, for He is represented in Scripture by these metaphors. Certainly the Roman Catholics themselves would not want such images made of God.

If it is not lawful to make the image of God the Father, yet can we not make an image of Christ, who took upon Himself the nature of man? No! Epiphanius (d. AD 403), bishop of Salamis, seeing an image of Christ hanging in a church, tore it in pieces. It is Christ's Godhead, united to His manhood, that makes Him to be Christ. Therefore, to picture His manhood when we cannot picture His Godhead is a sin, because we make Him to be but half Christ. We separate what God has joined, and we leave out that which is the main thing that makes Him to be Christ.

But how can we conceive of God properly if we cannot make any image or resemblance of Him? We must conceive of God spiritually.

We must conceive of Him in His attributes – His holiness, justice, and goodness – which are the beams by which His divine nature shines forth.

We must conceive of Him as He is in Christ. Christ is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), just as we see the print of the seal in the wax. Set the eyes of your faith on Christ, the God-man. He who has seen Me has seen the Father, Jesus said (John 14:9).

Application 2

Take heed of the idolatry of image worship. Our nature is prone to this sin just as dry wood is prone to take fire. Indeed, notice how many words are in the commandment: You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. What is the need of so many words except to show how inclined we are to this sin of false worship? It concerns us, therefore, to resist this sin. Where the tide is apt to run with greater force, there we have necessity to make the banks higher and stronger. The plague of idolatry is very infectious. They mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them (Psalm 106:35-36). It is my advice to you to avoid all occasions of this sin.

Do not join in the company of idolatrous Roman Catholics. Dare not to live under the same roof with them – or you run into the devil's mouth!

Do not go into their churches to see their crucifixes or to hear mass. As looking on a harlot leads to adultery, so looking on the Catholic gold-covered image can lead to idolatry. Some go to see their idol worship. A vagrant who has nothing to lose does not mind going among thieves. In the same way, those who have no goodness in them do not care to what idolatrous places they go or to what temptations they expose themselves; but you who have a treasure of good principles about you, take heed that the Catholic priests do not rob you of your good principles and defile you with their images!

Dare not to join in marriage with image worshipers. Although Solomon was a man of wisdom, his idolatrous wives drew his heart away from God. The people of Israel entered into an oath and curse that they would not give their daughters in marriage to idolaters (Nehemiah 10:30). For a Christian and a Roman Catholic to marry is to be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14). There is more danger that the Catholic will corrupt the Christian than there is hope that the Protestant will convert the Roman Catholic. If you mingle wine and vinegar, the vinegar will sooner sour the wine than the wine will sweeten the vinegar.

Avoid superstition, which is a bridge that leads over to Rome. Superstition is bringing any ceremony, image, or innovation into God's worship that He did not appoint. It is provoking God, because it reflects much upon His honor, as if He were not wise enough to appoint the manner of His own worship. He hates all strange fire to be offered in his temple. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2).

A ceremony may in time lead to a crucifix. Those who are for altar worship and who will bow to the East may in time bow to the Host. Take heed of all occasions of idolatry, for idolatry is devil worship. And served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons (Psalm 106:36-37).

If you search through the whole Bible, you will find that there is not one sin that God has followed more with plagues than idolatry. The Jews have a saying that in every evil thing that happens to them, there is an ounce of the golden calf in it. Hell is a place for idolaters. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (Revelation 22:15). Senesius said that the devil rejoices at idols, because the image worshipers help to fill hell.

Application 3

In order that you may be preserved from idolatry and image worship, I want to offer some advice.

Get good principles so that you may be able to oppose those who are against God's truth. From where does the Catholic religion get ground? Not from the goodness of their cause, but from their people's ignorance of truth.

Get love to God. The wife who loves her husband is safe from the adulterer, and the soul who loves Christ is safe from the idolater.

Pray that God will keep you. Though it is true that there is nothing to gain in an image (for if we pray to an image, it cannot hear, and if we pray to God through an image, He will not hear), yet we do not know our own hearts or how soon we might be drawn to emptiness if God leaves us. Therefore, pray that you will not be enticed by false worship or receive the mark of the beast in your right hand or forehead. Pray, Uphold me that I may be safe (Psalm 119:117). Pray, "Lord, let me neither mistake my way because of lack of light, nor leave the true way because of lack of courage."

Let us thank God, who has given us the knowledge of His truth. Let us be grateful to Him that we have tasted the honey of His Word and that our eyes are enlightened. Let us glorify Him that He has shown us the pattern of His house and the right mode of worship. Let us honor Him that He has let us see the forgery and blasphemy of the Roman Catholic religion. Let us pray that God will preserve pure ordinances and powerful preaching among us. Idolatry came in at first because of the lack of good preaching. The people began to have golden images when they had wooden priests.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

The first reason why Israel must not worship graven images is because the Lord is a jealous God. The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). Jealousy is understood here in both a positive sense (God is jealous for His people) and in a negative sense (God is jealous of His people).

Jealousy is understood in a positive sense, as God is jealous for His people. Thus says the Lord of hosts, "I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion" (Zechariah 1:14). God has a dear affection for His people. They are His Hephzibah, or delight (Isaiah 62:4). They are the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8), to express how dear they are to Him and how fond He is of them, "Nothing is dearer than the apple of the eye," said Drusius. They are His spouse, adorned with jewels of grace. They lie near His heart. He is jealous for His spouse; therefore, He will be avenged on those who wrong her. The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies (Isaiah 42:13).

What is done to the saints, God takes as done to Himself. Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice, and haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! (2 Kings 19:22). The Lord will take revenge upon all who afflict Zion. God will deal severely with all who have oppressed them. Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors (Zephaniah 3:19).

Jealousy is understood in a negative sense, as God is jealous of His people. It is seen this way in Exodus 34:14: The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. I am jealous lest you should go after false gods or worship the true God in a false manner, and so defile your pure profession of faith by images. God desires His spouse to keep close to Him and not pursue others. You shall not play the harlot (Hosea 3:3). God cannot bear a rival. Our marital love, a love joined with adoration and worship, must be given to God alone.

Application 1

Let us give God no reason to be jealous. A good wife will be discreet and chaste so that she will give her husband no valid reason to be jealous. Let us avoid all sin, especially that of idolatry or image worship. It is reprehensible, after we have entered into a marriage covenant with God, to prostitute ourselves to an image. Idolatry is spiritual adultery, and God is a jealous God; He will avenge it.

Image worship makes God abhor a people. They provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their graven images. When God heard, He was filled with wrath and greatly abhorred Israel (Psalm 78:58-59). Jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance (Proverbs 6:34). Image worship enrages God; it makes God divorce a people. She is not my wife (Hosea 2:2). Jealousy is as severe as Sheol (Song of Solomon 8:6). As the grave devours men's bodies, so God will devour image worshipers.

Application 2

If God is a jealous God, let it be remembered by those whose friends are Roman Catholic idolaters and by those who are hated by their friends because they believe the truth of the Word of God. Oh, remember that God is a jealous God. It would be better to move your parents to hatred than to move God to jealousy! Their anger cannot do you as much hurt as God's anger. If they will not provide for you, God will. My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up (Psalm 27:10).

Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations.

Here is the second reason against image worship, and it is twofold.

God visits in mercy. God will surely take care of you (Genesis 50:25). That is, He will bring you into the land of Canaan, a representation of heaven. Thus, God has visited us with the sunbeams of His favor. He has made us swim in a sea of mercy. This is a happy visitation.

God visits in anger. Shall I not avenge Myself? (Jeremiah 5:9). That is, God will visit with the rod. What will you do in the day of punishment? (Isaiah 10:3). That is, what will you do in the day when God will visit with His judgments? This is the sense that God's "visiting" is taken in this commandment. God is "visiting," or punishing, iniquity.

Observe here three things:

1. Sin makes God visit in anger. Visiting the iniquity. Sin is the reason why God visits with sickness, poverty, etc. If they violate My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes (Psalm 89:31-32). Sin twists the cords that pinch us. It creates all our troubles. It is the bitterness in our cup and the gravel in our bread. Sin is the Trojan horse that causes all the trouble. Sin is the womb of our sorrows and the grave of our comfort. God visits for sin.

2. One special sin for which God visits is idolatry and image worship. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers. Most of God's poisonous arrows have been shot among idolaters. Go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel (Jeremiah 7:12). Because of Israel's idolatry, God allowed the Israelite army to be routed, their priests to be slain, and the ark to be taken captive. Jerusalem was the most famous metropolis of the world. The temple was there. To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord – an ordinance for Israel – to give thanks to the name of the Lord (Psalm 122:4). Except for the high places and images, that city was besieged and taken by the Chaldean forces (2 Kings 25:4).

When images were set up in Constantinople, the chief seat of the Eastern empire, a city that in the eye of the world was impenetrable, it was taken by the Turks, and many people were cruelly massacred. The Turks in their triumphs at that time reproached the idolatrous Christians and caused an image or crucifix to be carried through the streets in contempt. They threw dirt upon it, crying, "This is the God of the Christians." Here was God's visitation for their idolatry.

God has set special marks of His wrath upon idolaters. At a place called Epoletium, 350 people perished by an earthquake while they were offering a sacrifice to idols. Idolatry brought misery upon the Eastern churches and removed the golden candlesticks of Asia. For this iniquity, God visits.

3. Idolatrous people are enemies not only to their own souls, but also to their children. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children. As an idolatrous father passes his land of inheritance on to his children, so he passes on God's anger and curse to his children. A jealous husband, finding his wife has stained her fidelity, may justly cast her off, and her illegitimate children, too, because they are not his. If the father is a traitor to his prince, no wonder if all the children suffer. God may visit the iniquity of image worshipers upon their children.

But is it not said that every man will die for his own sin, and that the son will not bear the iniquity of the father? Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor sons be put to death for fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin (2 Chronicles 25:4). The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity (Ezekiel 18:20). How then does God say that He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children?

Though the son may not be damned, yet he may be severely punished for his father's sin. God stores away a man's iniquity for his sons (Job 21:19). That is, God lays up the punishment of the father's iniquity for his children; the child suffers because of the father's sin. Jeroboam thought to have established the kingdom by idolatrous worship, but it brought ruin upon him and all his descendants (1 Kings 14:10). Ahab's idolatry affected his descendants. They lost the kingdom and were all beheaded. They took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons (2 Kings 10:7). Here God visited the iniquity of the father upon the children. As a son catches an hereditary disease from his father, so he catches misery from him: his father's sin ruins him.

Application 1

How sad is it to be the child of an idolater! It would have been sad to have been one of Gehazi's children who had leprosy passed down to them. The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever (2 Kings 5:27). In the same way, it is sad to be a child of an idolater or image worshiper, for his children are exposed to heavy judgments in this life. God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons (Numbers 14:18). I think I hear God speak, as in Isaiah 14:21: Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter because of the iniquity of their fathers.

Application 2

What a privilege it is to be the children of godly parents! The parents are in covenant with God, and God lays up mercy for their descendants. A righteous man who walks in his integrity – how blessed are his sons after him (Proverbs 20:7). A godly parent does not invite God's wrath, but helps to keep off wrath from his child. He prepares his child with pious principle and prays down a blessing on him. He is a magnet to draw his child to Christ by his good counsel and example. Oh, what a privilege it is to be born of godly, pious parents!

Augustine says that his mother, Monica, travailed with greater care and pains for his new birth than for his natural birth. Wicked idolaters bring misery on their children, and God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon their children; but pious parents secure a blessing upon their children, and God reserves mercy for their children.

Of those who hate Me.

Another reason to oppose image worship is that it is hating God. The Roman Catholics, who worship God by an image, hate God. Image worship is a pretended love to God, but God interprets it as hating Him. She who loves another man hates her own husband. One who loves images hates God. Idolaters are said to be committing immorality with other gods (Exodus 34:15). How can they love God?

I will show that image worshipers hate God, no matter what love they pretend to have for Him.

  * Those people hate God who act contrary to His plain will. He says that we should not set up any statue, image, or picture to represent Him. He hates these things. You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates (Deuteronomy 16:22). Yet the idolater sets up images and worships them. God looks upon this as hating Him. How does the child love his father if he does all he can to disobey him?
  * Those who turned Jephthah out of doors hated him; therefore, they labored to shut him out of his father's house (Judges 11:7). The idolater shuts the truth out of doors. He blots out the second commandment. He makes an image of the invisible God. He brings a lie into God's worship. These are all clear proofs that he hates God.
  * Though idolaters love the false image of God in a picture, they hate His true image in a believer. They pretend to honor Christ in a crucifix, and yet persecute Him by opposing His true followers. Such people hate God.

Application 1

This refutes those who want to worship images. They are very devout people, though. They adore images. They set up the crucifix, kiss it, and light candles to it, and therefore they think that they love God. No – but who will be judge of their love? God says they hate Him and give religious adoration to a creature. They hate God – and God hates them! The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity (Psalm 5:5). They whom God hates will never live with Him! He will never lay such vipers in His bosom!

Heaven is kept as paradise, with a flaming sword so that they cannot enter in. He repays those who hate Him to their faces (Deuteronomy 7:10). He will shoot all His deadly arrows among idolaters. All the plagues and curses in the Book of God will fall upon the idolater. The Lord repays those who hate Him to their faces.

Application 2

Let this encourage all people to flee from Roman Catholic idolatry. Let us not be among those who hate God. Little children, guard yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21). Just as you would keep your bodies from adultery, keep your souls from idolatry. Take heed of images, for they are images of jealousy to provoke God to anger; they are damnable. You can perish by false worship as much as by scandalous sins. You can perish by image worship as much as by drunkenness and immorality. A person can die by poison as much as by a pistol. We can be lost by drinking poison in the Roman Catholic cup of fornication as much as by being pistoled with heinous and scandalous sins.

To conclude, God is a jealous God who will not allow any rivals. He will visit the iniquities of the fathers upon their children. He will bring a plague upon the children of idolaters. He views idolaters as hating Him. He who loves images hates God. Therefore, keep yourself pure from Roman Catholic idolatry. If you love your souls, keep yourselves from idols! Guard yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21).

Showing lovingkindness to thousands.

Another argument against image worship is that God is merciful to those who do not provoke Him with their images, and He will convey mercy upon their children. Showing lovingkindness to thousands.

The golden scepter of God's mercy is displayed in showing lovingkindness to thousands. The heathen thought they praised Jupiter enough when they called him good and great. Both excellencies of majesty and mercy meet in God. Mercy is an innate inclination in God to do good to distressed sinners. God showing mercy makes His Godhead appear full of glory. When Moses asked God to show him His glory, God replied that He would show mercy (Exodus 33:18-19). His mercy is His glory. Mercy is the name by which He will be known. The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). Mercy proceeds primarily and originally from God. He is called the Father of mercies (2 Corinthians 1:3) because He produces all the mercies that are in the creature. Our mercies compared with His are scarcely so much as a drop in the ocean.

What are the characteristics of God's mercy?

God's mercy is free and voluntary. To set up works or worth is to destroy mercy. Nothing can deserve mercy or force it. We cannot deserve it or force it because of our enmity. We may force God to punish us, but not to love us. I will love them freely (Hosea 14:4). Every link in the golden chain of salvation is wrought and interwoven with free grace. Election is free. Just as He chose us in Him . . . according to the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1:4-5). Justification is free. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Do not say that you are unworthy, for mercy is free. If God would show mercy only to those who deserve it, He would show mercy to no one!

God's mercy is powerful. How powerful is that mercy that softens a heart of stone! Mercy changed Mary Magdalene's heart, out of whom seven devils were cast (Luke 8:1-2). She who had a hard and sinful heart was made a weeping penitent! God's mercy works sweetly, yet irresistibly. It charms, yet conquers! The law may terrify, but mercy pacifies. Of what sovereign power and virtue that mercy is that subdues the pride and enmity of the heart and breaks off those chains of sin in which the soul is held!

God's mercy is superabundant. Abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands (Exodus 34:6-7). God visits iniquity only unto the third and fourth generations, but He shows mercy to a thousand generations (Exodus 20:5-6). The Lord has treasures of mercy in store, and therefore is said to be abundant in lovingkindness (Psalm 86:5) and rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4). The vial of God's wrath only drips for now, but the fountain of His mercy runs. The sun is not as full of light as God is of love.

  * God has mercy of all dimensions. He has depth of mercy – it reaches as low as sinners. He has height of mercy – it reaches above the clouds.
  * God has mercies for all seasons. He has mercies for the night. He gives sleep, and sometimes He gives a song in the night (Psalm 42:8). He has also mercies for the morning. His compassions are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).
  * God has mercies for all sorts of people. He has mercies for the poor: He raises the poor from the dust (1 Samuel 2:8). He has mercies for the prisoner: The Lord hears the needy and does not despise His who are prisoners (Psalm 69:33). God has mercies for the dejected: In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you (Isaiah 54:8). He has old mercies: Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old (Psalm 25:6). He has new mercies: He put a new song in my mouth (Psalm 40:3).

Every time we draw our breath, we breathe in mercy! God has mercies under heaven, and those we taste. He has mercies in heaven, and those we hope for. Thus, His mercies are superabundant.

God's mercy is abiding. The lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him (Psalm 103:17). God's anger toward His children lasts only a while (Psalm 103:9), but His mercy lasts forever. His mercy is not like the widow's oil that ran for a while and then ceased (2 Kings 4:6), but God's mercy is overflowing and ever-flowing. Just as His mercy is without limits, so it is without end. His lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalm 136). God never cuts off the generosity of mercy from the elect. We are all living monuments of God's mercy!

In how many ways is God said to show mercy?

He shows mercy to us in daily providing for us. He supplies us with health. Health is the sauce that makes life sweeter. How they who are confined to a sickbed would prize this mercy! God supplies us with provisions. God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day (Genesis 48:15). Mercy spreads our tables and carves for us every bit of bread we eat! We drink always from the golden cup of mercy!

God shows mercy in extending our gospel freedom. A wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9). There are many adversaries. Many people want to stop the waters of the spread of the gospel so that they would not run. We enjoy the sweet seasons of grace, we hear joyful sounds, and we see what is happening in God's power and love. We enjoy Sunday after Sunday as the manna of the Word falls about our tents, when in other parts of the land there is no manna. God shows mercy to us in continuing our gospel privileges despite our neglect.

He shows mercy in keeping many evils from us. You, O Lord, are a shield about me (Psalm 3:3). God has restrained the wrath of men, and He has been a wall between us and danger. When the destroying angel has been abroad and has shed his deadly arrow of pestilence, God has kept away the arrow so that it has not come near us.

He shows mercy in delivering us. I was rescued out of the lion's mouth (2 Timothy 4:17). Paul likely wrote that in regard to Nero. God has restored many of us from the grave. Can we not write in the same way as Hezekiah after his illness and recovery (Isaiah 38:9)? When we thought the sun of our life was setting, God has made it return to its former brightness.

He shows mercy in restraining us from sin. Lusts within are worse than lions without! The greatest sign of God's anger is to give people up to their sins. I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices (Psalm 81:12). While the ungodly sin themselves to hell, God has laid the bridle of restraining grace upon us. As He said to Abimelech, I also kept you from sinning against Me (Genesis 20:6). In the same way, God has withheld us from those sins that might have made us a prey to Satan and a terror to ourselves!

God shows mercy in guiding and directing us. Is it not a mercy for one who has lost his way to have a guide?

  * There is a providential guidance. God guides our affairs for us and chalks out the way He would have us to walk in. He resolves our doubts, unties our knots, and appoints the bounds of our habitation. He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation (Acts 17:26).
  * There is a spiritual guidance. With Your counsel You will guide me (Psalm 73:24). As Israel had a pillar of fire to go before them, so God leads us with the oracles of His Word and the guidance of His Spirit. He guides our heads to keep us from error, and He guides our feet to keep us from scandal. Oh, what mercy is it to have God as our guide and pilot! For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me (Psalm 31:3).

God shows mercy in correcting us. He is angry in love. He smites so that He may save. His rod is not a rod of iron to break us, but is a fatherly rod to humble us. God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). In each affliction, God will subdue some corruption or exercise some grace. Is there not mercy in this? Every cross, to a child of God, is like Paul's crosswind, which, though it broke the ship, it brought Paul to shore upon the broken pieces (Acts 27:44).

God shows mercy in pardoning us. Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity? (Micah 7:18). It is mercy to feed us, and it is rich mercy to pardon us! Pardoning mercy is spun out of the bowels of free grace, and it is enough to make a sick man well. No resident will say, "I am sick"; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity (Isaiah 33:24).

Pardon of sin is a mercy of the first magnitude. God seals the sinner's pardon with a kiss. This made David put on his best clothes and anoint himself. His child was newly dead, and God had told him the sword would not depart from his house – yet he anointed himself. The reason was that God had sent him pardon by the prophet Nathan: The Lord also has taken away your sin (2 Samuel 12:13). Pardon is the only right remedy for a troubled conscience. What can give ease to a wounded spirit but pardoning mercy? Offer someone with a troubled conscience the honors and pleasure of the world, and it is as if flowers and music were brought to one who is condemned.

How can I know that my sins are pardoned? Whenever God removes the guilt of sin, He breaks the power of sin. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot (Micah 7:19). With pardoning love, God gives subduing grace.

God shows mercy in sanctifying us. I am the Lord who sanctifies you (Leviticus 20:8). This is partaking of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). God's Spirit is a spirit of consecration. Although He sanctifies us only in part, yet it is in every part. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is such a mercy that God cannot give it in anger. If we are sanctified, we are elected. God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13). This prepares for happiness, just as the seed prepares for harvest. When the virgins had been anointed and perfumed, they were to stand before the king (Esther 2:12). Just so, when we have had the anointing of God, we will stand before the King of heaven.

God shows mercy in hearing our prayers. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer (Psalm 4:1). Is it not a favor when a king grants a person's request? When we pray for forgiveness, become God's children, and sense God's love, it is a momentous mercy to receive a gracious answer. God may delay an answer, and yet not deny an answer. You do not throw money at a musician before he plays, because you love to hear his music and you want to hear it. God loves the music of prayer, but He does not always let us hear from Him at first. However, in due season, God gives an answer of peace. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me (Psalm 66:20). If God does not turn away our prayer, He does not turn away His mercy.

God shows mercy in saving us. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy (Titus 3:5). This is the pinnacle of mercy, and it is sent from heaven. Here mercy displays itself in all its finest colors. Mercy is mercy indeed, when God perfectly refines us from all the sediment and residue of corruption, makes our bodies like Christ's glorious body, and makes our souls like the angels. Saving mercy is crowning mercy. One is not merely freed from hell, but is enthroned in a kingdom! In this life we desire God rather than enjoy Him, but what rich mercy it will be to be right there near Him, to see His smiling face, and to be with Him forever! This will fill us with joy inexpressible and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8). I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake (Psalm 17:15).

Application 1

Let us not despair. What an encouragement we have here to serve God! He shows mercy to thousands. Who would not be willing to serve a prince who is prone to show mercy and compassion? God is represented with a rainbow round about Him as an emblem of His mercy: He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance (Revelation 4:3).

Acts of severity are forced from God; judgment is His extraordinary work (Isaiah 28:21). The disciples, who are not said to wonder at the other miracles of Christ, did wonder when the fig tree was cursed and withered, because it was not His manner to put forth acts of severity. God is said to delight in mercy. He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love (Micah 7:18). Justice is God's left hand; mercy is His right hand. He uses His right hand most, for He is more used to mercy than to justice. God is more inclined to mercy than to punishment.

God is said to be slow to anger, but ready to forgive. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness (Psalm 103:8). You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You (Psalm 86:5). This may encourage us to serve Him. What argument will prevail if mercy will not? If God were all justice, it might frighten us from Him, but His mercy is a magnet to draw us to Him.

Application 2

Hope in God's mercies. The Lord favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness (Psalm 147:11). He considers it His glory to scatter pardons among men.

You might think that you have been a great sinner, and you are sure that there is no mercy for you! Not if you continue in sin and are resolved to do so, but if you will turn from your sins, the golden scepter of mercy will be held forth to you. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7).

Christ's blood is a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement (Zechariah 13:1). Mercy overflows more in God than sin overflows in us. His mercy can drown great sins, just as the sea covers great rocks. Some of the Jews who had their hands stained in Christ's blood were saved by that blood. God loves to magnify His mercy and display the trophies of free grace! Therefore, hope in His mercy.

Application 3

Strive to know that God's mercy is for you. God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness (Psalm 59:17). A man who was drowning saw a rainbow and said, "How am I better off, though God will not again drown the entire world, since I am drowning?" So how are you better off, even though God is merciful, if you perish? Let us strive to know that God's special mercy is for us.

How will we know that God's mercy belongs to us?

We know that God's mercy belongs to us if we put a high value and estimate upon it. He will not throw away His mercy on those who belittle it. We greatly value health, but we value God's mercy more. This is the diamond in the ring. It outshines all other comforts.

We know that God's mercy belongs to us if we fear God, if we have a reverend awe upon us, and if we tremble at sin and flee from it, as Moses did from his rod when it turned into a serpent. His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him (Luke 1:50).

We know that God's mercy belongs to us if we take refuge in God's mercy – if we trust in it as a drowning person catches hold of a rope. God's mercy to us is a rope let down from heaven. By grabbing hold of this by faith, we are saved. I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever (Psalm 52:8). As a man trusts his life and possessions when surrounded by soldiers to protect them, so we trust our souls in God's mercy.

How do we get a share in God's saving mercy?

If we want to know God's saving mercy, it must be through Christ. Outside of Christ, there is no saving mercy. We read in the old law that no one could enter the holy of holies, where the mercy seat stood, except the high priest, signifying that we have nothing to do with mercy except through Christ, our High Priest. That the high priest could not come near the mercy seat without blood (Leviticus 16:14) shows that we have no right to mercy except through the atoning sacrifice of Christ's blood. That the high priest could not, upon pain of death, come near the mercy seat without incense (Leviticus 16:13) shows that there is no mercy from God without the incense of Christ's intercession. If we want mercy, we must be in Christ.

If we want to know God's mercy, we must pray for it. Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation (Psalm 85:7). Turn to me and be gracious to me (Psalm 25:16). "Lord, do not just give me common mercy. Give me not only mercy to feed and clothe me, but also give mercy to pardon me. Lord, give me not only sparing mercy, but saving mercy. Lord, give me the cream of Your mercies; let me have pardoning mercy and loving-kindness." It is God who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion (Psalm 103:4). Earnestly plead for mercy. Let your needs strengthen your persistence. We pray most fervently when we pray most feelingly.

To those who love Me.

He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38).

God's mercy is for those who love Him! Love is a grace that shines and sparkles in His eye as the precious stone upon Aaron's breastplate. Love to God is a holy expansion or enlargement of soul, by which it is carried with delight after God as the main good. Thomas Aquinas defines love as "a complacent delight in God, as our treasure."

Love is the soul of the Christian religion. It is a momentous grace. If we had as much knowledge as the angels, or faith to do great miracles, but did not have love, it would profit nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). This is true, because if it is lacking, there can be no true Christianity in the heart. There can be no faith, for faith works through love (Galatians 5:6). Everything else is only a show or a devout compliment.

Love enhances and sweetens all the duties of Christianity. It makes them savory food, without which God does not care to even taste them. As to the excellence of this grace, love is the first and great commandment. Love is the queen of graces. It outshines all others as the sun outshines the planets.

In some respects, love is more excellent than faith, though in another sense, faith is more excellent, as it unites us to Christ. Faith puts upon us the embroidered robe of Christ's righteousness, which is brighter than any the angels wear; but in another sense, love is more excellent in respect to the continuance of it. It is the most durable grace. Faith and hope will shortly cease, but love will remain. When all other graces, like Rachel, will die in travail, love will remain alive. The other graces are in the nature of a lease, for the term of life only; but love is permanent and continues forever. Love carries away the garland from all other graces. It is the most long-lived grace. It is a bud of eternity. This grace alone will accompany us in heaven.

How must our love to God be characterized?

Love to God must be pure and genuine. God must be loved primarily for Himself. We must love God, not only for His benefits, but for those intrinsic excellencies with which He is crowned. We must love God not only for the good that flows from Him, but for the good that is in Him. True love is not covetous. He who is deeply in love with God does not need to be hired with rewards, for he cannot help but to love God for the beauty of His holiness, although it is not unlawful to look for good things from God. Moses had an eye to the recompense of reward (Hebrews 11:26), but we must not love God for His blessings only, for then it is not love of God, but love of self.

Love to God must be with all the heart. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart (Mark 12:30). We must not love God a little, giving Him only a drop or two of our love, but the main stream must flow to Him. The mind must think of God, the will must choose Him, and the heart must hunger and thirst for Him. The true mother would not want her child divided (1 Kings 3:26), nor will God have the heart divided. We must love Him with our whole heart. Though we may love the creature, it must be a subordinate love. Love to God must be highest, just as oil swims above the water.

Love to God must be ablaze. To love coldly is the same as not to love. The spouse is said to be lovesick (Song of Solomon 2:5). The seraphim are so called because of their burning love. Love turns saints into seraphim; it makes them burn in holy love to God. Many waters cannot quench love (Song of Solomon 8:7).

How can we know whether we love God?

He who loves God desires His presence. Lovers cannot be apart for long. They soon grow weak for lack of a sight of the object of their love. A soul deeply in love with God desires the enjoyment of Him in the Word, in prayer, and in communion with Him. David was ready to faint away and die when he did not have sight of God. My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God (Psalm 84:2). Those who do not care to abide in Christ and walk with God plainly manifest lack of love to God.

He who loves God does not love sin. Hate evil, you who love the Lord (Psalm 97:10). The love of God and the love of sin can no more mix together than iron and clay. Every sin that is loved strikes at the being of God. He who loves God abhors sin. He who desires to separate two people who love each other is a hateful person. God and the believing soul are two who love each other. Sin separates them, and therefore the soul is relentlessly set against it. You can test your love to God by this. How could Delilah say she loved Samson when she entertained correspondence with the Philistines, who were his mortal enemies? How can anyone claim to love God who loves sin, which is God's enemy?

He who loves God is not much in love with anything else. His love is very cool to worldly things. His love to God moves swiftly, as the sun in the sky; his love to the world moves slowly, as the sun on the dial. The love of the world eats out the heart of piety. It chokes holy affections just as dirt puts out the fire. The world was dead to Paul: The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14). In Paul we can see both the picture and the pattern of a disciplined man of self-denial. He who loves God uses the world, but chooses God. The world is his pension, but God is his portion. The Lord is my portion (Psalm 119:57). The world engages him, but God delights and satisfies him. He says as David, God my exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4). That is, "God is the best of my joy!"

He who loves God cannot live without Him. We cannot be without the things we love. A man can do without music or flowers, but not food. Just so, a person deeply in love with God looks upon himself as ruined without Him. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will become like those who go down to the pit (Psalm 143:7). He says as Job, I go about mourning without comfort (Job 30:28). I have the light of the stars, but I lack the Sun of Righteousness; I do not enjoy the sweet presence of my God. If God is our main good, we cannot live without Him! Sadly, they show that they have no love to God who can get along well without Him! Let them just have food and drink, and you will never hear them complain about the lack of God.

He who loves God will do whatever it takes to get Him. What pains the merchant takes, what hazards he runs, to have a rich return from the Indies! Jacob loved Rachel, and he could endure the heat by day and the frost by night so that he could enjoy her. A soul that loves God will take any pains in order to grow nearer to Him. My soul clings to You (Psalm 63:8). Augustine said that love is the pendulum of the soul. It is as the weight that sets the clock going.

Love is much in prayer, weeping, and fasting. It strives as in agony, that he may obtain Him whom his soul loves. Plutarch reports of the Gauls, an ancient people of France, that after they had tasted the sweet wine of Italy, they never rested until they had arrived at that country. He who is in love with God never rests until he has a part in Him. I must seek him whom my soul loves (Song of Solomon 3:2).

How can they say they love God if they are not striving in pursuit of Him? The sluggard buries his hand in the dish (Proverbs 19:24). He is not in agony, but passivity. If Christ and salvation would drop as a ripe fig into his mouth, he would be content to have them, but he does not want to put himself to too much trouble. Does he love his friend if he will not travel to see him?

He who loves God prefers Him more than possessions and life. Before possessions: I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). Who would desire an expensive jewel and not part with a flower for it? Galeacius, marquis of Vico, parted with a large estate to enjoy God in his pure ordinances. When a Jesuit tried to persuade him to return to his Roman Catholic religion in Italy, promising him a large sum of money, Galeacius said, "Let their money perish with them who esteem all the gold in the world worth one day's communion with Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit."

Before life: They did not love their life even when faced with death (Revelation 12:11). Love to God carries the soul above the love of life and the fear of death.

He who loves God loves His people – those who truly follow Jesus and walk in holiness. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him (1 John 5:1). The mind reacts to the likeness of an object just as it does to the object itself. It is an infallible sign of love for God when we love a person because we see God in him, and when the more we see of God in him, the more we love him. The wicked pretend to love God, but they hate and persecute His image – those who follow Him.

Does a person love his prince who vandalizes his statue or tears his picture? Some people seem indeed to show great reverence to saints departed; they have great reverence for Paul and Stephen and Luke. They canonize dead saints, but persecute living saints; and do they love God? Can it be imagined that anyone loves God who hates God's children because they are like Him? If Christ were alive again, He would not escape a second persecution.

If we love God, we cannot but be fearful of dishonoring Him. The more a child loves his father, the more he is afraid to displease him. When we have offended God, we, too, weep and mourn. Peter went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). Peter might well think that Jesus dearly loved him when He took him up to the mount where He was transfigured, showing him the glory of heaven in a vision. It broke his heart with grief that he denied Christ after he had received such a special indication of His love. He wept bitterly. Are our eyes dropping tears of grief because of our sin against God? It is a blessed evidence of our love to God, and those who do so sincerely will find mercy. God says that He shows lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments (Exodus 20:6).

Application

Let us love God. We love our food, and will we not love Him who gives it? All the joy we hope for in heaven is in God, and will not He who will be our joy then be our love now? Augustine said, "Is it not punishment enough, Lord, not to love You?" And again, "I would hate my own soul if I did not find it loving God."

What are the incentives to inspire and inflame our love for God?

God bestows His benefits on us. If a prince bestows continual favors on a subject, and if that subject has any sincerity, he cannot help but to love his prince. God is constantly heaping benefits upon us, satisfying [our] hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17). As streams of water out of the rock followed Israel wherever they went, so God's blessings follow us every day. We swim in a sea of mercy! It is a hard heart indeed that receives God's continuous blessings and does not love Him. Love attracts love. Kindness works even on a brute beast: An ox knows its owner (Isaiah 1:3).

Love to God makes the duties of the Christian religion simple and pleasant. I confess that to him who has no love for God, the Christian life must necessarily be a burden. I am not surprised to hear him say, "What a weariness it is to serve the Lord!" It is like rowing against the tide without love for God, but love oils the wheels and makes duty a pleasure. Why are the angels so swift and dutiful in God's service but because they love Him? Jacob thought seven years to be only a little amount of time for the love he had for Rachel. Love is never weary. He who loves money is not weary of counting it, and he who loves God is not weary of serving Him.

Love to God is advantageous. There is nothing lost by loving God. As it is written, "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9). Such glorious rewards are laid up for those who love God, that as Augustine says, "They not only transcend our reason, but faith itself is not able to comprehend them." A crown is the highest symbol of worldly glory, but God has promised a crown of life . . . to those who love Him (James 1:12), and it is an unfading crown (1 Peter 5:4).

By loving God, we know that He loves us. We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). If ice melts, it is because the sun has shone upon it; and if the frozen heart melts in love, it is because the Sun of Righteousness has shone upon it.

What methods should be used to inflame our love for God?

Strive to know God precisely. We cannot love that which we do not know. God is the most comprehensive good. All excellencies that lie scattered in the creature are united in Him. He is optimus maximus – the best and the greatest. Wisdom, beauty, riches, and love all concentrate in Him. How fair was that tulip that had the colors of all tulips in it! All perfections and sweetnesses are eminently in God. If we knew God more and better, and if we saw His shining beauty with the eye of faith, our hearts would be fired with love for Him!

Make the Scriptures familiar to you. Augustine says that before his conversion, he took no pleasure in Scripture – but afterward it was his main source of delight. The Word of God makes God to us in His holiness, wisdom, power, and truth. It shows Him as rich in mercy and encompassed with promises. Augustine calls the Scripture a golden epistle, or love letter, sent from God to us. By reading this love letter, we become more enamored with God, just as lust and sin is excited by reading indecent books, comedies, romances, etc.

Meditate much upon God, and this will promote love to Him. While I was musing the fire burned (Psalm 39:3). Meditation help to grow the affections. Meditate on God's love in the gift of Christ. God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). What wonderful love this is that God would give Christ to us, and not to the angels who fell, that the Sun of Righteousness would shine in our horizon, and that He is revealed to us and not to others!

Can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? (Proverbs 6:28). Who can meditate on God's love, who can tread on these hot coals, and his heart not burn in love? Meditating upon God implores a heart to love God. The affection of love is natural, but not the grace of love (Galatians 5:22). This fire of love is kindled from heaven; plead with God that it would burn upon the altar of your heart. Surely the request is pleasing to God, and He will not deny such a prayer as "Lord, give me a heart to love You."

And keep My commandments.

Love and obedience, like two sisters, must go hand in hand. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15). We show our love by performing the work. The son who loves his father will obey him. Obedience pleases God. To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).

In a sacrifice, only a dead beast is offered, but in obedience, a living soul is given. In sacrifice, only a part of the fruit is offered, but in obedience, all the fruit and the entire tree are given. When we offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, we offer ourselves up to God. I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God (Romans 12:1).

Keep My commandments. The Bible does not say that God shows mercy to thousands who know His commandments, but to those who keep them. Knowing His commandments without keeping them does not entitle anyone to mercy. The commandment is not only a rule of knowledge, but is one of duty. God gives us His commandments, not only as a pleasant picture to look upon, but also as His will and testament that we are to perform. A good Christian not only has the light of knowledge, but moves in a sphere of obedience.

We should keep the commandments based upon faith.

Our obedience ought to spring from faith. It is called, therefore, the obedience of faith (Romans 16:26). By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain (Hebrews 11:4). Faith is a vital principle, without which all our works are dead works (Hebrews 6:1). Faith improves and sweetens obedience, and makes it come off with a better fragrance.

But why must faith be mixed with obedience to the commandments? Because faith sees Christ in every duty. It is in Him that both the person and offering are accepted. The high priest under the law laid his hand upon the head of the slain beast, which pointed to the Messiah (Exodus 29:10). So faith in every duty lays its hand upon the head of Christ. His blood atones for their guilt, and the sweet odor of His intercession gives a sweet fragrance to our works of obedience. He has made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6 JUB).

We must keep all of the commandments with equal importance.

We must be conscious of one commandment as well as of another. Then I shall not be ashamed when I look upon all Your commandments (Psalm 119:6). Every commandment has the same stamp of divine authority upon it. If I obey one precept because God commands it, then I must obey all of them for the same reason. Some obey the commands of the first table, but are careless of the duties of the second. Some obey the second table, but not the first. Physicians have a rule that when the body sweats in one part and is cold in another, it is a sign of sickness; and when people seem zealous in some duties of Christianity, but are cold and frozen in others, it is a sign of hypocrisy. We must have respect to all God's commandments.

But who can keep all His commandments?

There is a fulfilling of God's commands, and there is a keeping of them. Although we cannot fulfill them all, yet we can keep them in a biblical sense. We can build, though not complete.

We keep the commandments biblically:

  * When we are aware and watchful of every command – when, although we come short in every duty, we dare not neglect any.
  * When our desire is to keep every commandment. Oh that my ways may be established to keep Your statutes! (Psalm 119:5). What we lack in strength, we make up in will.
  * When we grieve that we can do no better, when we weep when we fail, when we complain against ourselves and judge ourselves for our failings. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24).
  * When we strive to obey every commandment. I press toward the goal (Philippians 3:14). We strive as in agony, and if it were in our power to do so, we would fully follow every commandment without fail or hesitation.
  * When, falling short and unable to come up to the full latitude of the law, we look to Christ's blood to sprinkle our imperfect obedience, and with His merits cast into the scales, pray that our lives will be acceptable to God.

This, in a biblical sense, is to keep all the commandments; and although we might not do so to our satisfaction, yet it is to God's acceptance.

Keeping God's commandments must be voluntary.

If you consent and obey (Isaiah 1:19). God required a freewill offering. You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you (Deuteronomy 16:10). David will run the way of God's commandments; that is, he will obey them freely and cheerfully. I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart (Psalm 119:32).

A musician is not commended for playing long, but for playing well. Obeying God willingly is accepted. Righteous deeds done unwillingly are worthless. The Lord hates that which is forced, for that is more like paying a tax than giving an offering. Cain served God grudgingly; he brought his sacrifice, but not his heart. To obey God's commandments unwillingly is like the devils who came out of the men possessed. They came out at Christ's command, but with reluctance and against their will (Matthew 8:29).

Obedience is the main thing, and not through fear of punishment, but out of love for God. Godly duties must not be forced nor beaten out of us, as the waters came from the rock when Moses smote it with his rod, but they must drop freely from us as myrrh from the tree or honey from the comb. If a willing mind is lacking, the flower is lacking to give a sweet fragrance to our obedience and to make it a sweet-smelling aroma to God.

So that we may keep God's commandments willingly, let these things be considered well:

  1. Our willingness is more esteemed than our service. David counsels Solomon not only to serve God, but to do so with a willing mind: Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever (1 Chronicles 28:9). The will makes sin to be worse, and makes duty to be better. To obey willingly shows that we do it with love, and this crowns all our service.
  2. There is something in the Lawgiver that may make us willing to obey the commandments, and this is God's kindness to us.
    * God does not require perfect obedience as absolutely necessary to salvation. He requires sincerity only. If you truly act from a principle of love and desire to honor God in your obedience, it will be accepted.
    * In the gospel, a Surety, or Substitute, is allowed. The law would not allow this, but now God so indulges us that what we cannot do for ourselves we can do by a Substitute. Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). We fall short in everything, but God looks upon us in our Surety. With Christ, who has fulfilled all righteousness, it is to God as if we had fulfilled the law ourselves.
    * God gives strength to do what He requires. The law called for obedience, but although it required brick, it gave no straw; in the gospel, however, God, with His commands, gives power. Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 18:31). This is above our strength to do so, though. It would be just as easy for us to make a new world. But God will do it for us: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). God commands us to cleanse ourselves: Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean (Isaiah 1:16). Who can make the clean out of the unclean? (Job 14:4). Therefore the command is turned into a promise: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols (Ezekiel 36:25). When the child cannot walk, the nurse takes him by the hand. It is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms (Hosea 11:3).
  3. There is something in God's commandments that may make us willing. They are not burdensome.
    * A Christian agrees to God's commands. I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good (Romans 7:16). What is done with agreement is not a burden. If a young woman gives her consent to be married, the relationship goes on cheerfully. If a subject consents to his prince's laws because he sees the fairness and reasonableness of them, they are not troublesome. A person who is born again approves in his judgment and consents in his will to God's commandments, and therefore they are not burdensome.
    * God's commandments are sweetened with joy and peace. Cicero questions whether something can properly be called a burden that is carried with delight and pleasure. If a man carries a bag of money that has been given to him, it is heavy, but the delight takes away the burden. When God gives inward joy, it makes the commandments delightful. God says that He will make them joyful in His house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7). Joy is like oil to the wheels, making a Christian run in the way of God's commandments so that they are not burdensome.
    * God's commandments are advantageous. They are preventive of evil, helping to keep us from sin. What harm would we run into if we did not have afflictions to humble us and the commandments to restrain us! God's commandments keep us within bounds, just as the yoke keeps the ox from straggling. We should be thankful to God for precepts. If He had not set His commandments as an impediment in our way, we might have run straight to hell without stopping! There is nothing in the commandments except what is for our good. To keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good (Deuteronomy 10:13).

We're instructed to read the Word, and what harm is in this? He adorns the Word with promises, as if a father would ask his son to read his last will and testament in which he bequeathed a large estate to him. God asks us to pray, and He tells us that if we ask, it will be given (Matthew 7:7). Ask for power against sin, ask for salvation – and it will be given. If you had a friend who would say, "Come to me when you want to, and I will supply you with money," would you think it an inconvenience to visit that friend often?

God commands us to fear Him. You are to revere your God (Leviticus 25:43). There is honey in the mouth of this command. His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him (Luke 1:50). God commands us to believe, and why? Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Salvation is the crown that is set upon the head of faith. We have good reason, then, to obey God's commands willingly, since they are for our good, and are not so much our duty as our privilege.

    * God's commandments are adorning. God's commandments do not burden us, but adorn us. It is an honor to be employed in a king's service, and it is much more of an honor to be employed in His service by whom kings reign (Proverbs 8:15). To walk in God's commandments proves us to be wise. I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me. . . . So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding (Deuteronomy 4:5-6). To be wise is a great honor. We can say of every commandment of God, as Proverbs 4:9 states, it will place on your head a garland of grace.
    * The commands of God are infinitely better than the commands of sin, which are hurtful. Let a man be under the command of any lust, and see how he tires himself! What dangers he runs, endangering his health and soul, so that he can satisfy his lust! They weary themselves committing iniquity (Jeremiah 9:5). Are not God's commandments more equal, easy, and pleasant than the commands of sin? Chrysostom says, "To act virtue is easier than to act vice."

Sobriety is less troublesome than drunkenness. Meekness is less troublesome than passion and pride. There is more difficulty in the planning and pursuit of a wicked scheme than in obeying the commands of God. That is why a sinner is said to travail with wickedness (Psalm 7:14). A woman, while she is in travail, is in pain – to show what pain and trouble a wicked person has in bringing forth sin. Many have gone with more pains to hell than others have to heaven! This should make us obey the commandments willingly.

    * Willingness in obedience makes us resemble the angels. The cherubim are described with wings displayed to show how ready the angels are to serve God. God no sooner speaks the word, but they are ambitious to obey. They are ravished with joy while praising God! In heaven we will be like the angels, and by our willingness to obey God's commands, we should be like them here.

We pray that God's will may be done by us on earth as it is in heaven, and is it not done willingly there? It is also done constantly. Blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times! (Psalm 106:3). Our obedience to the command must be as the fire of the altar, which never went out. Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out (Leviticus 6:13). It must be as the motion of the pulse, always beating. The wind blows off the fruit, but the fruits of our obedience must not be blown off by any wind of persecution. I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain (John 15:16).

Application

Those people are rebuked who willfully neglect to obey God's commandments, desiring to do evil, to be impure and sinful, to lack restraint, and to walk contrary to the commandments.

To live in willful neglect of the commandment is:

Against reason. Are we able to stand out against God? Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we? (1 Corinthians 10:22). Can we match strength with God? Can we who are powerless stand against Him who is all-powerful? A sinner acts against reason.

Against reasonableness. We have our very being from God, and is it not right that we should obey Him who gives us our being? We have all our life from Him, and is it not right that as He gives us our allowance, we should give Him our allegiance? If a general gives his soldiers pay, he expects them to march at his command; so for us to live in violation of the divine commands is manifestly unjust.

Against nature. Every creature in its kind obeys God's law. Animate creatures obey Him. God spoke to the fish, and it brought Jonah ashore (Jonah 2:10). Inanimate creation obeys Him. The wind and the sea obey Him (Mark 4:41). The very stones, if God gives them a command, will cry out against the sins of men (Luke 19:40). No one disobeys God except wicked people and demons – and can we find no better companions?

Against kindness. How many mercies do we have to persuade us to obey! We have miracles of mercy. The apostle Paul therefore joins together disobedience and unthankfulness, which dyes sin with a crimson color. Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy (2 Timothy 3:2). As the sin is great, for it is contempt of God – flying the war flag of defiance against Him, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23), so the punishment will be great.

Willful disobedience cuts you off from God's mercy. God's mercy is for those who keep His commandments, but there is no mercy for those who live in a willful violation of them. All God's judgments, both temporal and eternal, set themselves in battle array against those who are disobedient. If, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up (Leviticus 26:15-16). Jesus Christ will come in flames of fire, taking vengeance on those who do not obey God (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). God has iron chains of punishment to hold those who break the golden chains of His commands – chains of darkness by which the devils are continually held (Jude 6). God has time enough, as long as eternity – to deal in justice with all the willful breakers of His commandments!

How can we keep God's commandments?

Pray for the Spirit of God. We cannot do it in our strength. The Spirit must work in us both to will and to do. It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). When the magnet draws, the iron moves. In the same way, when God's Spirit draws us, we walk in the way of His commandments.
The Third Commandment

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

This commandment has two parts:

  1. A negative expressed: We must not take God's name in vain; that is, we must not cast any reflections and dishonor on His name.
  2. An affirmative implied: We should take care to reverence and honor His name. Of this latter part I will speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be Your name (Matthew 6:9).

I will now speak of the negative expressed in this commandment, or the prohibition, You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

The tongue is an unruly member. All the parts and organs of the body are defiled with sin, just as every branch of wormwood is bitter. The tongue is full of deadly poison (James 3:8). There is no part of the body that breaks forth more in God's dishonor than the tongue. We have this commandment, therefore, as a bridle for the tongue, to bind it to good behavior.

This prohibition is backed with a strong reason: for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. That is, God will not hold him innocent. Men of power and eminence consider it disgraceful to have their names abused, and they inflict heavy penalties on the offenders. The Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Rather, God looks upon him as a criminal and will severely punish him. The thing here insisted on is that great care must be taken that the holy and reverend name of God is not profaned, or taken in vain, by us.

We take God's name in vain when we speak slightly and irreverently of His name. Fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 28:58). David speaks of God with reverence: The Mighty One, God, the Lord (Psalm 50:1). That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth (Psalm 83:18). The disciples, when speaking of Jesus, hallowed His name: Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people (Luke 24:19). When we mention the names of kings, we give them some title of honor, such as "excellent majesty," and so we should speak of God with the sacred reverence that is due to the Infinite Majesty of heaven. When we speak belittlingly of God or His works, He interprets it as contempt and taking His name in vain.

We take God's name in vain when we profess God's name, but do not live answerably to it. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him (Titus 1:16). When people's tongues and lives are contrary to one another, and when, under a mask of profession, they lie and deceive and are unclean, they make use of God's name to abuse Him, and they take God's name in vain. Pretended holiness is merely double wickedness. The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you (Romans 2:24). When the heathen saw the Jews, who professed to be God's people, to be scandalous, it made them speak evil of God and hate the true religion for their sakes.

We take God's name in vain when we use God's name in idle discourse. He is not to be spoken of except with a holy awe upon our hearts. To bring His name in at every turn when we are not thinking of Him, to say, "O God!" or "O Jesus!" – is to take God's name in vain. How many are guilty here! Though they have God in their mouths, they have the devil in their hearts. It is a wonder that fire does not come out from the Lord to consume them, as it did Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:2).

We take God's name in vain when we worship Him with our lips, but not with our hearts. God calls for the heart: Give me your heart, my son (Proverbs 23:26). The heart is the main thing in Christianity. It draws the will and affections after it. The heart is the incense that perfumes our holy things. The heart is the altar that sanctifies the offering. When we seem to worship God, but withdraw our hearts from Him, we take His name in vain. This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me (Matthew 15:8).

Hypocrites take God's name in vain. Their religion is a lie. They seem to honor God, but they do not love Him. Their hearts go after their lusts. They feed on the sin of My people and direct their desire toward their iniquity (Hosea 4:8). Their eyes are lifted up to heaven, but their hearts are rooted in the earth (Ezekiel 33:31). These are devils in Samuel's robe (1 Samuel 15:27).

Superstitious people take God's name in vain. They bring Him a few ceremonies that He never appointed, bow at Christ's name, and bow to the altar, but they hate and persecute God's true people.

We take God's name in vain when we pray to Him but do not believe in Him. Faith is a grace that greatly honors God. Abraham grew strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20). When we pray to God, but do not mix faith with our prayer, we take His name in vain. "I may pray," someone says, "but nothing will change." I question whether God ever hears or answers such prayers. It dishonors God and is taking His name in vain. It makes Him either an idol, that has ears and hears not, or a liar, who promises mercy to those who repent, but will not make good on His word. The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar (1 John 5:10).

When the apostle says, How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? (Romans 10:14), the meaning is, How can they properly call on God and not believe in Him? But how many do call on Him who do not believe on Him! They ask for pardon, but unbelief whispers that their sins are too great to be forgiven. Thus, to pray and not believe is to take God's name in vain, and it highly dishonors God, as if He were not such a God as the Word represents Him. You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You (Psalm 86:5).

We take God's name in vain when we profane and abuse His Word in any way. The Word of God is profaned, in general, when profane people meddle with it. It is unfitting for a wicked person to talk of sacred things, such as of God's providence and the decrees of God and heaven. It was very distasteful to Christ to hear the devil quote Scripture, saying, It is written (Matthew 4). To hear a wicked person who delights in sin talk about God and Christianity is very offensive to God. It is taking His name in vain. When the Word of God is in a drunkard's mouth, it is like a pearl hung upon a swine! Under the law, the lips of the leper were to be covered (Leviticus 13:45). The lips of a profane, drunken professor of Christianity ought to be covered, too, for he is unfit to speak God's Word, because he takes God's name in vain.

More specifically, the following types of people profane God's Word and take His name in vain:

Those who speak scornfully of His Word. Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation (2 Peter 3:4). It is as if they had said, "The preachers make much ado about the day of judgment, when all must be called to account for their works; but where is the appearing of that day? We see things keep their course and continue as they were since the creation." Thus, they speak scornfully of Scripture and take God's name in vain. If sentence is not speedily executed, people scorn and deride (Ecclesiastes 8:11), but judgments are prepared for scoffers (Proverbs 19:29).

Those who speak jestingly. These are people who sport and play with Scripture. This is playing with fire. Some people are not happy unless they are being disrespectful toward God. They use the Scripture as a harp to drive away the spirit of sadness. Eusebius relates of one who made a jest of Scripture, and God struck him with insanity. To play with Scripture shows a very irreverent heart. Some will rather lose their souls than lose their jests. These people are guilty of taking God's name in vain. Tremble at it. Those who mock at Scripture will be mocked by God at their calamity! I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes (Proverbs 1:26).

Those who use Scripture to support any sin. The Word, which was written for the defeat of sin, is used by some people to try to defend sin. For instance, if we tell a covetous man that his sin of covetousness is idolatry, he will say, "Has not God told me to work for a living? Has he not said to work six days (Exodus 34:21) and that he who does not provide for his family is worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:8)?" Thus, he attempts to support his covetousness from Scripture.

It is true that God tells us to work for a living, but not to hurt our neighbor. He has told us to provide for our family, but not by oppression. You shall not wrong one another (Leviticus 25:14). God does tell us to make a living, but not to the neglect of the soul. He tells us to store up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20), but He has commanded us to lay out, as well as lay up – to sow seeds of charity on the backs and bellies of the poor, which is neglected by such people. To try to use Scripture to support us in sin is a high defilement of Scripture and is taking God's name in vain.

Again, if we tell someone of his immoderate anger – that he can be drunk with rash anger as well as with wine – he will bring Scripture to justify it by saying, "Does not the Word say, Be angry, and yet do not sin (Ephesians 4:26)? True, anger is good when mixed with holy zeal. Anger is without sin when it is against sin! But to sin in anger, to speak unadvisedly with the lips, is to have the tongue set on fire of hell. To use Scripture to defend any sin is to profane it and to take God's name in vain.

Those who corrupt the Word and twist it in a wrong sense. Those people are heretics who put their own explanation upon Scripture and try to make it say that which the Holy Spirit never meant – as, for instance, when they expound texts literally that were meant figuratively.

God said in the law, Thou shalt bind them [the commandments] as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead (Deuteronomy 6:8). The Pharisees took it in a literal sense. They took two scrolls of parchment on which they wrote the two tables of the law, putting one on their left arm and binding the other to their eyebrows. Thus, they wrested that Scripture and took God's name in vain. It was intended to be understood spiritually – of meditating on God's law and putting it in practice.

The Roman Catholics explain the words, This is My body (Luke 22:19), literally, of the very body of Christ – as though, when Christ gave the bread, He had two bodies, one in the bread, and the other out of the bread. Instead, Jesus meant it figuratively as a sign of His body.

Again, it is corrupting the Scriptures when that which the Holy Spirit meant to be literal is expounded figuratively and allegorically. For example, Christ said to Peter, Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch (Luke 5:4). This text was spoken in a plain, literal sense of launching out the ship, but the Roman Catholics take it in a mystical and allegorical sense. "It proves," they say, "that the Pope, who is Peter's successor, will launch forth and catch the ecclesiastical and political power over the Western parts of the world." The Roman Catholics have launched out too far beyond the meaning of the text. When people strain their minds to twist the Word to whatever sense pleases them, they profane God's Word and often in doing so also take God's name in vain.

We take God's name in vain when we swear by God's name. Many seldom mention God's name except in oaths, for which sin the land mourns. Make no oath at all (Matthew 5:34). That is, do not speak so rashly and sinfully so as to take God's name in vain. In most cases it is lawful to take an oath before a judge. You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name (Deuteronomy 6:13). With them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute (Hebrews 6:16). When Christ says, Make no oath at all, He forbids such swearing that takes God's name in vain.

There is a threefold swearing forbidden:

  1. Vain swearing, as when people in their ordinary conversation let curses fly. Some excuse their swearing. It is a coarse wool that will take no dye. It is a bad sin indeed that has no excuse.
    * Excuse 1. "I swear only little trifling oaths." The devil has two false mirrors that he sets before men's eyes. The one is a little mirror in which the sin appears so small that it can hardly be seen. The devil sets this before men's eyes when they are going to commit sin. The other is a great magnifying glass wherein sin appears so big that it cannot be forgiven. The devil sets this before men's eyes after they have sinned. You who say that your sin is small will see it to be great and worthy of damnation when God will open the eye of your conscience. You say they are but small oaths, but Christ forbids vain oaths. Make no oath at all. If God will deal with us for our idle words, will not our idle oaths also be dealt with?
    * Excuse 2. "I swear to the truth." See how this harlot-sin would cover itself with an excuse. Though it is a true oath, yet if it is a reckless oath, it is sinful. Besides, he who routinely swears must sometimes swear to more than is true. Where much water runs greatly, some gravel or mud will pass along with it, and where there is much swearing, some lies will run along with it.
    * Excuse 3. "I will not be believed unless I seal up my words with an oath." A man who is honest will be believed without an oath. His plain word carries authority with it, and it is as good as a legal testimony. Again, the more a person vows, the less others will believe him. You become known as one who makes empty promises. Another person thinks that an oath does not mean much to him, and he does not care what he swears to. The more he swears, the less others believe him.
    * Excuse 4. "I have a habit of swearing, and I hope God will forgive me." Though a habit might have influence among men and is pleadable in law, yet it is not so in the case of sin, for here, habit is no plea. You have a habit of swearing, and you cannot stop; is this an excuse? Is something well done simply because it is frequently done? This is so far from being an excuse that it is an aggravation of sin! This is as if one who had been accused of killing someone would plead with the judge to spare him because it was his custom to murder! Would not this be an exacerbation of the offense? So it is here. Therefore, all excuses for this sin of empty swearing are taken away. Dare not to live in this sin, for it is taking God's name in vain!
  2. Vile swearing and horrid, prodigious oaths not to be named. Swearers, like mad dogs, fly in the face of God! When they are angered, they spew out their blasphemous venom on God's sacred majesty. Some in gambling, when things go wrong for them and the dice runs against them, run against God in oaths and curses. Tell them of their sin, seek to bring home these donkeys from going astray (1 Samuel 9:3), and it is like pouring oil on the flame – they will swear even more! Augustine says, "They do no less sin who blaspheme Christ now in heaven, than the Jews did who crucified Him on earth!" Swearers profane Christ's blood and tear His name.

A woman told her dying husband that of her three sons, only one of them was his. The father was dying, and he desired the executors to find out who was the true natural son, and to leave all his estate to him. After the father had died, the executors set up his corpse against a tree and handed to each of these three sons a bow and arrows, telling them that he who could shoot nearest the father's heart would have the entire estate. Two sons shot as near as they could to his heart, but the third felt nature so at work in him that he refused to shoot. The executors judged him to be the true son, and they gave him all the estate.

Those who are the true children of God fear to shoot at Him, but those who are illegitimate and not true sons do not care if they shoot at Him in heaven with their oaths and curses! That which makes swearing even more heinous is that when people have resolved upon any wicked action, they bind themselves with an oath to do it. Such were those who bound themselves with an oath and curse to kill Paul (Acts 23:12). To commit sin is bad enough, but to swear to commit sin is a high defilement of God's name and, as it were, calls God to approve our sin!

  3. Perjury, which is a heaven-daring sin. You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:12). Perjury is calling God to witness to a lie. It is said of Philip of Macedon that he would swear and unswear, according to whatever he thought was best for him at the moment. You will swear, "As the Lord lives," in truth, in justice, and in righteousness (Jeremiah 4:2). In righteousness: therefore, it must not be an unlawful oath. In judgment: therefore, it must not be a reckless oath. In truth: therefore, it must not be a false oath.

Among the Scythians, if a man perjured himself, he was to have his head taken off. They believed that if perjury were allowed, there would be no way to live in a commonwealth, for it would take away all trust and truth from among the people. The perjurer is in as bad a case as the witch, for by a false oath, he binds his soul firmly to the devil.

In taking a false oath in a court, there are many sins linked together – many sins in one. Besides taking God's name in vain, the perjurer is a thief, for by his false oath he robs the innocent of his right. He is a perverter of justice, for he not only sins himself, but he causes the jury to give a false verdict and causes the judge to pass an unrighteous sentence. Surely God's judgments will find him out!

When God's flying scroll, or curse, goes over the face of the earth, into whose house does it enter? "I will make it go forth," declares the Lord of hosts, "and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones" (Zechariah 5:4). The French Protestant Reformer Theodore Beza tells of a perjurer who had no sooner taken a false oath than he immediately suffered a stroke, never spoke again, and died. Oh, tremble at such horrid impiety!

We take God's name in vain when we introduce God's name to any wicked action. Mentioning God in connection with a wicked plan is taking His name in vain. Absalom said, Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to the Lord (2 Samuel 15:7). This pretense of paying his vow made to God was only to cover his treason. As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, "Absalom is king in Hebron" (2 Samuel 15:10). When any wicked action is mixed with the name of Christianity, it is taking God's name in vain. In this the Pope is highly guilty, when he sends out his bulls of excommunication, or curses against the Christian: he begins with, "In the name of God." What a provoking sin this is! It is to do the devil's work – and to put God's name to it!

We take God's name in vain when we use our tongues in any way to the dishonor of God's name. This happens when we complain or curse in anger – especially when we wish a curse upon ourselves if a thing is not so, when we know it to be false. I have read of someone who wished his body might rot if that which he said was not true, and soon after his body began to rot, and he became a revolting sight.

We take God's name in vain when we make reckless and unlawful vows. It is a good vow, when a person binds himself to do that which the Word binds him to. For example, if he is sick, and he vows that if God restores him, he will live a more holy life. I shall pay You my vows, which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke when I was in distress (Psalm 66:13-14). But such a vow should not be made that is displeasing to God, as to vow voluntary poverty, as the friars do, or to vow to live in nunneries. Jephthah's vow was reckless and unlawful; he vowed to the Lord to sacrifice that which he met with next – and it was his own daughter (Judges 11:31)! He was wrong to make the vow, and he did even worse to keep it. He became guilty of breaking the third and sixth commandments.

We take God's name in vain when we speak evil of God. The people spoke against God (Numbers 21:5). How do we speak against God? We speak against God when we murmur at His providences, as if God had dealt harshly with us. Murmuring accuses God of injustice. Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? (Genesis 18:25). Murmuring springs from a bitter root. It comes from pride and discontent. It reproaches God and thus takes His name in vain. It is a sin that God cannot tolerate. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? (Numbers 14:27).

We take God's name in vain when we falsify our promise. An example of this would be if we say that if God spares our life we will do a certain thing, but we never intend to do it. Our promise should be sacred and absolute; but if we make a promise and mention God's name in it, never intending to keep it, it is a double sin. It is telling a lie and also taking God's name in vain.

Application

Be careful that you do not take God's name in vain in any of these ways. Remember the threatening promise in the text: The Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. This is an understatement – less is said, and more is intended. The Lord will not leave him unpunished; that is, He will be severely avenged on such a person! The Lord will not leave him unpunished. Here the Lord speaks after the manner of a judge who holds the court. The judge here is God Himself. The accusers are Satan and one's own conscience. The accusation is taking God's name in vain. The accused is found guilty and condemned. The Lord will not leave him unpunished.

I think these words, The Lord will not leave him unpunished, should put a lock upon our lips and make us afraid of speaking anything that may bring dishonor upon God or that might be taking His name in vain! Maybe people will hold others guiltless when they curse, swear, or speak irreverently of God, but God will not hold them guiltless. If a person takes away someone else's good name, he will be sure to be punished, but if he takes away God's good name, where is the one who punishes him? He who robs someone else of his goods will be put to death, but he who robs God of His glory by oaths and curses is spared! But God Himself will take the matter into His own hand – and He will punish him who takes His name in vain!

Sometimes God punishes swearing and blasphemy in this life. In the county of Samurtia, when there arose a great storm with much thunder and lightning, a soldier burst forth into swearing; but the storm tore up a large tree by the root, which fell upon him and crushed him to death.

German history tells of a youth who often swore, and even invented new oaths. The Lord sent a cancer into his mouth, which ate out his tongue and from which he died. If a man blasphemed God, the Lord caused him to be stoned to death. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name and cursed. . . . Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones (Leviticus 24:11, 23).

Olympias, an Arian bishop, reproached and blasphemed the Trinity, whereupon he was suddenly struck with three bolts of lightning that burned him to death. Felix, an officer of Julia, seeing the vessels that were used in the sacrament, said, in scorn of Christ, "See what precious vessels the Son of Mary is served with." Soon after, he began vomiting blood from his blasphemous mouth, and he soon died.

If God does not carry out judgment on the profaners of His name in this life, their doom is still certain to come. He will not cancel their debt, but He will deliver them to Satan, the jailer, to torment them forever. If God justifies someone, who will condemn him? But if God condemns him, who will justify him? If God puts a person in prison, where will he get bail? God will not hold back His wrath on the sinner in hell! It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).
The Fourth Commandment

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)

This commandment was engraved in stone by God's own finger, and it will be our comfort to have it engraved in our hearts! The Sabbath day is set apart for God's solemn worship. It is His own insertion, and it must not be used for common uses. As a preface to this commandment, He has put a reminder to it: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. The word "remember" shows that we are apt to forget Sabbath holiness. Therefore we need a note to remind us to sanctify the day.

There is a solemn command in these words:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

  1. Sanctifying the Sabbath consists of two things: resting from our own works and a conscientious carrying out of our Christian duties.
  2. The people to whom the command of sanctifying the Sabbath is given: In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

The arguments to obey this commandment of keeping holy the Sabbath:

  1. From the rationality of it. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. It is as if God had said, "I am not a cruel master. I do not object to you taking time to look after your career and to get things you need. I have given you six days to do all your work, and have taken but one day for Myself. I could have reserved six days for Myself and allowed you only one, but I have given you six days to get your work done, and I have taken only one day for My own service. It is right and rational, therefore, that you should set this day apart in a special way for My worship."
  2. The second argument for sanctifying the Sabbath is taken from the justice of it. The seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God. This is as if God had said, "The Sabbath day is what is owed to Me. I have a special right to it, and no one else has any claim to it. He who robs Me of this day and puts it to common uses is a sacrilegious person. He steals from the crown of heaven, and I will in no way hold him guiltless!"
  3. The third argument for sanctifying the Sabbath is taken from God's own observance of it. He rested on the seventh day. This is as if the Lord had said, "Will you not follow Me as a pattern? Having finished all My works of creation, I rested the seventh day; so having done all your secular work in six days, you should now cease from the labor of your job and dedicate the seventh day to Me as a day of holy rest."
  4. The fourth argument for Sabbath sanctification is taken from the benefit that is achieved from a sincere observation of the Sabbath. The Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. God not only appointed the day, but He blessed it. It is not only a day of honor to God, but it is a day of blessing to us. It is not only a day wherein we give God worship, but it is a day wherein He gives us grace. On this day a blessing drops down from heaven. God Himself does not benefit by it, and we cannot add anything to His essential glory, but we ourselves benefit. This day, properly observed, involves a blessing upon our souls, our possessions, and our families. Not keeping it brings a curse. If you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched (Jeremiah 17:27).

God curses a man's blessings. Even the bread that he eats is poisoned with a curse. I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart (Malachi 2:2). While God curses our blessings when we will not obey Him, the conscientious observation of the Sabbath brings all manner of blessings with it.

These are the arguments to promote keeping the Sabbath day holy. The thing I want you to observe now is that the commandment of keeping the Sabbath was not abolished with the ceremonial law, but it is purely moral, and the observation of it is to be continued to the end of the world. Where can it be shown that God has released us from keeping one day in seven holy?

Why has God appointed a Sabbath?

With respect to Himself. It is necessary that God should set apart one day in seven for His own immediate service, that thereby He might be acknowledged to be the great sovereign Lord, who has power over us both to command worship and to appoint the time when He will be worshiped.

With respect to us. The Sabbath day is for our benefit. It promotes holiness in us. The business of weekdays makes us forgetful of God and our souls; the Sabbath brings Him back to our remembrance. When the dust of the world has clogged the wheels of our affections so that they can scarcely move toward God, the Sabbath arrives and oils the wheels of our affections, and they move swiftly on!

God has appointed the Sabbath for this purpose. On this day the thoughts rise to heaven, the tongue speaks of God and is as the pen of a ready writer, the eyes drop tears, and the soul burns in love! The heart, which was frozen all week, melts with the Word on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath is a friend to true Christianity. It files off the rust of our graces. It is a spiritual jubilee wherein the soul is ready to communicate with its Maker.

Application 1

The use I will make of this is that we should have the Sabbath, which we now celebrate, in high veneration. The Jews called the Sabbath "the desire of days, and the queen of days." We must call the Lord's Day a delight, the holy day of the Lord (Isaiah 58:13). Metal that has the king's stamp upon it is honorable and of great value. God has set His royal stamp upon the Sabbath; it is the Sabbath of the Lord, and this makes it honorable. We should look upon this day as the best day in the week. This is the day which the Lord has made (Psalm 118:24). God has made all the days, but He has blessed this one. As Jacob got the blessing from his brother, so the Sabbath got the blessing from all other days in the week. It is a day in which we converse with God in a special manner.

The Jews called the Sabbath "a day of light," and on this day the Sun of Righteousness shines upon the soul. The Sabbath is the market day of the soul, the cream of time. It is the day of Christ's rising from the grave and the Holy Spirit's descending upon the earth. It is perfumed with the sweet aroma of prayer, which goes up to heaven as incense. On this day the manna falls; that is, the angels' food comes to us. This is the soul's festival day, on which the graces act their part. The other days of the week are most employed about earth, but this day is spent with the things of heaven. The rest of the week you gather straw, but on the Lord's Day you gather pearls.

On the Lord's Day, Christ takes the soul up into the mount and gives it transfiguring sights of glory. He leads His spouse into the wine cellar and displays the banner of His love (Song of Solomon 2:4). He gives her His spiced wine and the juice of the pomegranate (Song of Solomon 8:2). The Lord usually reveals Himself more to the soul on this day. The apostle John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10). Jesus was carried up on this day in divine glory toward heaven. On this day, a Christian is in the heights; he walks with God, and takes, as it were, a turn with Him in heaven (1 John 1:3). On this day, holy affections are strengthened. The supply of grace is improved. Corruptions are weakened, and Satan falls like lightning before the majesty of the Word (Luke 10:18).

Christ worked most of His miracles upon the Sabbath, and He does so still. Dead souls are raised and hearts of stone are made flesh. How highly we should esteem and reverence this day! It is more precious than rubies. God has anointed it with the oil of gladness above the other days. On the Lord's Day, we are doing angels' work. Our tongues are tuned to God's praises. The Sabbath on earth is a shadow and type of the glorious rest and eternal Sabbath we hope for in heaven, when God will be the temple, and the Lamb will be the light of it (Revelation 21:22-23).

Application 2

Six days you shall labor. God would not have anyone live without working. True Christianity gives no justification for idleness. It is a duty to labor six days, as well as keep holy rest on the Lord's Day. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).

A Christian must not only regard heaven, but must also regard his vocation. While the ship's pilot has his eye to the star, he has his hand to the helm. Without labor, the pillars of a commonwealth will dissolve, and the earth, like the sluggard's field, will be overrun with briers. I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, and behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down (Proverbs 24:30-31). Adam in innocence, though monarch of the world, was not to be idle, but was to dress and till the ground (Genesis 2:15). Piety does not exclude hard work. Standing water becomes unpleasant.

Inanimate creatures are in motion. The planets travel their circuit, the fountain runs, and the fire sparkles.

Animate creatures work. Solomon sends us to the ant to learn how to work. Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise (Proverbs 6:6). The ants are not a strong people, but they prepare their food in the summer (Proverbs 30:25). The bee is a symbol of hard work. Some of the bees trim the honey, others work the wax, others frame the honeycomb, and others guard the door of the hive to keep out the drone.

Should not man much more labor? That law in paradise was never repealed: By the sweat of your face you will eat bread (Genesis 3:19). Those who profess to be Christians are to be excluded who talk of living by faith, but who live without working. They are like the lilies that do not toil nor do they spin (Matthew 6:28). Hear more wisdom from holy and knowledgeable William Perkins: "Let someone be endowed with excellent gifts, hear the Word with reverence, and receive the sacrament – yet if he does not work, it is all only hypocrisy." What is an idle person good for? What benefit is a ship that always lies on the shore? What benefit is armor that hangs up and rusts?

To live without working exposes a person to temptation. Philip Melanchthon calls idleness "the devil's bath," because Satan bathes himself with delight in an idle soul. We do not sow seed in the ground when it lies fallow, but Satan sows most of his seed of temptation in people who lie fallow and who live without working. Idleness is the nurse of vice! Seneca, an old heathen, said, "No day passes me without some labor." An idle person stands for a nobody in the world; God writes down no nobodies in the Book of Life! We read in Scripture of eating the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27) and drinking the wine of violence (Proverbs 4:17). It is as much a sin to eat the bread of idleness as to drink the wine of violence.

An idle person can give no good account of his time. Time is a talent to trade with. The slothful person hides his talent in the earth (Matthew 25:18). He does no good. His time is not lived, but lost. An idle person lives unprofitably. He wastes space in the ground. God calls the slothful servant wicked: You wicked, lazy slave (Matthew 25:26).

Draco of Greece, whose laws were written in blood, deprived people of their lives who would not work for their living. In Hetruria, such idle people were banished. Idle people live in the violation of the commandment, Six days you shall labor. Let them be careful that they are not banished from heaven! A person may just as well go to hell for not working as for not believing!

I have given some reasons that the Lord's Day should be sanctified. Now I will explain how it should be sanctified.

The manner of sanctifying the Sabbath:

Negatively. We must do no work on it. This is the commandment. In it you shall not do any work. God has set apart this day for Himself. Therefore, we are not to use it for common things, such as doing any ordinary work. Just as when Abraham went to sacrifice, he left his servants and the donkey at the bottom of the hill (Genesis 22:5), so when we are to worship God on this day, we must leave all worldly business behind. Just as Joseph, when he wanted to speak with his brothers, thrust out the Egyptians (Genesis 45:1), so when we want to converse with God on this day, we must thrust out all worldly activities.

The Lord's Day is a day of holy rest. We ought to suspend and refrain from all secular work, as it is a profanation of the day. In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. . . . Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day?" (Nehemiah 13:15, 17). It is sacrilege to rob for common work the time that God has set apart for His worship. He who devotes any part of the Lord's Day to worldly business and common work is a worse thief than he who robs on the highway, for the one only robs man, but the other robs God.

The Lord forbid manna to be gathered on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:26). One might think it would have been allowed, as manna was the staff of their life, and it probably fell between five and six in the morning, so they could have gathered it early. All the rest of the Sabbath could have been employed in God's worship. Besides, they did not have to take a long journey for it, but only had to step out of their doors, for it fell around their tents. Yet they were not allowed to gather it on the Sabbath. God was very angry with them simply for intending to do so. It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?" (Exodus 16:27-28).

Certainly the anointing of Christ's body when He was dead was a commendable work, but though the women had prepared sweet ointments to anoint the dead body of Christ, they did not go to the sepulcher to embalm Him until the Sabbath was past. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment (Luke 23:56). If the hand is made busy on the Lord's Day, the heart will be defiled. The very heathen, by the light of nature, would not do any secular work during the time which they had set apart for the worship of their false gods. Clement of Alexandria told about one of the emperors of Rome who, on the day of set worship for his gods, put aside warlike affairs and spent the time in devotion.

To do general work on the Sabbath shows an impious heart, and it greatly offends God. To do secular work on this day is to follow the devil's plow; it degrades the soul. God made this day on purpose to raise the heart to heaven, to commune with Him, and to do angels' work. To be employed in earthly work is to degrade the soul of its honor. God will not have His day encroached upon or defiled in the smallest way.

God commanded that the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was to be stoned (Numbers 15:35)! It would seem a small matter to pick up a few sticks to make a fire, but God would not have this day violated in even the smallest matters. Even the work that had reference to a religious use was not to be done on the Sabbath, such as the hewing of stones for the building of the sanctuary. Bezaleel, who was to cut the stones and the timber for the sanctuary, had to refrain from doing so on the Sabbath. Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death (Exodus 31:15). A temple is a place of God's worship, but it was a sin to build a temple on the Lord's Day. This is keeping the Sabbath day holy negatively – by doing no manual work.

Works of necessity and works of charity, however, may be done on this day. In these cases, God will have mercy and not sacrifice. It is lawful to take the necessary supplies of nature. Food is to the body as oil to the lamp.

It is lawful to do works of mercy, such as helping a neighbor when either life or property are in danger. In this the Jews were too precise, as they would not allow works of charity to be done on the Sabbath. If someone were sick, they would not allow any means to be used for his recovery on this day. They were angry because Christ had healed on the Sabbath (John 7:23). If a house were on fire, the Jews were opposed to bringing water to quench it. If a vessel leaked on this day, they did not believe they should stop the leak. They were excessively righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:16). They were zealous, but they lacked discretion to guide their zeal.

Except in these two cases of necessity and charity, though, all secular work is to be suspended and laid aside on the Lord's Day. In it you shall not do any work. This rebukes and condemns many among us who dirty their fingers with work on that day – some in preparing great meals, others in opening their shop doors, and others in selling or buying food on the Lord's Day.

The mariner who sails on the Sabbath runs full sail into the violation of this command. Others work on this day privately and do their work indoors, but although they think they hide their sin under a canopy, God sees it. Where can I flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7). Even the darkness is not dark to You (Psalm 139:12). God will count those who profane the Lord's Day as sinning against Him.

Positively. We keep the Lord's Day holy by consecrating and dedicating this day to the service of the Most High God. It is good to rest on the Sabbath day from the works of our vocation, but if we rest from labor and do no more, we are as the ox and the donkey; they keep the Sabbath as well as we do, for they rest from labor. We must dedicate the day to God. We must not only keep the Sabbath, but we must sanctify it as well.

Sabbath sanctification consists in two things:

  1. Solemn preparation for it. If you knew that a prince was coming to your house, what preparation would you make for his entertainment? You would sweep the house, wash the floor, and adorn the room with the finest tapestry and pictures so that there might be something suitable to the state and dignity of so great a person. On the blessed Sabbath, God intends to have sweet communion with you. He seems to say to you, as Christ said to Zacchaeus, Hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house (Luke 19:5).

What preparation should you make for entertaining this King of Glory? When Saturday evening approaches, sound a retreat. Call your minds off from the world, and summon your thoughts together to consider the great work of the approaching day. Purge out all unclean affections that may indispose you for the work of the Lord's Day. Evening preparation should be like the tuning of an instrument – it will prepare the heart better for the duties of the ensuing Sabbath.

  2. Sacred observation of it. Rejoice at the approach of the day, as it is a day wherein we have a prize for our souls and can enjoy much of God's presence. Abraham rejoiced to see my day (John 8:56). So, when we see the light of the Lord's Day begin to shine, we should rejoice and call the Sabbath a delight – this is the queen of days, which God has crowned with a blessing.

If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:13-14)

Just as there was one day in the week on which God rained down twice as much manna as upon any other day, so He rains down the manna of heavenly blessings twice as much on the Sabbath as on any other day. This is the day wherein Christ carries the soul into the house of wine and displays the banner of love over it. The dew of the Spirit now falls on the soul, whereby it is revived and comforted. How many people can write the Lord's Day as the day of their new birth! This day of rest is a pledge of the eternal rest in heaven. Should we not then rejoice at its approach? The day on which the Sun of Righteousness shines should be a day of gladness.

Get up early on Sunday morning. Christ rose early on this day – before the sun was up (John 20:1). Did He rise early to save us, and will we not rise early to worship and glorify Him? Early will I seek thee (Psalm 63:1 JUB). Can we be up early on other days? The farmer is early at his plow, and the traveler rises early to go on his journey – and will not we, who on this day are traveling to heaven, also rise early? Certainly, if we loved God as we should, we would rise early on this day so that we could meet with Him whom our souls love. Those who stay up late at work or play the night before are so buried in sleep that they will hardly be up early on a Sabbath morning.

Having dressed your bodies, you must dress your souls for hearing the Word. As the people of Israel were to wash themselves before the law was delivered to them (Exodus 19:10), so we must wash and cleanse our souls. This is done by reading, meditation, and prayer.

We prepare our souls by reading the Word.

The Word is a great means to sanctify the heart and bring it into the proper frame of mind for the Lord's Day. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth (John 17:17). Do not read the Word carelessly, but with seriousness and affection, as the oracle of heaven, the well of salvation, and the Book of Life. Because of its preciousness, David esteemed it above gold. Because of its sweetness, he considered it better than honey. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10).

By reading the Word faithfully, our hearts, when weary, are strengthened. When hard, they are made soft. When cold and frozen, they are inflamed. We can say as the disciples did, Were not our hearts burning within us? (Luke 24:32). Some get out of bed and go immediately to church. The reason why many do not get more good on Sundays by the Word preached is because they did not first meet with God in the morning by reading His Word.

We prepare our souls by meditation.

Get upon the mount of meditation, and there commune with God. Meditation is the soul's withdrawing within itself, so that by seriously and solemnly thinking upon God, the heart may be raised up to divine affections. It is a work suitable for the morning of a Sabbath.

Meditate on four things:

1. Meditate on the works of creation. This is expressed in the commandment: In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:11). Creation is a mirror in which we see the wisdom and power of God gloriously represented. God produced this beautiful world without any preexistent matter, and with a word. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made (Psalm 33:6).

On the Lord's Day, let us meditate on the infiniteness of the Creator. The disciples were astonished that Christ could, with a word, calm the sea, but it was far more astounding to make the sea with a word (Matthew 8:26)! They have seen the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep (Psalm 107:24). Look into the earth, where we can behold the nature of minerals, the power of the lodestone, the virtue of herbs, and the beauty of flowers.

By meditating on these works of creation, so curiously embroidered, we will learn to admire God and praise Him. O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions (Psalm 104:24). By meditating on the works of creation, we will learn to confide in God. He who can create can provide. He who could make us when we were nothing can raise us when we are low. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 124:8).

2. Meditate on God's holiness. Holy and awesome is His name (Psalm 111:9). Your eyes are too pure to approve evil (Habakkuk 1:13). God is essentially, originally, and immutably holy. All the holiness in men and angels is but the crystal stream that runs from this glorious fountain. God loves holiness because it is His own image. A king cannot help but to love to see his own likeness stamped on a coin. God counts holiness His glory and the most sparkling jewel of His crown. He is majestic in holiness (Exodus 15:11). This is meditation suitable for the beginning of a Sabbath day. Contemplating this would work in us such a frame of heart as is suitable to a holy God. It would make us reverence His name and hallow His day. While reflecting upon the holiness of God's nature, we will begin to be transformed into His likeness.

3. Meditate on Christ's love in redeeming us. From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood (Revelation 1:5). Redemption exceeds creation: the one is a monument of God's power, the other of His love.

This is proper work for a Sabbath. Oh, the infinite, amazing love of Christ in raising poor, sinful creatures from a state of guilt and damnation! Consider that Christ, the Son of God, would die! We can never admire this love enough, not even in heaven. Consider that Christ would die for sinners – not for sinful angels, but for sinful men. Consider that such clods of earth and sin would be made bright stars of glory! Oh, the amazing love of Christ!

Consider that Christ would not only die for sinners, but He would die as a sinner! He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). God's own Son was numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). It was not that He had sin, but He was like a sinner, having our sins imputed to Him. Sin did not live in Him, but it was laid upon Him. Here was a magnification of love big enough to strike us with astonishment!

Consider that Christ died to redeem us when He could not expect to gain anything from us or to receive any advantage at all from us! People will not lay out their money for a purchase unless it is for their benefit and gain, but what benefit could Christ expect in purchasing and redeeming us? We were in such a condition that we could neither deserve nor repay Christ's love.

We could not deserve it, for we were in our blood. I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood (Ezekiel 16:6). We had no spiritual beauty to entice Him. Not only were we in our blood, but we were in war against Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:10). When He was shedding His blood, we were spitting out poison!

Just as we could not deserve Christ's love, neither could we repay it. After He had died for us, we could not so much as love Him – until He made us love Him. We could give Him nothing in return for His love. Who has first given to Him? (Romans 11:35). We were fallen into poverty. If we have any beauty, it is from Him. It was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you (Ezekiel 16:14). If we bring forth any good fruit, it is not of our own growth, but it comes from Him, the True Vine. From Me comes your fruit (Hosea 14:8). It was nothing but pure love for Christ to lay out His blood to redeem those from whom He could not expect to receive any benefit!

Consider that Christ died so willingly! I lay down My life (John 10:17). The Jews could not have taken it away if He had not laid it down. He could have called to His Father for legions of angels to guard His life, but there was no need for even that, for His own Godhead could have defended Him from all assaults. He laid down His life.

The Jews did not thirst for His death as much as He thirsted for our redemption. I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! (Luke 12:50). He called His sufferings a baptism. He was to be baptized and sprinkled with His own blood! He thought the time was long before He suffered. To show Christ's willingness to die, His sufferings are called an offering: through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10). His death was a freewill offering.

Consider that Christ does not resent nor think much of all His sufferings! Though He was scourged and crucified, He was well contented with what He had done, and if it were needful, He would do it again. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11). As the mother who has had hard labor does not feel regret of her pangs when she sees her child brought forth, but is well contented, so Christ, though He had hard travail upon the cross, does not think much of it. He is not troubled, but thinks that His sweat and blood were well given because He sees the child of redemption brought forth into the world.

Consider that Christ would make redemption effectual to some and not to others! This is astonishing love. Though there is sufficiency in His merits to save all, yet only some people partake of their saving virtue. Christ does not pray for all. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me (John 17:9). All do not have the benefit of salvation by Him.

Herein appears the distinguishing love of Christ – that the virtue of His death would reach some and not others. Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble (1 Corinthians 1:26). Consider that Christ passed by many people of noble birth and abilities and that the allotment of free grace would fall upon you. Consider that He would sprinkle His blood upon you. Oh, the depth of the love of Christ!

Consider that Christ loves us with such a divine love! The apostle Paul calls it the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19). Consider that He loves us more than the angels. He loves them as His friends, but He loves believers as His spouse! He loves them with the kind of love that God the Father has for Him. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you (John 15:9). Oh, what great love Christ shows in redeeming us!

Consider that Christ's love in our redemption is everlasting! Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end (John 13:1). Just as Christ's love is matchless, so it is endless. The flower of His love is sweet, and what makes it sweeter is that it never dies! His love is eternal. I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He will never divorce His elect spouse! The failings of His people cannot take away His love. They may eclipse it, but they do not wholly remove it. Their failings may make Christ angry with them, but He does not hate them.

Every failing of ours does not break the marriage bond. Christ's love is not like the saint's love. They sometimes have strong affections toward Him, but at other times the love is not so strong on their part, and they find little or no love stirring in them; but it is not so with Christ's love for them. His is a love of eternity. Once the sunshine of Christ's electing love has risen upon the soul, it never sets. Death may take away our life from us, but it does not take away Christ's love.

Behold – this is a rare subject for meditation on a Sunday morning. The meditation of Christ's wonderful love in redeeming us should work in us a Sabbath-frame of heart. It should melt us in tears for our spiritual unkindness that we would sin against so sweet a Savior; that we would not be more affected by His love, but return evil for good; that like the Athenians, who, notwithstanding all the good service Aristides had done them, banished him out of their city, we would banish Him from our temple; that we would grieve Him with our pride, hasty anger, unfruitfulness, animosities, and petty conflicts.

Have we no one to abuse but our Friend? Have we nothing to kick against but the heart of our Savior? Did not Christ suffer enough upon the cross, but do we need to make Him suffer more? Do we give Him more gall and vinegar to drink? Oh, if anything can dissolve the heart in sorrow and melt the eyes to tears, it is the unkindness we offer to Christ. When Peter thought of Christ's love to him, how He had made him an apostle and revealed His close secrets to him, how He had taken him to the Mount of Transfiguration, and yet Peter still denied Him – it broke his heart with sorrow! He went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). What a blessed thing it is to have the eyes dropping tears on a Sabbath day! Nothing would more quickly produce tears than to meditate on Christ's love to us – and of our unkindness to Him.

Meditating on Christ's love on a Lord's Day morning would kindle love in our hearts to Him. How can we look on His bleeding and dying for us without our hearts being warmed with love to Him? Love is the soul and the purest affection of Christianity. It is not rivers of oil, but sparks of love that Christ values. David said, While I was musing the fire burned (Psalm 39:3), and in the same way, while we are musing on Christ's love in redeeming us, the fire of our love will burn toward Him. It is then that the Christian is in a blessed Sabbath-frame of heart and mind, when, like a seraphim, he is burning in love to Christ!

4. On a Lord's Day morning, meditate on the glory of heaven. Heaven is the extract and essence of happiness. It is called a kingdom because of its riches and magnificence (Matthew 25:34). It is adorned in precious stones and gates of pearl (Revelation 21:19-21). It has all that is truly glorious: transparent light, perfect love, unstained honor, and unmixed joy. That which crowns the joy of the celestial paradise is that it is eternal.

Suppose earthly kingdoms were more glorious than they are, with foundations of gold, walls of pearl, and windows of sapphire – yet they would still be corruptible. But the kingdom of heaven is eternal; those rivers of pleasure run forever. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11). That wherein the essence of glory consists, and that which makes heaven to be heaven – is the immediate sight and fruition of the blessed God. I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake (Psalm 17:15). Oh, think of the Jerusalem above!

This is proper for the Lord's Day. The meditation of heaven would raise our hearts above the world. Oh, how earthly things would disappear and shrink into nothing if our minds were mounted above visible things and we had a view of glory! How the meditation of heaven would make us heavenly in our Sabbath exercises! It would stir up our affection, add wings to devotion, and cause us to be in the Spirit on the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10). How vigorously does the person serve God who always has a crown of glory in his eye!

We prepare our souls on a Sunday morning by prayer.

When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:6). Prayer sanctifies a Sabbath.

What things should we pray for in the morning of the Sabbath? Let us earnestly request a blessing upon the Word that is to be preached – that it may be a savor of life to us and that by it our minds may be more illuminated, our corruptions more weakened, and our supply of grace more increased. Let us pray that God's special presence will be with us, that our hearts will burn within us while God speaks, that we may receive the Word with meek and humble hearts, and that we may submit to it and bring forth fruits (James 1:21).

We should not only pray for ourselves, but also for others. Pray for him who preaches the Word that his tongue may be touched with a hot coal from God's altar (Isaiah 6:7), and that God would warm that man's heart who is to help warm the hearts of others. Your prayers may be a means to strengthen the minister. Some people complain that they find no benefit by the Word preached; maybe the reason is that they did not pray for their minister as they should.

Prayer is like the sharpening of an instrument that makes it cut better. Pray with and for your family. Pray for all the congregations that meet on this day in the fear of the Lord, that the dew of the Spirit will fall with the manna of the Word. Pray that some souls will be converted and that others will be strengthened in the faith. Pray that the gospel commands will be obeyed and have no restraint put upon them. These are the things we should pray for. The tree of mercy will not drop its fruit unless it is shaken by the hand of prayer!

What should be the manner of our prayer? It is not enough to say a prayer. Some people pray in a dull, cold manner, which is basically asking God to deny their prayers. Instead, we must pray with reverence, humility, fervency, and hope in God's mercy. Being in agony He was praying very fervently (Luke 22:44). Christ prayed earnestly.

In order to pray with more fervency, we must pray with a sense of our needs. He who is overcome with needs will be fervent in begging alms. He prays most fervently who prays most feelingly. This is to sanctify the morning of a Sabbath, and it is good preparation for the Word preached. When the ground is broken up by the plow, it is ready to receive the seed. When the heart has been broken by prayer, it is ready to receive the seed of the preached Word.

Having thus prepared your souls in the morning for the further sanctification of the Sabbath, turn yourself to the hearing of the preached Word.

When you sit down in your seat, lift up your eyes to heaven for a blessing upon the Word to be provided, for certainly you know that the Word preached does not work like medicine – by its own inherent virtue – but by power from heaven and the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, put up a quick prayer for a blessing upon the Word that it may be made beneficial to your soul and life.

Once the Word has begun to be preached, hear it with reverence and holy attention. A woman named Lydia . . . was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14). The emperor Constantine was noted for his reverent attention to the Word. Christ taught daily in the temple, and All the people were hanging on to every word He said (Luke 19:48). In the Greek language it says, "They hung upon His lip." If we could tell people of something that was going to be sold that would make them rich, they would diligently attend. Should they not much more diligently attend when the gospel of grace is preached unto them?

So that we can sanctify and hallow the Sabbath by attentive hearing, beware of these two things in hearing: distraction and drowsiness.

Distraction

This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:35). It is said of Bernard of Clairvaux that when he came to the church door, he would say, "I will keep all my earthly thoughts here." So we should say to ourselves, when we are at the door of God's house, "I will keep all my worldly cares and wandering thoughts here; I am now going to hear what the Lord will say to me."

Distraction hinders devotion. The mind is tossed with frivolous thoughts and diverted from the business at hand. It is hard to make a distracted heart focus. How often in hearing the Word do the thoughts dance up and down, and when the eye is upon the minister, the mind is upon other things. Distracted hearing is far from sanctifying the Sabbath. It is very sinful to give in to empty and foolish thoughts at this time, because when we are hearing the Word, we are in God's special presence. To do any treasonable action in the king's presence is great irreverence. Even in My house I have found their wickedness (Jeremiah 23:11). So the Lord may say, "In My house, while they are hearing My Word, I have found wickedness; they have impure eyes, and their soul is set on futility!"

From where do these wandering and distracting thoughts in hearing come?

These thoughts come partly from Satan. The devil is sure to be present in our assemblies. If he cannot hinder us from hearing, he will hinder us in hearing. The sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them (Job 1:6). The devil sets empty objects before the imagination to cause a diversion. His great plan is to render the Word of God fruitless. Just as when someone is writing, and someone else hits his elbows so that he cannot write evenly – so when we are hearing the Word of God, the devil will be presenting us with a temptation so that we would not attend to the Word preached. He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him (Zechariah 3:1).

These wandering thoughts in hearing come partly from ourselves. We must not lay all the blame upon Satan. These thoughts also come from the eye. A wandering eye causes wandering thoughts. As a thief may come into the house through a window, so vain thoughts may come it through the eye. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Just as we are commanded to keep our feet when we enter into the house of God, so we need to make a covenant with our eyes so that we will not be distracted by looking at other things (Job 31:1).

Wandering thoughts in hearing rise out of the heart. These sparks come out of our own furnace. Vain thoughts are the mud that the heart, as from a troubled sea, casts up. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts (Mark 7:21). As the sickness of the stomach affects the head, so the corruption of the heart sends up evil thoughts into the mind.

Distracted thoughts in hearing proceed from a sinful habit. We so accustom ourselves to vain thoughts at other times that we cannot keep them away on the Lord's Day. A habit is a second nature. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil (Jeremiah 13:23). He who is used to bad company does not know how to leave it, and those who have vain thoughts to keep them company all the week do not know how to get rid of them on the Lord's Day.

Let me show you how evil these vain distracting thoughts in hearing are:

  1. To have the heart distracted in hearing is a disrespect to God's omniscience. God is an all-seeing Spirit, and thoughts speak louder in His ears than words do in ours. Behold, I know your thoughts, and the plans by which you would wrong me (Job 21:27). To have no qualms about wandering thoughts in hearing is an insult to God's omniscience, as if He did not know our hearts or did not hear our thoughts.
  2. To give way to wandering thoughts in hearing is hypocrisy. We pretend to hear what God says, while our minds are thinking about something else. We present God with our bodies, but do not give Him our hearts (Hosea 7:2). God complains about this hypocrisy. This people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me (Isaiah 29:13). This is to equivocate and deal falsely with God.
  3. Vain thoughts in hearing reveal much lack of love to God. If we sincerely loved Him, we would listen to His words as our authority and would write them upon the tablet of our heart (Proverbs 3:3). When a friend whom we love speaks to us and gives us advice, we respond with seriousness and consider every word. Giving our thoughts permission to ramble in holy duties shows a great defect in our love to God.
  4. Vain, irrelevant thoughts in hearing violate a command. They are as dead flies in the box of ointment (Ecclesiastes 10:1). When a string of a lute is out of tune, it ruins the music. Distracting thoughts put the mind out of tune and makes our work sound harsh and unpleasant. Wandering thoughts poison a duty and turn it into sin. Let his prayer become sin (Psalm 109:7). What can be worse than to have someone's praying and hearing of the Word become sin? Would it not be sad if the food we eat would increase our sickness? How much more when hearing the Word, which is the food of the soul, is turned into sin!
  5. Vain thoughts in hearing offend God. If the king were speaking to one of his subjects, and the subject did not pay attention to what the king was saying, but was playing with a feather, would not the king be provoked? Just so, when we are in God's presence and He is speaking to us in His Word, and we do not pay much attention to what He says, but our hearts go after covetousness, will it not offend God to be disrespected in this way? They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain (Ezekiel 33:31). He has pronounced a curse upon such people: "Cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King," says the Lord of hosts, "and My name is feared among the nations" (Malachi 1:14). To have strong and lively affections is to have a male in the flock, but to hear the Word with distraction is to give God duties contaminated with vain thoughts, and to offer to the Lord a corrupt thing, which brings a curse. Cursed be the swindler.
  6. Vain thoughts in hearing, when allowed and not resisted, begin to harden the heart. A stone in the heart is worse than a stone in the kidneys. Distracted thoughts in hearing do not benefit the heart, but harden it. Vain thoughts take away the holy awe of God that should be upon the heart. They make one's conscience less tender, and they hinder the effectiveness that the Word should have upon the heart.
  7. Vain and distracting thoughts rob us of the comfort of the service. A gracious soul often meets with God in the sanctuary, and can say, I found him whom my soul loves (Song of Solomon 3:4). He is like Jonathan, who, when he had tasted the honey on the rod, had his eyes enlightened (1 Samuel 14:29). But vain thoughts hinder the comfort of this gathering of God's people, just as a black cloud hides the warm comfortable beams of the sun. Will God speak peace to us when our minds are wandering and our thoughts are traveling to the ends of the earth (Proverbs 17:24)? If you ever want to hear the Word with attention, do as Abraham did when he drove away the fowls from the sacrifice (Genesis 15:11). When you find these journeys and sinful wanderings in hearing, labor to drive away the fowls. Get rid of these vain thoughts; they are vagabonds and must not be received.

How can we get rid of these wandering thoughts?

  1. Pray and watch against them.
  2. Let the sense of God's omniscient eye be pressed upon your hearts. The servant will not play around in his master's presence.
  3. Labor for a holy frame of heart. If the heart were more spiritual, the mind would be more thoughtful.
  4. Bring more love to the Word. We fix our minds upon that which we love. He who loves pleasure and recreation and entertainment fixes his mind upon them and can follow them without distraction. If our love were more set upon the preached Word, our minds would be more fixed upon it. Surely there is enough to make us love the proclaimed Word of God, for it is the Word of life, the inlet to divine knowledge, the antidote against sin, and that which stirs up all holy affections. It is the true manna, which has all sorts of sweet tastes in it. It is the pool of Bethesda, in which the rivers of life spring forth to heal those who are broken in heart. It is a sovereign tonic to revive the sorrowful spirit. If you learn to love the preached Word, you will not be so distracted in hearing. What the heart delights in, the thoughts dwell upon.

Drowsiness

Drowsiness shows much irreverence. Many people are energetic when they are hearing about the world and going about the ways of the world, but in hearing the Word of God, how drowsy they are – as if the devil had given them something to make them sleep! A drowsy feeling here is very sinful. Are you not in prayer, asking pardon of sin? Will the prisoner fall asleep when he is begging to be pardoned? In the preaching of the Word, is not the bread of life broken to you? Will a person fall asleep while eating his food? Which is worse – to stay away from a sermon or to sleep at a sermon? While you slept, perhaps the truth was delivered that might have converted your soul.

Besides, sleeping is very offensive in a holy assembly. It not only grieves the Spirit of God, but it makes the hearts of the righteous sad (Ezekiel 13:22). It troubles them to see anyone show such contempt of God and His worship. It bothers them to see them busy in the shop, but drowsy in the temple. Therefore, as Christ said, So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? (Matthew 26:40). Can you not stay awake one hour?

I do not deny that a child of God may sometimes, through weakness and sickness of body, fall asleep during a sermon – but not voluntarily or regularly. The sun may be in an eclipse, but not often. If sleeping is customary and allowed, it is a very bad sign, and it profanes the preaching of the Word of God. A good remedy against drowsiness is to not eat much upon the Sabbath. Those who indulge their appetites too much on a Sabbath are more ready to sleep on a couch than to pray in the temple.

So that you can throw off distracting thoughts and drowsiness on the Lord's Day, and so that you can hear the Word with reverence and attention, consider the following:

It is God who speaks to us in His Word. That is why the preaching of the Word is called the breath of His lips (Isaiah 11:4). Christ is said now to speak to us from heaven, as a king speaks through his ambassador (Hebrew 12:25). Ministers are but pipes and organs; it is the Spirit of the living God who breathes in them. When we come to the Word, we should think within ourselves, "God is speaking through this preacher!" The Thessalonians heard the Word Paul preached as if God himself had spoken unto them: When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). When Samuel knew it was the Lord who spoke to him, he listened intently (1 Samuel 3:10). If we do not pay attention to God when He speaks to us, He will not pay attention to us when we pray to Him.

Consider how serious and weighty the matters delivered to us are. Moses said, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse (Deuteronomy 30:19). How can people disregard the Word or be drowsy when the weighty matters of eternity are set before them? We preach faith, holiness of life, the day of judgment, and eternal retribution. Life and death are set before you, and does not all this call for serious attention?

If a letter were read to someone about a special matter wherein his life and property were concerned, would he not be very serious in listening to it? In the preaching of the Word, your salvation is concerned, and if you would ever pay attention, it should be now. It is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life (Deuteronomy 32:47).

It gratifies Satan when you give in to vain thoughts and drowsiness in hearing. He knows that not to attend to a duty is the same in Christianity as not to do it. What the heart does not do is not done. Therefore Christ says of some, While hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand (Matthew 13:13). How could that be? It is because, even though the Word sounded in their ear, yet they did not pay attention to what was said to them. Their thoughts were upon other things. Therefore, it was the same as if they did not hear. Does it not please Satan to see people come to the Word and yet sit there as if they are far away? They are troubled with vain thoughts. They neglect their duty while they are right there in it. Their body is in the congregation, but their heart is in their shop. While hearing they do not hear.

Each Lord's Day may be the last we will ever have. We may go from the place of hearing to the place of judging – and will we not give sincere attention to the Word? It would be good to consider when we enter God's house that this might be the last time that God will ever counsel us about our souls. Before another sermon, death's alarm may sound in our ears! With what attention and devotion should we hear! Our emotions should be all on fire in hearing!

You must give an account for every sermon you hear. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves (James 1:22). God will therefore say, "Give an account of how you listened. Have you been changed by the Word? Have you profited from it?" How can we give a good account if we have been distracted in hearing and have not taken notice of what has been said to us? The judge to whom we must give an account is God. If we were to give an account to man, we might not be completely honest with them, but we must give an account to God. Bernard of Clairvaux said, "He is so just a God that He cannot be bribed, and so wise that He cannot be deceived."

Therefore, having to give an account to such an impartial Judge, we should observe every word preached, remembering the account! Let all this help us shake off distraction and drowsiness in hearing, and cause us to have our ears tuned to the Word of God!

In order to hear the Word properly, we must lay aside those characteristics that may render the preached Word ineffectual to us:

  * Lay aside curiosity. Some go to hear the Word preached, not so much to get grace, as to enrich themselves with different ideas – having itching ears. The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires (2 Timothy 4:3). Augustine confesses that before his conversion he went to hear Ambrose for his eloquence rather than for the spirituality of the matter. Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them (Ezekiel 33:32).

Many go to the Word to feast their ears only. They like the melody of the voice, the pleasant sweetness of the expressions, and the novelty of the opinions. All the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new (Acts 17:21). This is to love the garnishing of the dish more than the food. It is to desire to be pleased rather than edified. Like a woman who paints her face but neglects her health, they paint and adorn themselves with curious speculations, but they neglect their soul's health. This kind of hearing neither sanctifies the heart nor the Sabbath.

  * Lay aside prejudice. Prejudice is sometimes against the truths preached. The Sadducees were prejudiced against the doctrine of the resurrection (Luke 20:27). Sometimes prejudice is against the person preaching. There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah (1 Kings 22:8). This hinders the power of the Word. If a patient has a bad opinion of his physician, he will not take any of his medicines, no matter how good they may be. Prejudice in the mind is like an obstruction in the stomach that hinders the nutritive virtue of the food. It poisons the Word and causes it to lose its effectiveness.
  * Lay aside covetousness. Covetousness is not only getting worldly gain unjustly, but it is loving it inordinately. This is a great hindrance to the preached Word. The seed that fell among thorns was choked (Matthew 13:22). This is a fit emblem of the Word when preached to a covetous hearer. The covetous man is thinking about the world when he is hearing. His heart is in his shop. They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain (Ezekiel 33:31). A covetous hearer dismisses the Word. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him (Luke 16:14).
  * Lay aside partiality. Partiality in hearing is when we like to hear some truths preached, but not all truth. We love to hear about heaven, but not about self-denial. We love to hear about reigning with Christ, but not about suffering with Him. We love to hear about the simple duties of Christianity, but not about those that are more involved and difficult – such as dying to self, laying the axe to the root, or chopping down our beloved sin. Speak to us pleasant words (Isaiah 30:10). We want to hear things that do not grate upon the conscience. Many like to hear about the love of Christ, but not about loving their enemies. They like the comforts of the Word, but not its reproofs. Herod heard John the Baptist gladly (Mark 6:20); he did not mind hearing many truths, but he did not like when John the Baptist spoke against his incest.
  * Lay aside severe criticism. Some people, instead of judging themselves for sin, sit as judges upon the preacher. They think his sermon was too bold or too long. They would sooner condemn a sermon than practice it. God will judge the judger (Matthew 7:1).
  * Lay aside disobedience. All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people (Romans 10:21). It is said of the Jews that God stretched out His hands in the preaching of the Word, but they rejected Christ. Let there be none among you who willfully refuse the counsels of the Word. It is sad to have an adder's ear and an adamant heart (Zechariah 7:11-12). If we are deaf when God speaks to us in His Word, He will be silent when we speak to Him in prayer.

If you desire to hear the preached Word properly, you must have a good intent in hearing it. Come to the Word to be made better. Some have no other purpose in hearing the preaching of the Word except that it is in fashion, or to keep up their reputation, or to silence their conscience. However, you ought to come to the Word to be made more holy. There is a great difference between one who goes to a garden for flowers to wear, and someone else who goes for flowers to make syrups and medicines. We should go to the Word for medicine to cure us, just as Naaman the Syrian went to the Jordan River to be healed of his leprosy.

Desire the rational milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby in health (1 Peter 2:2). Go to the Word that you may resemble and reflect it. As the seal leaves its print upon the wax, so labor that the Word preached may leave the print of its own holiness upon your heart. Labor that the Word will have such power in you that it will kill your sins and make your souls fruitful in grace.

If you desire to hear the Word properly, go to it with delight. The Word preached is a feast of good things! With what delight do people go to a feast! The Word preached anoints the blind eye and softens the rocky heart. It breaks off our chains and turns us from the dominion of Satan to God (Acts 26:18).

The Word is the seed of regeneration and the mechanism of salvation. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth (James 1:18). Hear the Word with delight and joy. Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart (Jeremiah 15:16). How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103). Love the Word that comes most home to the conscience. Thank God when your corruptions have been met with, when the sword of the Spirit has divided between you and your sins. Who wants medicine that does not work?

If you desire to hear the Word properly, mix it with faith. Believe the truth of the Word preached, that it is the Word by which you must be judged. Not only admit that the Word preached to you is true, but apply it to your own souls. Faith digests the Word and turns it into spiritual nourishment. Many hear the Word, but it can be said of them, as in Psalm 106:24, They did not believe in His word.

If we do not mix faith with the Word, it is like leaving out the main ingredient in a medicine, making it ineffective. Unbelief hardens people's hearts against the Word. Some were becoming hardened and disobedient (Acts 19:9). People may hear many truths delivered concerning the preciousness of Christ, the beauty of holiness, and the joys of a glorified state, but if through unbelief and atheism they question these truths, we might as well speak to stones as to them. That Word that is not believed can never be practiced. Jerome said, "When belief is unstable, conduct also wavers."

Unbelief makes the Word preached of no effect. The word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard (Hebrews 4:2). The Word to an unbeliever is like medicine put into a dead man's mouth – it loses all its effectiveness. If there are any unbelievers in our congregations, what will ministers say of them to God at the last day? "Lord, we have preached to the people You sent us to, we have showed them our duty, and we have declared unto them Your whole counsel – but they have not believed a Word we spoke. We told them what the consequences of sin would be, but they would not listen. They preferred to drink their sweet drink, even though there was death in the cup. Lord, we are free from their blood!"

God forbid that ministers should ever have to make this report to Him of their people, but they will be forced to do so if their hearers live and die in unbelief. Do you want to sanctify the Lord's Day by hearing the Word properly? Then hear it with faith. The writer of Hebrews puts the belief and salvation together: We are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul (Hebrews 10:39).

If you desire to hear the Word properly, hear it with humility. Receive the Word in humility (James 1:21). Humility is a submissive frame of heart to the Word. Contrary to this meekness is fierceness of spirit, when people rise up in rage against the Word, as if the patient should be angry with the physician when he gives him medicine to get rid of the bad germs. When they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him (Acts 7:54). Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison (2 Chronicles 16:10).

Pride and guilt make people upset at the Word. What made Asa enraged but pride? He was a king, and he thought he was too good to be told of his sin. What made Cain so angry and touchy but guilt? The Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). He had stained his hands in his brother's blood.

If you want to hear the Word properly, lay aside your pride. Receive the Word with meekness. Have humble hearts and submit to the truths delivered. God takes the meek person for His scholar. He teaches the humble His way (Psalm 25:9). Meekness makes the Word preached to become part of you and to change you. A good branch grafted in a bad stem changes the nature of it and makes it bear good and generous fruit. In the same way, when the Word preached is grafted into people's hearts, it sanctifies them and makes them bring forth the sweet fruits of righteousness. By meekness it becomes an engrafted Word.

If you desire to hear the Word properly, be not only attentive, but be retentive. Lay it up in your memories and hearts. The seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast (Luke 8:15). The Greek word for "hold it fast" signifies to hold the Word tightly so that it does not run from us. If the seed is not kept in the ground, but is quickly washed away, it is sown to little purpose. In the same way, if the Word preached is not kept in your memories and hearts, it is preached in vain.

Many people have memories like leaky vessels. If the Word goes out as fast as it comes in, how can it profit? If a treasure is put in a chest and the chest is not locked, it can easily be taken out. Just so, a bad memory is a chest without a lock out of which the devil can easily take all the treasure. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart (Luke 8:12). Strive to remember the truths you hear.

The things we esteem and love are not easily forgotten. Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? (Jeremiah 2:32). If we valued the Word of God more, we would not forget it so quickly. If food does not stay in the stomach, but is vomited as fast as we eat it, it cannot nourish. Just so, if the Word does not remain in the memory, but is quickly gone, it cannot do the soul much good.

If you desire to hear the preached Word properly, practice what you hear. Practice is the life of all. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life (Revelation 22:14). Hearing alone will be no excuse at the day of judgment. It will do you no good to merely say, "Lord, I have heard many sermons." God will say, "What fruits of obedience have you brought forth?" The Word preached is not only to inform you, but to reform you. It is not only to mend your sight, but to mend your walk in the way to heaven. A good hearer opens and shuts to God as the flower opens and shuts to the sun.

If you do not hear the Word to practice it, you lose all your labor. How many useless steps you have taken if you are not made better by hearing! If you are just as proud, as foolish, and as worldly as ever, what good did all your hearing of the Word of God do? You would not want to trade in vain, so why would you hear sermons in vain? Why then should I toil in vain? (Job 9:29). Ask yourself this: "Why do I labor in vain? Why do I take all this effort to hear, yet do not have grace to practice it? I am as bad as ever! Why, then, do I labor in vain?"

If you hear the Word and are not improved by it, your hearing will increase your condemnation. That slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes (Luke 12:47). We feel sorry for those people who do not go to hear the Word preached, but it will be worse with those who do not care how they hear. To graceless, disobedient hearers, every sermon will be a stick to heat hell. It is sad to go to hell loaded with religious ordinances.

Oh, beg the Spirit to make the Word preached effectual in your heart! Ministers can only speak to the ear, but the Spirit speaks to the heart. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message (Acts 10:44).

Having heard the Word in a holy and spiritual manner, in order to further keep the Lord's Day holy and sanctified, discuss the Word. We are forbidden on this day to speak our own words – but we must speak of God's Word. If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 58:13-14).

Speak of Scripture and of the sermon you just heard as you sit together, which is one part of sanctifying the Sabbath. Holy discourse brings holy truths into our memories and fastens them upon our hearts. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another (Malachi 3:16). There is great power and fruitfulness in holy discourse. How painful are honest words! (Job 6:25). By holy discussions on the Lord's Day, one Christian helps to warm another when he is frozen, and helps to strengthen another when he is weak. Bishop Hugh Latimer confessed that he was much furthered in piety by having discussions with the martyr Thomas Bilney. Let my tongue sing of Your word (Psalm 119:172). One reason why preaching the Word on a Sunday does not do more good is because there is so little holy discussion. Few people speak of the Word they have heard, as if sermons were such secrets that they must not be spoken of again, or as if it were a shame to speak of that which will save us.

End the Lord's Day evening with review, reading, singing Psalms, and prayer. Ask that God would bless the Word you have heard. If we would spend the Lord's Day this way, we, too, might be in the Spirit on the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10). Our souls would be nourished and comforted, and the Sabbaths we now keep would be pledges of the everlasting Sabbaths that we will celebrate in heaven.

Application 1

The Christian's duty is to keep the Sabbath day holy.

The whole Lord's Day is to be dedicated to God. The Bible does not say to keep a part of the Sabbath holy, but the whole day must be piously observed. If God has given us six days and has taken only one to Himself, will we keep from Him any part of that day? This would be sacrilege. The Jews kept a whole day to the Lord, and we are not to abridge or curtail the Sabbath, as Augustine says, more than the Jews did.

The very heathen, by the light of nature, set apart a whole day in honor of false gods. Scaevola, a high priest of theirs, affirms that the willful transgression of that day could have no expiation or pardon. If anyone robs any part of the Christian Sabbath for work or recreation, Scaevola, the high priest of the heathen gods, will rise up in judgment to condemn him.

Let those who say that to keep a whole Sabbath is too much like what the Jews did show where God has made any reduction of the time of worship. Show where He has said that you should only keep a part of the Sabbath. If they cannot show that, it robs God of what is due to Him. Peter Martyr said that it is a perpetual statute while the church remains upon the earth that the entire day should be intended and set apart for God's special worship. Theodore, Augustine, Irenaeus, and the main church fathers were also of this belief.

Just as the whole Lord's Day is to be dedicated to God, so the entire day must be kept holy. You have seen the manner of sanctifying the Lord's Day by reading, meditation, prayer, hearing the Word, and by singing Psalms to make melody to the Lord. Now, in addition to what I have said about keeping this day holy, let me make a short comment or paraphrase on Isaiah 58:13: If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word. This is a description of rightly sanctifying the Lord's Day.

Turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day. This can be understood either literally or spiritually. It can be understood literally by withdrawing your foot from taking long walks or journeys on the Sabbath day. That is how the Jewish theologians expound it. It can be understood figuratively if you turn away your affections (the feet of your soul) from inclining to any worldly business.

From doing your own pleasure on My holy day. That is, you must not do that which may please the worldly part, as in sports and recreations. This is to do the devil's work on God's day.

And call the sabbath a delight. We should call it a delight; that is, we should respect it and consider it so. Although the Sabbath is not a day for worldly pleasure, yet holy pleasure is not forbidden. The soul must take pleasure in the duties of the Sabbath. The saints of old considered the Sabbath a delight. The Jews called the Sabbath "a day of light." The Lord's Day, on which the Sun of Righteousness shines, is a day of both light and delight.

This is the day of sweet fellowship between God and the soul. On this day a Christian makes his journeys to heaven. His soul is lifted above the earth, and can this be without delight? On the Sabbath, the soul fixes its love on God; and where love is, there is delight. On this day, the believer's heart is melted, strengthened, and enlarged in holy duties – and how can all this happen without having a secret delight go along with it? On the Lord's Day, a gracious soul can say, In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste (Song of Solomon 2:3). How can a spiritual heart not choose to call the Sabbath a delight? Is it not delightful to a queen to put on her wedding dress in which she will meet the king, her bridegroom?

When we are engaging in exercises for the Lord's Day, we are dressing ourselves and putting on our wedding robes in which we are to meet our heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus. Is not this delightful? On the Sabbath, God makes a feast of good things. He feasts the ear with His Word and the heart with His grace. We can rightly call the Sabbath a delight. To find this holy delight is to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.

The holy day of the Lord honorable. To call the Sabbath honorable is not to be understood so much as giving it outward honor by wearing nicer clothing or eating differently on this day, as the Jewish theologians wrongly try to say. This is the main honor that some give to this day, but calling the Sabbath honorable refers to the honor of the heart that we give to the day, reverencing it and esteeming it as the queen of days.

We are to consider the Sabbath honorable because God has honored it. All the persons in the Trinity have honored it. God the Father blessed it, God the Son rose upon it, and God the Holy Spirit descended on it (Acts 2:1-4). This day is to be honored and held in great respect by all good Christians. It is a day of renown on which a golden scepter of mercy is held forth. The Christian Sabbath is the very dawning of the heavenly Sabbath. It is honorable, because on this day God comes down to us and visits us. To have the King of heaven in attendance in a special manner when we meet together makes the Sabbath day honorable. Besides, the work done on this day makes it honorable. The other six days are filled up with worldly work, which makes them lose much of their glory, but on this day sacred work is done. The soul is employed wholly about the worship of God. It is praying, hearing, and meditating on the things of God. It is doing angels' work – praising and blessing God.

Again, the day is honorable by virtue of a divine institution. Silver is of itself valuable, but when the royal stamp is put upon it, it is honorable. In the same way, God has put a sacred stamp upon this day, the stamp of divine authority and the stamp of divine benediction. This makes it honorable, and this is sanctifying the Sabbath, calling it a delight and honorable.

Desisting from your own ways. That is, you shall not defile the day by doing any typical, general work.

From seeking your own pleasure. That is, you should not gratify the fleshly part by walks, visits, games, or recreations.

And speaking your own word. That is, do not speak words unsuitable for the Lord's Day, such as vain, disrespectful, or impolite words, or having conversations about worldly things.

Application 2

If the Sabbath day is to be kept holy, then those people are rebuked who profane the Lord's Day instead of sanctify it. They take the time that should be dedicated wholly to God and spend it in the service of the devil and their lusts. The Lord has set apart this day for His own worship, and they make it ordinary. He has set a wall around this commandment, saying, Remember, but they break down this wall. A serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall (Ecclesiastes 10:8).

The Lord's Day in England lies bleeding, and oh, that our parliament would pour some balm into the wounds that it has received! How this day is profaned – by sitting idle at home, by buying and selling, by vain conversations, by visiting sinful places, by working around the house, and by sports! The people of Israel were not to gather manna on the Sabbath, and will we use the day for sports and dancing and shopping? Truly it should be a matter of grief to us to see so much profaning of the Lord's Day.

When one of Darius' eunuchs saw Alexander setting his feet on one of Darius' fine tables, he wept. Alexander asked him why he wept. He said it was to see the table that his master so highly esteemed now made a footstool. So may we weep to see the Sabbath day, which God highly esteems and has honored and blessed, made a footstool and trampled upon by the feet of sinners.

To profane the Sabbath is a great sin. It is a willful contempt of God. It is not only casting His law behind our backs, but it is trampling it under foot. He tells us to keep the Sabbath day holy, but people pollute it. This is to despise God, to hang out the flag of defiance, to throw down the gauntlet, and to challenge God Himself. How can God endure to be thus irreverently confronted by proud dust? Surely He will not allow this great impudence to go unpunished. God's curse will come upon the Sabbath breaker, and it will admonish wherever it comes. The law of the land lets Sabbath breakers alone, but God will not. As soon as Christ cursed the fig tree, it withered. God will take the matter into His own hands. He will punish Sabbath violators.

How does God punish those who commit this sin?

  1. He punishes with spiritual plagues. God gives up Sabbath profaners to hardness of heart and a seared conscience. Spiritual judgments are the most severe judgments. I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart (Psalm 81:12). A seared conscience is a characteristic of reprobation.
  2. God punishes this sin by giving people up to commit other sins. To revenge the breaking of His Sabbath, God allows people to break civil laws, and so to be punished by the judge. How many such confessions have we heard from thieves going to be executed! They never paid attention to the Lord's Day and confess this was when their sins began escalading.
  3. God punishes Sabbath breaking by sudden visible judgments on people for this sin. He punishes them in their possessions and in their persons.

The Lord threatened the Jews that if they would not hallow the Sabbath day, He would kindle a fire in their gates. But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched (Jeremiah 17:27). The dreadful fire that broke out in London began on the Sabbath day, as if God would tell us from heaven that He was then punishing us for profaning the Sabbath.

Not only does God punish this sin only in this life with death, but He punishes it hereafter with damnation. Let those who break God's Sabbath see if they can break those chains of darkness in which they and the devils will be held.

Application 3

It exhorts us to holiness on the Lord's Day. Make a conscious effort to keep this day holy. The other commandments have only an affirmative or a negative command in them, but this fourth commandment has both an affirmative and a negative command in it. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, and in it you shall not do any work, shows how carefully God wants us to observe this day.

Not only must you keep this day yourselves, but take care that all under your authority keep it. You, your son, your daughter, your servants, your helpers, and your employees should all remember the Lord's Day and keep it holy. That is, you who are in charge of others, as a parent or an employer, must take care that not only you sanctify the Lord's Day, but that those who are under your trust and instruction also sanctify the day.

Those heads of families are to blame who are careful that their children and employees obey them, but are not concerned that they serve God. They are guilty who do not care if their employees serve the devil as long as they serve them, too. Do not just care about your own soul, but care about the souls you are entrusted with. See that those who are under your care sanctify the Sabbath. God's law required that if someone came across an ox or an donkey going astray, he should bring him back again (Exodus 23:4). How much more should this be true when you see the soul of your child or employee going astray from God and breaking His Sabbath! You should bring him back again to a pious observation of this day.

So that I can spur you on to keep the Lord's Day holy, consider what great blessings God has promised to the strict observers of this day: Then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 58:14).

A promise of joy. Then you will take delight in the Lord. Delighting in God is both a duty and a reward. In this text it is a reward. Then you will take delight in the Lord. It is as if God had said, "If you keep the Sabbath conscientiously, I will give you that which will fill you with delight. If you keep the Sabbath willingly, I will make you keep it joyfully. I will give you that growth in duty and that inward comfort that will abundantly satisfy you. Your soul will overflow with such a stream of joy that you will say, 'Lord, in keeping Your Sabbath there is great reward!'"

A promise of honor. I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. That is, I will advance you to honor, as Munster interprets it. By the heights of the earth, some, like Hugo Grotius, understand it to refer to Judea. I will bring you into the land of Judea, which is situated higher than the other countries adjacent.

A promise of earth and heaven. I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. That is, I will feed you with all the delicious things of Canaan, and afterward I will take you to heaven, whereof Canaan was but a type.

Another promise is, Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of it; who keeps from profaning the sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil (Isaiah 56:2). Blessed is the man. In the Hebrew, that is "blessednesses." To him who keeps the Sabbath holy, here is blessedness upon blessedness belonging to him. He will be blessed with the upper and lower springs of water. He will be blessed in his name, possessions, soul, and offspring.

Who would not keep the Sabbath if they could experience so many blessings upon him and upon his offspring after him? Again, a conscientious keeping of the Lord's Day seasons the heart for God's service all the week after. Christian, the more holy you are on the Lord's Day, the more holy you will be all week long.

* * *

 A lodestone is a naturally magnetized mineral that can be used as a magnet.

 Assuming, of course, that the preacher isn't preaching blatant heresy.
The Fifth Commandment

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Exodus 20:12)

Having finished with the first table of the law, I now speak of the duties of the second table. The Ten Commandments can be compared to Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:10-22): the first table relates to God and is the top of the ladder that reaches to heaven; the second relates to men and is the foot of the ladder that rests on the earth. By the first table, we walk piously toward God; by the second, we walk religiously toward man. No one can be good in the first table who is bad in the second.

Honor your father and your mother. Here we have both a command – Honor your father and your mother – and a reason for the command – that your days may be prolonged in the land.

The command, Honor your father, will mainly be considered here.

There are different kinds of fathers, such as the political, the ancient, the spiritual, the domestic, and the natural.

The political father. He is the father of his country. He is to be an encourager of virtue, a punisher of wrong, and a father to the widows and orphans. Such a father was Job: I was a father to the needy, and I investigated the case which I did not know (Job 29:16). As statesmen are fathers, so especially the king, who is the head of them all, is a political father. He is placed as the sun among the lesser stars. The Scripture calls kings "fathers." Kings shall be thy nursing fathers (Isaiah 49:23 JUB). They are to train up their subjects in piety, by good laws and examples, and nurture them in peace and piety. Such nurturing fathers were David, Hezekiah, Josiah, Constantine, and Theodosius. It is good for a people to have such fathers, whose milk provides comfort to their children.

These fathers are to be honored because:

  * Their place deserves honor. God has set these political fathers to preserve order and harmony in a nation, and to prevent those state upheavals that otherwise might ensue. In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6). It is a wonder that the locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks (Proverbs 30:27).
  * God has promoted kings so that they can promote justice. As they have a sword in their hand to signify their power, so they have a scepter as an emblem of justice. It is said of the emperor Marcus Aurelius that he allotted one hour each day to hear the complaints of those who were oppressed. Kings place judges around the throne for distribution of justice. These political fathers are to be honored. Honor the king (1 Peter 2:17).

This honor is to be shown by having a civil respect to their persons and a cheerful submission to their laws – as far as they agree and run parallel with God's law. Kings are to be prayed for, which is a part of the honor we give them. I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We are to pray for kings, that God would honor them to be blessings, and that under them we can enjoy the gospel of peace and the peace of the gospel. How happy was the reign of Numa Pompilius when swords were beaten into plowshares and bees made hives in the soldiers' helmets!

The solemn ancient father. These are venerable for old age, whose grey hairs resemble the white flowers of the almond tree (Ecclesiastes 12:5). There are fathers for seniority, on whose wrinkled brows and in the furrows of whose cheeks is pictured the map of old age. These fathers are to be honored. You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged (Leviticus 19:32).

Those older men are especially to be honored who are fathers not only for their seniority, but for their piety, whose souls are flourishing when their bodies are decaying. It is a blessed sight to see springs of grace in the winter of old age; to see men stooping toward the grave, yet going up the hill of God; to see them lose their color, yet keep their savor. Those whose silver hairs are crowned with righteousness are worthy of double honor. They are to be honored, not only as pieces of antiquity, but as patterns of virtue. If you see an old man fearing God, whose grace shines brightest when the sun of his life is setting, honor him as a father by reverencing and imitating him.

The spiritual father. These are the godly pastors and ministers. These are instruments of the new birth. If you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel (1 Corinthians 4:15). The spiritual fathers are to be honored out of respect for their position. However they are as people, their role is honorable. They are the messengers of the Lord Almighty. The lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts (Malachi 2:7). They represent no less than God Himself. We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus Christ was of this calling. He had His mission and sanction from heaven, and this crowns the ministerial vocation with honor. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me (John 8:18).

These spiritual fathers are to be honored because of their work (1 Thessalonians 5:13). They come, like the dove, with an olive branch of peace in the mouth. They preach glad tidings of peace; their work is to save souls. Other vocations have only to do with people's bodies or possessions, but the minister's vocation is employed about souls. Their work is to redeem spiritual captives and turn people from the dominion of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). Their work is to enlighten those who sit in darkness (Matthew 4:16), and to make them shine as stars in the kingdom of heaven (Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43).

These spiritual fathers are to be honored for their work's sake, and this honor is to be shown three ways:

1. Honor them by giving them respect. Appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). I admit that the scandalous lives of some ministers have been a great reproach and have made the offering of the Lord to be abhorred in some places of the land (1 Samuel 2:17). The leper in the law was to have his lip covered, and those who are angels by vocation but lepers in their lives ought to have their lips covered and should be silenced. But although some deserve no honor, yet those who are faithful and who make it their work to bring souls to Christ are to be reverenced as spiritual fathers.

Obadiah honored the prophet Elijah. As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is this you, Elijah my master?" (1 Kings 18:7). Why did God require the prince to ask counsel of God by the priest (Numbers 27:21)? Why did the Lord show, by that miracle of Aaron's rod flourishing, that He had chosen the tribe of Levi to minister before Him (Numbers 17; Deuteronomy 10:8)? Why does Christ call His apostles the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)? Why does He say to all His ministers, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20)? Why else but that He wanted these spiritual fathers reverenced?

In ancient times, the Egyptians chose their kings out of their priests. Many do not show this respect and honor to their spiritual fathers, for they have low thoughts of those who have the charge of the sanctuary and minister before the Lord. Appreciate those, says the apostle Paul, who diligently labor among you (1 Thessalonians 5:12). Many are content to know their ministers in their weaknesses, and are glad when they have anything against them, but they do not know them in the apostle's sense: The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17). Certainly if it were not for the ministry and godly ministers, you would not be a vineyard, but a desert! If it were not for the ministry, you would be destitute of the two seals of the covenant: baptism and the Lord's Supper. You would be infidels, for faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17), and how will they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14).

2. Honor them by becoming advocates for them. Defend them from those slanders and false statements that are unjustly cast upon them. Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19). Constantine greatly honored ministers. He vindicated them. He would not read the envious accusations brought against them, but he burnt them. Does your minister open his mouth to God for you in prayer, and will you not open your mouth on his behalf? Certainly if he labors to preserve you from hell, you should preserve him from slander! If he labors to save your soul, you ought to save his reputation.

3. Honor them by conforming to their doctrine. The greatest honor you can put upon your spiritual fathers is to believe and obey their doctrine. You honor the ministry if you are not only a hearer, but a follower of the Word. As disobedience reproaches the ministry, so obedience honors it. The apostle Paul calls the Thessalonians his crown: Who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

A spiritually thriving people are a minister's crown. When there is a metamorphosis, a change worked in hearts and lives, when people come to the Word proud but go away humble, when they come worldly but go away heavenly, and when they come, as Naaman to Jordan, lepers, but they go away healed – then the ministry is honored. Do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? (2 Corinthians 3:1). Though other ministers might need letters of commendation, yet Paul needed none; for when people heard of the obedience that resulted in these Corinthians by Paul's preaching, it was sufficient proof that God had blessed his labors. The Corinthians were a sufficient honor to him. They were his testimonial letters. You cannot honor your spiritual fathers more than by thriving under their ministry and living upon the sermons that they preach.

The father. This is the father of the flesh (Hebrews 12:9). Honor your natural father. This is such a necessary duty that Philo the Jew placed the fifth commandment in the first table of the law, as though we had not performed our whole duty to God until we had paid this debt of honor to our natural parents. Children are the vineyard of the parent's planting, and honor done to the parent is some of the fruit of the vineyard. Children are to show honor to their parents.

Children are to show honor to their parents by showing them reverential esteem. When the apostle speaks of fathers of our bodies, he speaks also of giving them reverence. We had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them (Hebrews 12:9). This reverence must be shown both inwardly and outwardly.

It is shown inwardly by fear (reverence, respect) mixed with love. Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father (Leviticus 19:3). In the commandment, the father is named first, but here the mother is first named. This is partly to put honor upon the mother because she is apt to be less respected by her children, and partly because the mother endures more for the child.

Reverence must be shown to parents outwardly, both in word and deed. In word, reverence should be shown both in speaking to parents and in speaking about them. In speaking to parents, children must speak respectfully. In speaking about parents, children must speak honorably. They ought to speak well of them, if they deserve well. Her children rise up and bless her (Proverbs 31:28). In case a parent has shown weakness and lack of good judgment, the child should make the best of it, and, in wisdom, cover his parent's flaws.

In actions, children are to show reverence to their parents by submissive behavior, by uncovering the head, and by bending the knee. Joseph, although a great prince, and although his father had grown poor, bowed to him and behaved himself as humbly as if his father had been the prince, and he the poor man (Genesis 46:29). King Solomon, when his mother came to him, arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne (1 Kings 2:19). Among the Lacedemonians, if a child had acted arrogantly or disrespectfully toward his father, it was lawful for the father to appoint someone else to be his heir.

Oh, how many children are far from giving reverence and honor to their parents! They despise their parents. They act with such pride and neglect toward them that they are a shame to Christianity, and they bring their parents' grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother (Deuteronomy 27:16). If all who dishonor their parents are cursed, how many children in our age are under a curse! If those who are disrespectful to their parents live to have children, their own children will be thorns in their sides – and God will make them see their own sins in their punishment.

Children are to show honor to their parents by careful obedience. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things (Colossians 3:20). Our Lord Jesus herein set a pattern for children. He was subject to His parents (Luke 2:51). He to whom angels were subject was subject to His parents. This obedience to parents is shown three ways:

1. Obedience to parents is shown by listening to their counsel. Hear, my son, your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching (Proverbs 1:8). Parents are, as it were, in the place of God. If they try to teach you the fear of the Lord, you must listen to their words as oracles, and not be as the deaf adder and close your ears. Eli's sons did not listen to the voice of their father, and they were called sons of Belial, or worthless men (1 Samuel 2:12, 25).

Just as children must listen to the counsel of their parents in spiritual matters, so they should listen to them in the matters that relate to this life, as in the choice of a vocation or entering into marriage. Jacob would not give himself in marriage, even though he was forty years old, without the advice and consent of his parents (Genesis 28:1-2).

Children are, as it were, the parents' proper goods and possession, and it is great injustice in a child to give herself away without the parents' permission. If parents should indeed counsel a child to marry someone who is impious or a Roman Catholic, I think the case is plain, and many of the learned are of the same opinion, that here the child may express himself in the negative, and he is not obligated to be ruled by the parent in such a case of being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14). Children are to marry in the Lord, and not, therefore, with unrighteous or ungodly people, for that is not to marry in the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39).

2. Obedience to parents is shown in complying with their commands. A child should be the parents' echo. When the father speaks, the child should echo back obedience. The Rechabites were forbidden by their father to drink wine. They obeyed him, and were commended for it (Jeremiah 35:14).

Children must obey their parents in all things (Colossians 3:20). In things against the grain, to which they have most reluctance, they still must obey their parents. Esau obeyed his father when he commanded him to bring him venison, because it is probable that he took pleasure in hunting; but Esau refused to obey Isaac in a matter of greater concern – in the choice of a wife.

Although children must obey their parents in all things, yet it is with the limitation of things that are just and honest. They must obey in the Lord; that is, as long as the commands of parents agree with God's commands (Ephesians 6:1). If parents give their child a command against God, they lose their right of being obeyed in this matter, and in this case we must be as adults and obey God.

3. Honor is to be shown to parents in caring for their needs. Joseph nourished his father in his old age (Genesis 47:12). It is simply paying back a rightful debt. Parents brought up children when they were young, and children ought to nourish their parents when they are old. The young storks, by instinct of nature, bring food to the old ones when, by reason of age, they are not able to fly. Pliny calls it "a law of the storks." The memory of Aeneas was honored for carrying his aged father out of Troy when it was on fire.

Those children, or monsters, shall I say, are to blame who are ashamed of their parents when they are old and fallen into decay, and who give them a stone when they ask for bread. When houses are closed up, we know that the plague is there; when children's hearts are closed up against their parents, we know that the plague is there. Our blessed Savior took great care for His mother. When He was on the cross, He entrusted His disciple John to take her home to him as his mother, and to see that she lacked nothing (John 19:26-27).

Following are three reasons why children should honor their parents:

1. It is a solemn command of God. Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2). As God's Word is the standard, so His will must be the reason of our obedience.

2. Parents deserve honor, especially in respect to the great love and affection that they bear to their children and the evidence of that love both in their care and cost. Their care in bringing up their children is a sign that their hearts are full of love to them. Parents often take more care for their children than for themselves. They take care of them when they are tender, lest, like young fruit, they should be nipped in the bud. As children grow older, the care of parents grows greater. They are afraid of their children falling when young, and fear things worse than falls when they are older.

Their love is evidenced by their cost. Children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children (2 Corinthians 12:14). They lay up and they lay out for their children, and are not like the raven or ostrich, which are cruel to their young. The ostriches' wings flap joyously with the pinion and plumage of love, for she abandons her eggs to the earth and warms them in the dust, and she forgets that a foot may crush them, or that a wild beast may trample them. She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned (Job 39:13-16).

Parents sometimes impoverish themselves to enrich their children. Children can never equal a parent's love, for parents are the instruments of life to their children, and children cannot be so to their parents.

3. To honor parents is well pleasing to the Lord. Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord (Colossians 3:20). Just as it is joyful to parents, so it is pleasing to the Lord. Children, is it not your duty to please God? In honoring and obeying your parents, you please God just as much as when you repent and believe. And so you can see how well it pleases God, he attaches a reward to it: that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you (Exodus 20:12). Jacob would not let the angel go until he had blessed him (Genesis 32:26), and God would not part with this commandment until He had blessed it.

Paul calls this the first commandment with a promise (Ephesians 6:2). The second commandment has a general promise of mercy, but this is the first commandment that has a particular promise made to it. Long life is mentioned as a blessing. Indeed, may you see your children's children (Psalm 128:6).

It was a great favor of God to Moses that, although he was a hundred and twenty years old, he needed no eyeglasses: His eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated (Deuteronomy 34:7). God threatened it as a curse to Eli that there should not be an old man in his family (1 Samuel 2:31). Since the flood, life has become much shorter. To some, the womb is their tomb. Others exchange their cradle for their grave. Others die in the flower of their youth. Death serves its warrant every day upon someone or another.

Now, when death continually lies in ambush for us, if God satisfies us with long life, saying, With a long life I will satisfy him (Psalm 91:16), it is to be esteemed a blessing. It is a blessing when God gives someone a long time to repent, a long time to serve Him, and a long time to enjoy the comforts of family. Upon whom is this blessing of long life entailed, but obedient children? Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

Nothing more quickly shortens life than disobedience to parents. Absalom was a disobedient son who sought to deprive his father of his life and crown, and he did not live out half his days. The mule he rode upon, being weary of such a burden, left him hanging in the oak between heaven and earth, as not suitable to tread upon the one or to enter into the other (2 Samuel 18:9).

Obedience to parents lengthens life. Not only does obedience to parents lengthen life, but it also sweetens it. To live long and not to have a foot of land is a misery, but obedience to parents settles the land of inheritance upon the child. Esau asked, Do you have only one blessing, my father? (Genesis 27:38). Behold, God has more than one blessing for an obedient child. Not only will he have a long life, but he will have a fruitful land; and not only will he have land, but he will have land given in love: the land which the Lord your God gives you. You will have your land not only with God's approval, but with His love.

All these are powerful arguments to persuade children to honor and obey their parents.

Application 1

If we are supposed to honor our earthly fathers, we should much more honor our heavenly Father. If I am a father, where is My honor? (Malachi 1:6). A father is only the instrument of bringing life, but God is the original cause of our being. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 100:3). Honor and adoration is a pearl that belongs only to the crown of heaven.

We show honor to our heavenly Father by obeying Him. Jesus Christ honored His Father in this way. I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (John 6:38). He says that this is honoring God. I always do the things that are pleasing to Him (John 8:29). I honor My Father (John 8:49). The wise men not only bowed their knees to Christ, but they also presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). So we must not only bow our knees and give God adoration, but we must also bring Him presents – give Him complete obedience.

We show honor to our heavenly Father by supporting His cause. We must stand up for His truth in our evil and adulterous generation (Matthew 16:4). The son who honors his father stands up in his defense and vindicates him when he is maligned and reproached. You do not honor God if you are ashamed of Him. Many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue (John 12:42). Those who are ashamed to acknowledge their heavenly Father are not true children. Those who are born of God are fortified with courage for His truth. They are like the rock that no waves can break, or like the stone that no sword can cut.

We show honor to our heavenly Father by attributing the honor of all we do to Him. I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me (1 Corinthians 15:10). If a Christian has any assistance in duty or any strength against corruption, he sets up a pillar and writes upon it, Thus far the Lord has helped us (1 Samuel 7:12). This is similar to what Joab did when he fought against Rabbah and was about to take the city, but he sent for king David so that he could receive the honor of the victory (2 Samuel 12:27-28). In the same way, when a child of God has any victory over Satan, he gives all the honor to God. Hypocrites, whose lamps are fed with the oil of vainglory while they do any obvious service to God, seek to honor themselves, and so their very act of serving Him dishonors Him.

We show honor to our heavenly Father by celebrating His praise. My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your glory all day long (Psalm 71:8). To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever (Revelation 5:13). Blessing God is honoring God. It lifts Him up in the eyes of others, and it spreads His fame and renown in the world. In this way, the angels, those who make up the choir of heaven, are now honoring God. They loudly proclaim His praise. In prayer, we act like saints; in praise, we act like angels.

We show honor to our heavenly Father by suffering dishonor, and even death, for His sake. Paul did bear in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:17). As they were the marks of honor to him, so they were trophies of honor to the gospel. The honor that comes to God is not that outward pomp and glory that we show to kings, but the honor to God comes in another way – by the suffering of His people, by which they let the world see what a good God they serve, how they love Him, and that they will fight under His banner to the death.

God is worthy of honor. O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty (Psalm 104:1). All His attributes are glorious beams shining from this sun. He deserves more honor than men or angels can give Him. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised (2 Samuel 22:4). He is worthy of honor. We often bestow honor upon those who do not deserve it. To many noble people, who are also corrupt and wicked, we give titles of honor. They do not deserve honor, but God is worthy of honor. O may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise! (Nehemiah 9:5). He is greater than all the acclaim and victories of the archangels. O, then, let every true child of God honor his heavenly Father!

Although the wicked dishonor Him by their sinful lives, let not His own children dishonor Him. Sins in them are worse than in others. A fault in a stranger is not so much taken notice of as a fault in a child. A spot in black cloth is not very much noticed, but a spot in white linen attracts everyone's attention. In the same way, a sin in the wicked is not so much wondered at, for it is a spot in black; but a sin in a child of God is a spot in white linen. It is more visible, and it brings shame and dishonor upon the gospel.

The sins of God's own children go nearer to His heart. The Lord saw this, and spurned them because of the provocation of His sons and daughters (Deuteronomy 32:19). Refrain from doing anything that might reflect dishonor upon God. Will you disgrace your heavenly Father? Let not God complain of the provocations of His sons and daughters. Let Him not cry out, Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me (Isaiah 1:2).

Application 2

God commands us to honor father and mother. Let children, then, put this great duty in practice. Children should be living commentaries of this commandment. Honor and reverence your parents. Do not only obey their commands, but submit to their rebukes. You cannot honor your Father in heaven unless you honor your earthly parents. To deny obedience to parents necessarily involves God's judgments upon children. The eye that mocks a father and scorns a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it (Proverbs 30:17).

Eli's two disobedient sons were slain (1 Samuel 4:11). God made a law that the rebellious son should be stoned to death – the same death the blasphemer had (Leviticus 24:14). If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. . . . Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death (Deuteronomy 21:18-19, 21).

A father once complained, "No father ever had a worse son than I have!"

"Yes," said the son, "my grandfather did."

This was a young man of disrespect hardly to be paralleled. Manlius, when he had grown old and poor, had a very rich son of whom he asked some food, but the son refused to help him, disowned him from being his father, and sent him away with reproachful language. The poor old father let tears of grief fall, but God, to revenge the disobedience, struck the son with insanity, of which he was never cured. Disobedient children stand in a place where all God's arrows fly!

Application 3

Parents ought to act in such a way as to gain honor from their children. How should parents act toward their children so as to be honored and reverenced by them?

Take care to bring them up in the fear and nurture of the Lord. Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). You passed on the plague of sin to them; therefore, endeavor to get them healed and sanctified. Augustine said that his mother, Monica, travailed more for his spiritual birth than for his natural birth. Timothy's mother instructed him from childhood (2 Timothy 3:15). She not only nurtured him as a child with milk to drink for his body, but she gave him milk for his soul – the pure milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2).

Prepare your children with good principles early, so that they may, with Obadiah, fear the Lord from their youth (1 Kings 18:12). When parents do not instruct their children in the ways and Word of God, they seldom turn out to be blessings. God often punishes the carelessness of parents with lack of dutifulness and obedience in their children. It is not enough that you dedicate your child to God, but your child must also be educated for Him. Children are young plants that you must continually water with good instruction. Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). The more your children fear and reverence God, the more they will honor you.

If you want your children to honor you, keep up parental authority. Be kind, but do not spoil your children. If you do not discipline them, they will despise you instead of honoring you. The rod of discipline must not be withheld. You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol (Proverbs 23:14). A child indulged and humored in wickedness will be a thorn in the parent's eye. David spoiled Adonijah. His father had never crossed him at any time by asking, "Why have you done so?" (1 Kings 1:6). Afterward, he became a grief of heart to his father, and he was false to the crown. If you keep up your authority, you keep up your honor.

Provide for your children what is proper. This should be done both when they are young and when they come to maturity. Children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children (2 Corinthians 12:14). They are your own flesh, and as the apostle Paul says, No one ever hated his own flesh (Ephesians 5:29). The parents' bountifulness will cause dutifulness in the child. If you pour water into a pump, the pump will send water out freely. In the same way, if parents pour in something of their estate to their children, children worthy of the name will pour out obedience to their parents.

When your children are grown up, put them to some lawful vocation. Urge them to serve their generation. It is good to consult the natural genius and inclination of a child, for forced vocations do as poorly, sometimes, as forced marriages. A child who does not pursue a vocation or career is exposed to temptation. Melanchthon says, "Idleness is the devil's pleasure resort." A child who does not work is like fallow ground, and what can you expect to grow there except weeds of disobedience.

Act lovingly to your children. In all your counsels and commands, let them see love. Love will command honor, and how can a parent not love the child who is his living picture, and who is even part of himself? The child is the father in the second edition.

Act wisely toward your children. It is a great point of wisdom in a parent not to provoke his children to wrath. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart (Colossians 3:21).

How can a parent provoke his children to wrath?

  * By using abusive and derogatory terms toward them. Saul said to his son Jonathan, You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! (1 Samuel 20:30). Some parents use profanity and curses to their children, and this provokes them to wrath. Do you want God to bless your children, and do you curse them?
  * When they strike them without a cause, or when the correction exceeds the fault. This is what a tyrant does rather than a father! Saul cast a javelin at his son to smite him, and his son was provoked to anger. Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger (1 Samuel 20:33-34). William Davenant (1606-1668) said, "A father exercises a kingly power over his son, not that of a tyrant."
  * When parents deny their children what is absolutely needful. Some parents have provoked their children in this way. They have not provided them with what they needed, and have kept them so lacking that they have forced them to get their necessities in other ways, often putting forth their hands to iniquity.
  * When parents show favoritism, showing more kindness to one child than to another. Although a parent may have greater love toward one child, yet discretion should lead him not to show more love to one than to another. Jacob showed more love to Joseph than to all his other children, which provoked the envy of his brothers. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms (Genesis 37:3-4).
  * When a parent does anything that is shameful and unworthy, casting disgrace upon himself and his family. This might be to be dishonest, immoral, or to lie. These things can provoke the child to wrath. Just as the child should honor his father, so the father should not dishonor his child.
  * When parents give commands to their children that they cannot perform without wronging their consciences. Saul commanded his son Jonathan to bring David to him: Send and bring him to me, for he must surely die (1 Samuel 20:31). Jonathan could not do this with a good conscience, but was provoked to anger. Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger (1 Samuel 20:34).

The reason why parents should show wisdom in not provoking their children to wrath is this: so that they will not lose heart (Colossians 3:21). The words "lose heart" imply three things:

  1. Grief. The parent provokes the child, and the child so takes it to heart that it causes premature death.
  2. Despondency. The parents' austerity discourages and disheartens the child, making him unfit for service, just like parts of the body that are paralyzed and are not able to work.
  3. Rebelliousness. The child, being provoked by the cruel and unnatural behavior of the parent, grows desperate, and often tries to irritate and trouble his parents; and although this is wrong in the child, yet the parent is an accessory to it, being the cause of it.

If you want honor from your children, pray much for them. Not only lay up a portion of your earthly possessions for them, but lay up a reserve of prayer for them. Monica prayed much for her son Augustine, and it was said, "It was impossible that a son of so many prayers and tears should perish." Pray that your children may be preserved from the harmful ideas and practices of the times. Pray that just as your children bear your images in their faces, they may bear God's image in their hearts. Pray that they may be instruments and vessels of glory. One fruit of prayer might be that the child will honor a praying parent.

Encourage what you see that is good and commendable in your children. Goodness increases when praised. Commending that which is good in your children makes them more in love with virtuous actions. It is like watering plants, which makes them grow more. Some parents discourage the good they see in their children, and so nip virtue in the bud, helping to damn their children's souls. They have their children's curses.

If you desire to have honor from your children, set a good example for them. It makes children despise parents when the parents live in contradiction to their own rules and commands, as when they tell their children not to drink alcohol, yet they themselves get drunk, or when they tell their children to respect and obey God, but they do not follow Him fully themselves. If you want your children to honor you, teach them by a holy example!

A father is a mirror by which the child often dresses himself. Make sure the mirror is clean and not dirty. Parents should observe appropriate behavior in their entire conduct, lest they give occasion to their children to say to them, as Plato's servant said, "My master has written a book against hasty anger, but he himself is an angry man!" Be sure to do what is right according to God so that you do not hear, as a son once said to his father, "If I have done evil, I have learned it from you!"

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 Numa Pompilius is thought to have ruled Rome from 715-673 BC.
The Sixth Commandment

You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)

In this commandment, a sin is forbidden. That sin is murder. You shall not murder. There is also a duty implied, and that is to preserve our own life and the lives of others.

The sin forbidden is murder. You shall not murder. Two things are to be understood here: not injuring another, and not harming ourselves.

The first thing forbidden in this commandment is injuring someone else.

We must not injure anyone's name. A good name is better than a good ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:1). It is a great cruelty to murder someone in his name. We injure others in their name when we belittle and slander them. David complains, Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know (Psalm 35:11). The early Christians were falsely accused of incest and of killing their children. Tertullian (AD 160-240) said, "They charge us with infanticide and label us incestuous." This is to put others to death in their good name; it is harm that cannot be undone. No physician can heal the wounds of the tongue!

We must not injure anyone's body. Life is the most precious thing, and God has set this commandment as a fence around it to preserve it. He made a statute that has never to this day been repealed: Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed (Genesis 9:6). In the old law, if a man killed someone unwillingly, he could find refuge, but if he killed someone willingly, even though he fled to the sanctuary, the holiness of the place would not protect him. If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die (Exodus 21:14).

In the commandment, You shall not murder, all sins are forbidden that lead to it and that are the cause of it. This can include the following:

Anger. Anger boils in the veins, and it often produces murder. In their anger they slew men (Genesis 49:6).

Envy. Satan envied our first parents because of their robe of innocence and the glory of paradise, and he could not rest until he was assured of their death. Joseph's brethren, because his father loved him and gave him a coat of many colors, envied him and agreed to kill him (Genesis 37:20). Envy and murder are closely related, and therefore the apostle Paul puts them together: envyings, murders (Galatians 5:21 JUB). Envy is a sin that breaks both tables of the Commandments at once. It begins in discontent against God, and it ends in injury against man, as we see in Cain (Genesis 4:6-8). Envious Cain was first discontented with God, by which he broke the first table; then he fell out with his brother and killed him, breaking the second table. Anger is sometimes quickly over, like fire kindled in straw, which is quickly out; but envy is deeply rooted, and it will not quench its thirst without blood. Who can stand before jealousy? (Proverbs 27:4).

Hatred. The Pharisees hated Christ because He excelled them in gifts and had more honor among the people than they did. They never left Him until they had nailed Him to the cross and had taken away His life. Hatred is a parasite that lives upon blood. You have had everlasting enmity and have delivered the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity (Ezekiel 35:5). Haman hated Mordecai because he would not bow to him, and he quickly sought revenge by getting a bloody warrant sealed for the destruction of the whole race and seed of the Jews (Esther 3:8-9). Hatred is always cruel.

All those sins are forbidden in this commandment.

How many ways can murder be committed? Here are twelve ways that we can be said to murder others:

  1. With the hand. Joab killed Abner and Amasa with his hand. Amasa was not on guard against the sword which was in Joab's hand so he struck him in the belly with it and poured out his inward parts on the ground, and did not strike him again, and he died (2 Samuel 20:10).
  2. With the mind. Malice is mental murder. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15). To malign someone and to wish evil against him in the heart is murdering him.
  3. With the tongue. This can be done by speaking to the harm of another and causing him to be put to death. Thus the Jews killed the Lord of life when they spoke against Him with hostility and falsely accused Him to Pilate (John 18:30).
  4. With the pen. Thus David killed Uriah by writing to Joab to place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle (2 Samuel 11:15). Though the Ammonites' sword killed Uriah, David's pen was the cause of his death. That is why the Lord told David by the prophet Nathan, You have struck down Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 12:9).
  5. By plotting another's death. Although Jezebel did not lay her own hands upon Naboth, she was the murderer because she planned his death (1 Kings 21:9-10).
  6. By murdering them. The wife of Commodes the emperor killed her husband by poisoning the wine that he drank.
  7. By witchcraft and sorcery. These things were forbidden under the law. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
  8. By having an intention to kill someone. Herod, under a pretense of worshiping Christ, wanted to kill Him (Matthew 2:8, 13). When Saul made David go against the Philistines, he intended for the Philistines to kill him. Saul thought, "My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him" (1 Samuel 18:17). Saul had the intent to murder, and in God's account, it was as bad as actual murder.
  9. By consenting to another's death. This is what Saul did in the death of Stephen. I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him (Acts 22:20). He who gives consent is an accessory to the murder.
  10. By not hindering the wrongful death of another when it is in our power to do so. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. I find no guilt in Him, he said (John 19:4), but he did not prevent His death; therefore, Pilate was guilty. Washing his hands in water could not wash away the guilt of Christ's blood.
  11. By unmercifulness. This can be done by taking away that which is necessary for the support of life, as to take away the tools or utensils by which a person gets his living. No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge (Deuteronomy 24:6). This can also be done by not helping him when he is close to death. You can be the death of another by not relieving him as well as by doing him violence. If you do not feed someone who is starving, you kill him. How many are thus guilty of breaking this commandment!
  12. By not executing the law upon capital offenders. A felon having committed six murders, the judge may be said to be guilty of five of them because he did not execute the felon for his first offence. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6).

What are some things that add to the awfulness of this sin of murder?

  * To shed the blood of another without cause, as to kill another in irritation or due to a prank or foolish activity. A bee will not sting unless provoked, but many will take away the life of another when not provoked. This makes the sin of blood even bloodier. The less provocation to a sin, the greater the sin.
  * To shed the blood of another contrary to promise. Thus, after the princes of Israel had sworn to the Gibeonites that they would live, Saul killed them (Joshua 9:15; 2 Samuel 21:1). Two sins were bound together in this: perjury and murder.
  * To take away the life of any public person enhances the murder and makes it greater, as to kill a judge upon the bench because he represents the king's person. To murder a person whose office is sacred and who represents the King of heaven is a heinous kind of murder, yet many have been murdered under these circumstances. Herod added this sin above all, that he locked up John the Baptist in prison and ended up beheading him (Luke 3:20). To stain one's hands with royal blood is also this type of murder. David's heart smote him simply because he cut off the corner of king Saul's garment (1 Samuel 24:5). How would David's heart have smitten him if he had cut off Saul's head?
  * To shed the blood of a close relation magnifies the murder and dyes it a deeper crimson. For a son to kill his father is horrid. Those who kill their parents are monsters in nature. He who takes away his father's life commits many sins in one; he is not guilty of murder only – but also of disobedience, ingratitude, and diabolical cruelty. He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death (Exodus 21:15). If one who hits his father or mother is guilty of death, then how many deaths is he worthy of who destroys his father or mother! Such a monster was Nero, who caused his mother, Agrippina, to be slain.
  * To shed the blood of any righteous person intensifies the sin. Justice is hereby corrupted. Such a person, being innocent, is unworthy of death. A saint is a public blessing, and he lies in the gap to turn away wrath, and so to destroy him is to pull down the pillars of a nation. He is precious to God. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones (Psalm 116:15). He is a member of Christ's body; therefore, any harm done to him is done to God Himself (Acts 9:4).

Though this commandment forbids individuals to shed the blood of another unless in their own defense, those who are in public office must punish public offenders, even with death. To kill an offender is not murder, but justice. A private person sins if he draws the sword against another. A public person sins if he puts away the sword. A judge should not let the sword of justice rust in the sheath. As he should not let the sword be too sharp by severity, so neither should the edge of it be dull by too much leniency.

This commandment does not, though, prohibit a just war. When people's sins grow ripe and abundance of goods has bred abundance of sin, God says, Let the sword pass through the country (Ezekiel 14:17). He encouraged the war between the tribes of Israel and Benjamin. When the iniquity of the Amorites was full, He sent Israel to war against them (Judges 11:21).

Application 1

We should be lamenting that this land is defiled with blood. You shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it (Numbers 35:33). How common is this sin in this age of boasting! Our nation's sins are written in letters of blood. Some see no difference between killing people or killing sheep! On your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor (Jeremiah 2:34). In Hebrew, it is "in your wings" is found the blood of innocents. It alludes to the birds of prey, which stain their wings with the blood of other birds. May the Lord not justly take up a contention with the inhabitants of the land, because bloodshed follows bloodshed (Hosea 4:2). There are far-reaching murders.

Our lamentation should increase when we realize that it is not only man's blood that is shed among us, but also Christ's blood. Profane evil sinners are said to again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame (Hebrews 6:6). They vow by His blood, and so, as it were, make His wounds bleed afresh. They crucify Christ in His members. Why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9:4). When the foot is stepped on, the head cries out.

If it were in their power, if Christ were alive on earth, they would nail Him to the cross again! Thus, people crucify Christ again, and if man's blood so loudly cries out, how loud will Christ's blood cry against sinners?

Application 2

Beware of having your hands stained with the blood of others.

"But someone has wronged me by defamation, or some other way, and if I spill his blood, I will only be revenging my own quarrel!" If someone has done you wrong, the law is open; but take heed not to shed blood. What! Because someone has wronged you, will you therefore wrong God? Is it not doing wrong to God to take His work out of His hand? He has said, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (Romans 12:19). You would attempt to revenge yourself. You want to be plaintiff, judge, and executioner, all by yourself. This is a great wrong done to God, and He will not hold you guiltless.

To dissuade others from having their hands defiled with blood, consider what kind of sin murder is.

Murder is a God-offending sin. It is a violation of His command. It tramples upon His royal decree. It is a wrong offered to God's image. In the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). It is tearing God's picture. Man is the temple of God. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? (1 Corinthians 6:19). The one who kills another human destroys God's temple, and will God endure to be confronted by proud dust in this way?

Murder is a crying sin. The voice of blood cries to heaven (Genesis 4:10). There are three sins in Scripture that are said to cry:

  1. Oppression. "Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will arise," says the Lord (Psalm 12:5).
  2. Sodomy. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me (Genesis 18:21).
  3. Bloodshed. This cries so loudly that it drowns out all the other cries. The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground (Genesis 4:10). Abel's blood had as many tongues as drops so they could all cry aloud for vengeance! The sin of blood lay heavy on David's conscience. Though he had sinned by adultery, what he cried out for the most was this crimson sin of blood: Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God (Psalm 51:14). Though the Lord visits for every sin, He will in a special manner avenge those who shed blood. He who requires blood remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted (Psalm 9:12). If an animal killed someone, it was to be stoned, and its flesh was not to be eaten (Exodus 21:28). If God would have an animal stoned that killed someone, which did not have the use of reason to restrain it, much more will He be enraged against those who, against both reason and conscience, take away the life of a human being.

Murder is a diabolical sin. It makes a man the devil's firstborn, for he was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). By saying to our first parents, You surely will not die, he brought death into the world (Genesis 3:4).

Murder is a cursed sin. If there is a curse for him who strikes his neighbor in secret, (Deuteronomy 27:24), then he is doubly cursed who kills him. The first man who was born was a murderer. Now you are cursed from the ground (Genesis 4:11). Cain was an excommunicated person, banished from the place of God's public worship. God set a mark upon bloody Cain (Genesis 4:15). Some people think the mark was horror of mind, which, above all sins, accompanies the sin of blood. Others think it was a continual shaking and trembling in his flesh. Whatever it was, he carried a curse along with him.

Murder is a sin that procures God's wrath. [Manasseh] filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive (2 Kings 24:4).

Murder brings temporal judgments. Phocas, to get the empire, put to death all the sons of Mauritius the emperor, and then slew the emperor himself; but he was pursued by Priscus, his son-in-law, who cut off his ears and feet and then killed him. Charles IX, who caused the massacre of so many Christians at Paris, died from blood issuing out of several parts of his body. Albania killed a man and made of his skull a cup to drink from. His own wife, soon afterward, caused him to be murdered in his bed. Vengeance pursues the murderer as a bloodhound. Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days (Psalm 55:23).

It brings eternal judgments. It confines people to hell. The Roman Catholics make nothing of massacres, because theirs is a bloody religion. They have often given a license for murder, if it is to further the Catholic cause. If a cardinal puts his red hat upon the head of a murderer going to execution, he saves him from death. Let all unrepentant murderers read their doom in Revelation 21:8: But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. We read of fire, mixed with blood (Revelation 8:7). Those who have their hands full of blood must undergo the wrath of God. Here is fire mingled with blood, and this fire is inextinguishable. Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44). Time will not end it, and tears will not quench it.

We must not injure someone else in his soul.

This is the greatest murder of all, because there is more of God's image in the soul than in the body. Although the soul cannot be annihilated, it is said to be murdered when it is deprived of its eternal happiness and is forever in torment. How many people are murderers of the soul!

Soul-murderers are those who corrupt others by bad example. The world is led by example – especially by the examples of famous and powerful people, which are often harmful examples. We are apt to do what we see others before us do, especially those above us. Those who are in positions of high power are like the pillar of cloud that, where it went, Israel went (Exodus 40:36). When powerful people move, others will follow them, even though it is to hell. Evil leaders, like the tail of the dragon, draw the third part of the stars after them (Revelation 12:4).

Soul-murderers are those who entice others to sin. The harlot – by curling her hair, batting her eyes, and revealing her cleavage – does what she can to be both a tempter and a murderer. Such a woman was Messalina, wife to Claudius the emperor. Behold, a woman comes to meet him, dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart. . . . She seizes him and kisses him (Proverbs 7:10, 13). Better are the reproofs of a friend than the kisses of a harlot.

Ministers who starve, poison, or infect souls are soul-murderers. When I say to the wicked, "You will surely die," and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand (Ezekiel 3:18).

  * Ministers who starve souls. Feed the flock of God which is among you (1 Peter 5:2 JUB). These men feed themselves and starve the flock; either through being gone much, not preaching, or through inability, they do not feed the flock. There are many in the ministry so ignorant that they need to be taught the elementary principles of the oracles of God (Hebrews 5:12). Was he fit to be a preacher in Israel, do you think, who being asked something concerning the decalogue, answered that he never saw any such book?
  * Ministers who poison souls. These are ministers who do not have traditional biblical beliefs and who poison people with error. The basilisk poisons herbs and flowers by breathing on them; so the breath of heretical ministers poisons souls. Socinians rob Christ of His Godhead, denying His divinity. Arminians promote the power of the will and want to deny the free grace of God. Antinomians deny the use of the Bible's moral law to a believer, as if it were antiquated and out of date. They, too, poison men's souls. Error is as damnable as wickedness. False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves (2 Peter 2:1).
  * Ministers who infect souls by their scandalous lives. Let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves (Exodus 19:22). Ministers who, by their vocation, are nearer to God, should be holier than others. The higher the elements are, the purer they are. Air is purer than water; fire is purer than air. The higher men are in office, the holier they should be. John the Baptist was a shining lamp, but there are many who infect their people with their bad lives. They preach one thing, and live another. They make a show of goodness, but live a life of worldliness. Like Eli's sons, they are in white linen, but have scarlet sins. A golden cupful of dirt is a fit emblem of those ministers who have a special vocation but are dirty and polluted in their lives. They are murderers, and the blood of souls will cry against them at the last day.

Soul-murderers are those who destroy others by getting them into bad company, making them followers of the devil. Seneca said, "Our vices leap on the man next to us." A person cannot live in the Ethiopian climate without being darkened by the sun, nor can he be in bad company without partaking of their evil. One drunkard makes another. As the prophet speaks in another sense, I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, "Drink wine!" (Jeremiah 35:5), so the wicked set pots of wine before others and make them drink until their reason is numbed and their lust is inflamed. These people are guilty of breaking this commandment. How sad will it be for those who have not only their own sins, but who also have the blood of others to answer for!

So much for the first thing forbidden in the commandment – injuring others.

The second thing forbidden in this commandment is injuring ourselves.

You shall not murder. You shall do no hurt to yourself. You shall not hurt your own body. We can be guilty of self-murder, either indirectly or occasionally, or directly and absolutely.

We can be guilty of self-murder indirectly and occasionally.

This can happen when a person thrusts himself into danger that he could prevent. If a company of archers were shooting, and someone knowingly puts himself in the place where the arrows fly so that an arrow kills him, he is an accessory to his own death. Under the law, God had the leper closed up to keep others from being infected (Leviticus 13:4). If anyone would be so presumptuous as to purposely go to a leper in order to get the plague of leprosy, he could thank himself for his own death.

A person can be guilty of his own death, in some sense, by neglecting the use of means for preserving life. If someone is sick and uses no remedy, or if he has received a wound and will not apply a cure, he hastens his own death. God commanded, Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover (Isaiah 38:21). If Hezekiah had not done so, he would have been the cause of his own death.

A person can be guilty of self-murder by excessive grief. The sorrow of the world produces death (2 Corinthians 7:10). When God takes away a dear relative, and anyone is swallowed up with sorrow, he endangers his life. How many weep themselves into their graves! Queen Mary grieved so excessively for the loss of Calais that it broke her heart.

A person can be guilty of self-murder by lack of self-control or excess in diet. Gluttony shortens life. More people perish by alcohol than by the sword. Many dig their grave with their teeth. Too much oil chokes the lamp. The cup kills more than the cannon. Excessive drinking causes untimely death.

We can be guilty of self-murder directly and absolutely.

By envy. Envy is a secret discontent at the well-being and happiness of someone else. An envious person is more sorry at someone else's prosperity than at his own adversity. He never laughs except when someone else weeps. Envy is self-murder, a consuming disease. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage (200-258), calls it a secret wound. Envy hurts oneself most. Envy corrodes the heart, dries up the blood, and rots the bones. Envy is rottenness of the bones (Proverbs 14:30). It is to the body what the moth is to the cloth. It eats it and consumes its beauty. Envy drinks its own venom. The viper that leaped on Paul's hand intended to hurt Paul, but it fell into the fire itself (Acts 28:3-5). While the envious man thinks to hurt someone else, he destroys himself.

By laying violent hands on himself. Saul took his sword and fell on it (1 Samuel 31:4). It is the most unnatural and barbarous kind of murder for a man to butcher himself and stain his hands in his own blood. A man's self is most near to him; therefore, this sin of self-murder breaks both the law of God and the bonds of nature. The Lord has placed the soul in the body as in a prison, and it is a sin to break open this prison until God opens the door. Self-murderers are worse than wild animals that will tear and gore one another, but not destroy themselves. Self-murder is usually brought about by discontent and a joyless spirit. The bird that thrashes itself in the cage and is ready to kill itself is a true emblem of a discontented spirit.

From where does this discontent come? This discontent arises:

From pride. A person who swells up with a high opinion of himself and thinks he deserves better than others creates his own discontent. When any great calamity happens to him he is discontent, and in a sudden passion will do away with himself. Ahithophel had high thoughts of himself. His words were esteemed oracles, and he could not bear to have his wise counsel rejected. He set his house in order, and strangled himself (2 Samuel 17:23).

From poverty. Poverty is a tremendous temptation. Give me neither poverty nor riches (Proverbs 30:8). Many have brought themselves to poverty by their sin. When a great estate is boiled away to nothing, they are discontent and think it better to die quickly than to suffer in misery. The devil soon helps them to destroy themselves.

From covetousness. Greed is a dry drunkenness, a leech that is never satisfied (Proverbs 30:15). The covetous man is like behemoth. He drinks up a river, and yet his thirst is not satisfied. The covetous miser hoards up corn, and if he hears that the price of corn is beginning to fall, he is troubled, and he finds no cure for his discontent but a noose!

From distress of mind. A person has sinned a great sin, has swallowed down some pills of temptation that the devil has given him, and these pills begin to work in his conscience. The disgust becomes so great that he chooses death! Judas, having betrayed innocent blood, was in such an agony of conscience that he hanged himself. It is as if to avoid the bite of a gnat, one endures the bite of a serpent! I can see no ground of hope for those who do away with themselves, for they die in the very act of sin and cannot have time to repent!

Hurting our own souls is forbidden in the command, You shall not murder. Many who are free from other murders are guilty here. They murder their own souls. They willfully damn themselves and throw themselves into hell.

Who are those who murder their own souls?

They willfully murder their souls who have no sense of God or of the world to come, and are past feeling. They, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness (Ephesians 4:19). If you tell them about God's holiness and justice, they are not at all affected. They made their hearts like flint (Zechariah 7:12). "The flint," says Pliny, "is impregnable; the hammer cannot conquer it." Sinners have unbreakable hearts. When the prophet spoke to the altar of stone, it rent asunder (1 Kings 13:5), but sinner's hearts are so hardened in sin that nothing will work upon them – not God's commands nor His judgments. They do not believe in God. They laugh at hell. Thus, they murder their own souls and throw themselves into hell as fast as they can.

They willfully murder their own souls who give themselves up to their lusts, no matter what the result will be. Their soul cries out, "I am killing myself! I am murdering myself!" They, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness (Ephesians 4:19). Even if ministers, conscience, or affliction speaks to them about their sins, they will have their lusts, even if they go to hell for them! Do not these people murder their own souls? Many say in their hearts, "Let our sins damn us, as long as they please us!" Herod will have his incestuous lusts, though it costs him his soul. For a drop of pleasure, people will drink a sea of wrath! Do not these people massacre and damn their own souls? His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray (Proverbs 5:22-23).

They murder their souls who avoid all means of saving them. They will go to plays or to taverns, but will not set their foot in God's house or come near the sound of the gospel trumpet, as if one who is diseased should avoid the healing medicine for fear of being healed. These are self-murderers as much as one who has the means of cure offered him, but chooses instead to die.

They voluntarily murder their souls who are falsely biased against Christianity. They might say that in order to follow Jesus they must be so strict and severe that they will have to live a desolate life, like hermits and monks, and drown all their joys in tears. It is a slander that the devil casts upon Christianity, for there is no true joy except in believing. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full (John 15:11). No honey is as sweet as that which drops from a promise. Some people are foolishly prejudiced against Christianity. They are resolved never to go to heaven rather than go through the narrow gate. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it (Matthew 7:13). I may say of prejudice, as Paul said to Elymas, You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? (Acts 13:10). How many souls has this prejudice damned?

They willfully murder their own souls who will neither be good themselves, nor allow others to be so. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in (Matthew 23:13). These are people who persecute others for their Christianity. They might not care if people meet to get drunk, but if people meet to serve God, they will not hesitate to condemn, ridicule, and oppose them. They are resolved to shipwreck others, even though they themselves are cast away in the storm. Oh, take heed of murdering your own souls! No creature except man willingly kills itself.

The positive duty implied in the command is that we should do all the good we can to ourselves and others.

  * In reference to others, we should strive to preserve the lives and souls of others.
  * In reference to ourselves, we should preserve our own life and soul.

In reference to others

We are to preserve the lives of others. We should comfort them in their sorrows, relieve them in their needs, and like the good Samaritan, pour wine and oil into their wounds. I was a father to the needy (Job 29:16). The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me (Job 29:13). It is a great means of preserving the life of another to relieve him when he is ready to perish. When there was a great scarcity of essential needs in Rome, Pompey provided for its relief. When the mariners were afraid to sail there in a storm, he said, "It is not necessary that we should live, but it is necessary that Rome be relieved."

True grace makes the heart tender. It causes sympathy and charity. It melts the heart in contrition toward God and in compassion toward others. He has given freely to the poor (Psalm 112:9). This commandment implies that we should be so far from ruining others that we should do all we can to preserve their lives. When you see the picture of death drawn in their faces, administer to their necessities. Be temporal saviors to them. Draw them out of the waters of affliction with a silver cord of charity.

So that I may persuade you to this, let me set before you some arguments:

  * Works of charity indicate grace. Charity demonstrates saving faith. I will show you my faith by my works (James 2:18). Works are faith's letters of credibility. We judge of the health of the body by the pulse, and a Christian can judge of the health of his faith by the pulse of compassion toward others. The Word of God is the standard of faith, and good works are the witnesses of faith. Charity also demonstrates love. Love loves mercy. It is a noble, bountiful grace. Mary loved Christ, and how abundant was her love! She bestowed on Christ her tears, kisses, and costly ointments (Luke 7:36-50). Love, like a full vessel, must have an outlet. It expresses itself in acts of kindness and compassion.
  * To help meet the needs of others is not left to our choice, but it is a necessary duty. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share (1 Timothy 6:17-18). This is not only advice, but it is a command. If God would give inanimate creatures a command, they would obey. If He would command the rocks to do so, they would send forth water. If He would command the clouds to do so, they would melt into showers. If He would command the stones, they would become bread. Will we be less obedient than the stones by not obeying God when He commands us to be rich in good works?
  * God supplies our needs, and will we not help supply the needs of others? We could not live without mercy. God makes every creature helpful to us. The sun enriches us with its golden beams. The earth yields us its increase, gold, crops of corn, and supply of flowers. God opens the treasury of His mercy. He feeds us every day out of the bountiful basket of His providence. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing (Psalm 145:16). Will God supply our needs, and will we not minister to the needs of others? Will we be as a sponge to suck in mercy, and will we not distribute it to others?
  * We resemble God by doing good to others. It is our excellence to be like God. Godliness is Godlikeness. When are we more like Him than when we are helping others and giving to them generously? You are good and do good (Psalm 119:68). You are good: this is His essential goodness. And do good: this is God demonstrating His goodness. The more helpful we are to others, the more like God we are. We cannot be like God in omniscience or in working miracles, but we can be like Him in doing works of compassion and love.
  * God remembers all our deeds of kindness, and He takes them kindly at our hands. God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints (Hebrews 6:10). The chief butler may forget Joseph's kindness, but the Lord will not forget any kindness we show to His people. I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me (Matthew 25:35-36).

Christ takes the kindness done to His saints as if they were done to Himself. God has a bottle for your tears (Psalm 56:8) and a book of remembrance to write down your acts of compassion (Malachi 3:16). The fourteenth-century conqueror Tamerlane had a register to write down all the names and good services of his soldiers, and God has a book of remembrance to write down all your charitable works. At the day of judgment there will be an open and honorable mention made of them in the presence of the angels.

  * Hard-heartedness to others when they are in misery shows rejections of the gospel. When people's hearts are like pieces of rock, or as the scales of the leviathan, rows of scales, closely sealed together (Job 41:15), you might as well try to extract oil out of flint as to try to obtain the golden oil of charity out of them. They show that they are not Christian themselves. Unmercifulness is the sin of the heathen: without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful (Romans 1:31). It eclipses the glory of the gospel. Does the gospel teach uncharitableness? Does it not tell us to feed the hungry and help those in trouble (Isaiah 58:10)? Those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds (Titus 3:8). While you do not help others who are in need, you walk in opposition to the gospel. You cause it to be spoken evil of, and you lay it open to the attack and condemnation of others.
  * You do not lose anything by helping those in need. The Shunammite woman was kind to the prophet Elisha. She welcomed him to her house, and she received kindness from him another way: he restored her dead child to life (2 Kings 4:35). Those who are helpful to others will find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Those who pour out the golden oil of compassion to others will have the golden oil of salvation poured out to them by God. For a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:42), they will have rivers of God's delights (Psalm 36:8). God will make it up some way or another in this life. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered (Proverbs 11:25). It will be as the loaves of bread multiplied (Matthew 14:17-21) or as the widow's oil that did not run out (1 Kings 17:16). One's assets may be given without being diminished.
  * To do good to others who are in need keeps up the character of Christianity. Works of mercy adorn the gospel, just as fruit adorns the tree. When our light so shines that others see our good works, it glorifies God, crowns Christianity, and silences the lips of those who oppose God's Word. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Basil says that nothing rendered the true religion of Christianity more famous in the early days and made more followers of Jesus than the generosity and compassion of Christians.
  * Much evil results by not preserving the lives of others and by not helping them in their times of need. There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want (Proverbs 11:24). He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered (Proverbs 21:13). Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy (James 2:13). The rich man denied Lazarus a crumb of bread, and he was denied a drop of water (Luke 16:19-25). Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink" (Matthew 25:41-42). Christ does not say, "You took away My food," but "You gave Me nothing to eat." You did not feed My people, my members; therefore, Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

After all this, be ready to distribute to the necessities of others. This is included in the commandment, You shall not murder. Not only will you not destroy another person's life, but you will preserve it by ministering to his necessities.

It is implied that we should endeavor to preserve the souls of others. We should counsel them about their souls, set life and death before them, and help them to heaven. In the law, if one met his neighbor's ox or donkey going astray, he was required to bring it back to the owner (Exodus 23:4). Much more, if we see our neighbor's soul going astray, we should use all means to bring him back to God by repentance.

In reference to ourselves

The commandment, You shall not murder, requires that we should preserve our own life and soul. It is engraved upon every creature that he should preserve his own natural life. We must be so far from self-murder that we must do all we can to preserve our natural life. We must use all means of diet, exercise, and lawful recreation, which, like oil, preserves the lamp of life from going out. Some have been tempted by Satan to believe that they are such sinners that they do not deserve even a bit of bread, so they have been ready to starve themselves. This is contrary to the commandment, You shall not murder, which implies that we are to use all proper means for the preservation of life. No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments (1 Timothy 5:23). Timothy was not to weaken his nature by drinking too much water, but was to use proper means for self-preservation.

This commandment requires that we should also strive to preserve our own souls. Though you lose all else, remember to save your soul. It is engraved upon every creature, as with the point of a diamond, to seek its own preservation. If the life of the body must be preserved, much more the life of the soul. If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).

Taking special care to preserve our souls is one of the main things implied in the commandment. The soul is a jewel – a diamond set in a ring of clay. Christ puts the soul in balance with the world, and it outweighs all. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26). The soul is a mirror in which some rays of divine glory shine. It has in it some faint idea and resemblance of the Deity. It is a celestial spark lit by the breath of God. The body was made out of dust, but the soul is of a more noble origin. The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (Genesis 2:7).

The soul is excellent in its nature. It is a spiritual being. It is a kind of angelic thing. The mind sparkles with knowledge, the will is crowned with liberty, and all the emotions are as stars shining in their orb. The soul being spiritual, it can operate quickly. How quick are the motions of a spark! How swift the wings of a cherubim! So quick and agile is the motion of the soul! What is quicker than thought? How many miles the soul can travel in an instant! The soul, being spiritual, moves upward as it contemplates God and glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? (Psalm 73:25). The motion of the soul is upward, but sin has put a wrong bias upon it and made it move downward. The soul, being spiritual, has a self-moving power. It can subsist and move when the body is dead, just as the sailor can live when the ship is broken. The soul, being spiritual, is immortal – a bud of eternity.

As the soul is excellent in its nature, so it is excellent in its capabilities. It is capable of grace. It is suitable to be an associate and companion of angels. It is capable of communion with God – and of being Christ's spouse! I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin (2 Corinthians 11:2). The soul is capable of being crowned with glory forever. Oh, then, carrying such precious souls about you, created with the breath of God, redeemed with the blood of God, what efforts you should use for saving these souls! Do not let the devil have your souls.

The Roman emperor Heliogabalus fed his lions with pheasants. The devil is called a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). Do not feed him with your souls! Besides the excellence of the soul, which may make you labor to get it saved, consider how sad it will be not to have the soul saved. There is no loss like it, because in losing the soul, you lose many things with it. When a merchant loses his ship, he loses many things with it. He loses money, jewels, spices, etc. In the same way, he who loses his soul loses Christ and the company of angels in heaven. It is an infinite loss – an irreversible loss. It can never be made up again. Oh, what care should be taken of the immortal soul!

I would only ask this of you – that you take as much care for the saving of your souls as you do for getting worldly possessions. Take as much care for saving your souls as the devil does for destroying them! Oh, how industrious Satan is to damn souls! How he plays the serpent in his subtle laying of snares to catch souls! How he shoots the fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16)! He is never idle. He is a busy bishop in his parish. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Is it not a reasonable request to take as much care to save your souls as the devil does to destroy them?

How can we have our souls saved?

We can save our souls by having them sanctified. Only the pure in heart will see God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Get your souls embedded and covered with holiness. It is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). It is not enough that we cease to do evil (Isaiah 1:16). That is all the evidence some have to show, and they lose heaven by aiming low. We must be inwardly sanctified. Not only the unclean spirit must go out, but we must be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). This holiness is essential if you consider that God is to dwell with you here, and you are to dwell with Him hereafter.

God is to dwell with you here. God takes up the soul for His own lodging: that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17). Therefore, the soul must be consecrated. A king's palace must be kept clean, especially where he meets others. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The soul is the holy of holies; how holy it should be!

You are to dwell with God. Heaven is a holy place – an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away (1 Peter 1:4). How can you dwell with God until you are sanctified? We do not put wine into a moldy vessel, and God will not put the new wine of glory into a sinful heart. Oh, then, just as you love your souls and want them saved eternally, strive after holiness! By this means you will be prepared for the kingdom of heaven, and your souls will be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus!

* * *

 A basilisk is a mythical reptile that legend said could kill by its breath or by its glance.
The Seventh Commandment

You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

God is a pure, holy being, and He has an infinite animosity against all impurity. In this commandment, God has recorded His warning against it: You shall not commit adultery. The sum of this commandment is the preservation of bodily purity. We must take care not to run aground on the rock of impurity and so make shipwreck of our purity. In this commandment, there is something simply implied and something directly forbidden.

The thing implied is that the ordinance of marriage should be observed. Each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2). Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled (Hebrews 13:4). God instituted marriage in paradise. He brought the woman to the man (Genesis 2:22). He gave them to each other in marriage. Jesus Christ honored marriage with His presence (John 2:2). The first miracle He performed was at a marriage, when He turned the water into wine. Marriage is a type and resemblance of the mystical union between Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:32).

In marriage, there are general and specific duties. The general duty of the husband is to lead. The husband is the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23). The head is the seat of rule and judgment, but he must rule with care and wisdom. He who is the head, therefore, must not rule without reason and good judgment. The general duty on the wife's part is submission. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22). It should be noticed that the Holy Spirit passed by Sarah's failings, not mentioning her unbelief, but He took notice of that which was good in her – her reverence and obedience to her husband: Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord (1 Peter 3:6).

The specific duties belonging to marriage are love and faithfulness. Love is the marriage of the affections. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). There is, as it were, one heart in two bodies. Love covers the yoke and makes it easy. It perfumes the marriage relationship. Without love, there is not harmony, but constant quarreling. Like two poisons in one stomach, one is always sick of the other. In marriage, there is mutual promise of living together faithfully according to God's holy ordinance. Among the Romans, on the day of marriage, the woman presented to her husband fire and water. This was to signify that just as fire refines and water cleanses, she would live with her husband in purity and sincerity.

The thing forbidden in the commandment is infecting ourselves with bodily pollution and impurity. You shall not commit adultery. The fountain of this sin is lust. Since the fall, holy love has degenerated to lust. Lust is the fever of the soul.

There is a twofold adultery:

1. Mental. Everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Just as someone can die of inward bleeding, so he may be damned for the inward torrent of lust if it is not conquered.

2. Physical. This happens when sin has conceived and is brought forth in the act. This is directly forbidden: You shall not commit adultery. This commandment is set up as a wall to keep out impurity, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall (Ecclesiastes 10:8). Adultery is a heinous and lustful crime (Job 31:11). Every failure is not a crime, and every crime is not a heinous crime – but adultery is a heinous crime. The Lord calls it villainy. They have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives (Jeremiah 29:23).

What makes adultery such a heinous sin?

It is a breach of the marriage oath. When people come together in matrimony, they bind themselves by covenant to each other, in the presence of God, to be true and faithful in the marital relationship. Immorality breaks this solemn oath, and in this way adultery is worse than fornication because it breaks the marital bond.

Adultery is a heinous sin because a great dishonor is done to God. God says, You shall not commit adultery. The adulterer sets his will above God's law, tramples upon His command, and offends Him to His face – as if a subject would tear his prince's proclamation.

The adulterer is highly disparaging to all the persons in the Trinity. It is disparaging to God the Father. Sinner, God has given you your life, and you waste the lamp of life and the prime of your life in wickedness and immorality. He has bestowed on you many mercies, health, and possessions, and you spend it all on immorality. Did God give you wages to serve the devil?

Adultery is disparaging to God the Son in two ways. (1) He has purchased you with His blood. You have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). He who is bought is not his own. It is a sin for him to go to someone else without consent, to go away from Christ who has bought him with a price. (2) By faith you are a Christian and profess that Christ is your head, and you are a member of Christ; therefore, what an insult it is to Christ to take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute (1 Corinthians 6:15).

Adultery is disparaging to God the Holy Spirit, for the body is His temple. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? (1 Corinthians 6:19). How great a sin it is to defile His temple!

The sin of adultery is so heinous because it is committed with careful consideration. The sin is formulated in the mind, consented to in the will, and then the sin is carried out into action. To sin against the light of nature, and to sin deliberately, is like the dye to the wool: it gives sin a tincture and dyes it a crimson color.

The sin of adultery is so heinous because it is needless. God has provided a remedy to prevent it. Because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2). Therefore, after this remedy has been prescribed, to be guilty of fornication or adultery is inexcusable. It is like a rich thief who steals when he has no need. This increases the sin.

Application 1

The church of Rome is here condemned, which allows the sins of fornication and adultery. It does not allow its priests to marry, but they may have their paramours. The worst kind of impurity, incest with the nearest of kin, is dispensed with for money. It was once said of Rome that Rome had become a common stew. And no wonder, when the Pope, for a sum of money, could give a license to commit impurity; and if the license were not enough, he would give them a pardon. Many of the Roman Catholics judge fornication not to be a very serious sin, but God condemns even lusting (Matthew 5:28). If God condemns the thought, how dare they allow the act of fornication! You see what a cage of unclean birds the church of Rome is. They call themselves the Holy Catholic Church, but how can they be holy who are so steeped and smothered in fornication, incest, sodomy, and all manner of impurity!

Application 2

It is a matter for sorrow to see this commandment so disrespected and violated among us. Adultery is the reigning sin of the times. They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker (Hosea 7:4). The time of King Henry VIII was called the golden age, but our day can be called the unclean age, wherein immorality is common. In your filthiness is lewdness (Ezekiel 24:13).

Martin Luther tells us of someone who said, "If he could only satisfy his lust and go from one immoral person to another, he would desire no other heaven." This is to love forbidden fruit, to love to drink of stolen waters (Proverbs 9:17).

He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations." Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. He said to me, "Son of man, now dig through the wall." So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. And He said to me, "Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here." (Ezekiel 8:6-9)

If we could, as the prophet Ezekiel, dig through the walls of many houses, what vile abominations would we see there! In some homes we might see fornication; dig further, and we may see adultery; dig further, and we may see incest, etc. Will not the Lord again go from His sanctuary? God might remove His gospel, and then we could write "Ichabod" on this nation, for the glory has departed. She called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel" (1 Samuel 4:21). Let us mourn for what we cannot reform.

Application 3

This commandment is given for exhortation, that we might keep ourselves from the sin of adultery. Let every man have his own wife, says Paul (1 Corinthians 7:2) – not his own concubine or mistress. In order to try to deter you from adultery, let me show you the great evil of it.

Adultery is a dishonest sin. It is the highest sort of theft. The adulterer steals from his neighbor that which is more than his property and possessions; he steals away his wife from him, who is flesh of his flesh.

Adultery debases a person. It makes him resemble the beasts; therefore, the adulterer is described like a horse neighing – Each one neighing after his neighbor's wife (Jeremiah 5:8). It is worse than brutish, for some creatures that are void of reason observe some decorum and chastity simply by the instinct of nature. The turtledove is a chaste creature and keeps to its mate. The stork, wherever he flies, enters no nest but his own. Adultery is worse than brutish, for it degrades a person of his honor.

Adultery pollutes. The devil is called an unclean spirit (Luke 11:24). The adulterer is the devil's firstborn. He is unclean. He is a moving mess; he is festering all over with sin. His eyes sparkle with lust. His mouth foams out filth. His heart burns like Mount Etna, in unclean desires. He is so filthy that if he dies in this sin, all the flames of hell will never purge away his immorality. As for the adulteress, who can paint her dreadful enough? The Scripture calls her a deep pit (Proverbs 23:27). She is a common sewer, whereas a believer's body is a living temple, and his soul is a little heaven, adorned with the graces, as so many stars. The body of a harlot is a walking dunghill, and her soul is a lesser hell.

Adultery is destructive to the body. You groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed (Proverbs 5:11). Immorality turns the body into a hospital; it brings foul diseases and eats the beauty of the face. As the flame wastes the candle, so the fire of lust consumes the bones. The adulterer hastens his own death. With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life (Proverbs 7:21-23). The Romans had their funerals at the gate of Venus' temple to signify that lust brings death. Venus is lust.

Adultery is a drain upon the wallet. It not only wastes the body, but it also wastes your possessions and resources. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts for the precious life (Proverbs 6:23-26). Promiscuous women and prostitutes are the devil's leeches – sponges that suck in money. The prodigal son spent his inheritance when he fell among harlots (Luke 15:30). When King Edward III was dying, his concubine got all she could from him, and even plucked the rings off his fingers – and then left him. He who lives in luxury dies in poverty.

Adultery destroys one's reputation. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; he who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out (Proverbs 6:32-33). Some, when they get wounds, get honor. The soldier's wounds are full of honor and the martyr's wounds for Christ are full of honor, but the adulterer merely gets wounds – but no honor to his name. His reproach will not be blotted out. No physician can heal wounds to one's reputation. When the adulterer dies, his shame lives. When his body rots underground, his name rots above ground. His out-of-wedlock children are living monuments of his shame.

Adultery impairs the mind. It steals away the understanding. It numbs the heart. Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding (Hosea 4:11). It eats all purity out of the heart. Solomon consumed himself with women, and they enticed him to idolatry.

Adultery incurs judgment in this world. The Mosaic law made the penalty for adultery to be death. The adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10), and the usual method of death was by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:24). The Salons commanded people guilty of this sin to be burnt. The Romans caused their heads to be cut off. Like a scorpion, this sin carries a sting in its tail. The adultery of Paris and Helen was the cause of the death of both and the ruin of Troy. Jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance (Proverbs 6:34). The adulterer is often killed in the act of his sin. Adultery cost Otho the emperor and Pope Sixtus IV their lives. Lust's practice is to make a joyful entrance, but she leaves in misery. I have read of two people in London who, having defiled themselves with adultery, were immediately struck dead with lightning from heaven. If all who are now guilty of this sin were to be punished in this manner, it would rain fire again, as on Sodom!

Adultery without repentance damns the soul. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

The fire of lust results in the fire of hell. Fornicators and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4). Though people may neglect to judge adulterers, God will judge them! But will not God judge all other sinners? Yes. Why, then, does the author of Hebrews say specifically that God will judge fornicators and adulterers? The meaning is that God will assuredly judge them. They will not escape the hand of justice, and God will punish them severely. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority (2 Peter 2:9-10). The harlot's breasts keeps men from Abraham's bosom! The delight lasts only a moment, but the torment lasts an eternity! Who for a cup of pleasure would drink a sea of wrath? Her guests are in the depths of Sheol (Proverbs 9:18).

A wise traveler, though many pleasant dishes are set before him at the inn, refrains from eating all of them because of the consequences. We are all travelers to Jerusalem above; and when many baits of temptation are set before us, we should refrain and think of the judgment that will be brought in at death. With what pleasure could Dionysius eat his delicacies when he saw that a glittering sword hung over his head as he sat at the table? While the adulterer feeds on strange flesh, the sword of God's justice hangs over his head.

Causinus speaks of a tree that grows in Spain that has a sweet smell and is pleasant to the taste, but its juice is poisonous. This is an emblem of a harlot; she may be perfumed and be lovely to look at, but she is poisonous and damnable to the soul! Many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain (Proverbs 7:26).

The adulterer does what lies in him to destroy the soul of someone else, and so kills two at once! He is worse than the thief, for if a thief robs someone and even takes away his life, the person's soul may be happy; he may go to heaven as well as if he had died in his bed. But he who commits adultery endangers the soul of someone else and does all he can to deprive her of salvation. What a fearful thing it is to be an instrument to draw someone else to hell!

The adulterer is abhorred by God. The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it (Proverbs 22:14). What can be worse than to be abhorred by God? God may be angry with His own children, but for God to abhor someone is the highest degree of hatred!

How does the Lord show His abhorrence of the adulterer? He does so by giving him up to a reprobate mind and a seared conscience. Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper (Romans 1:28). The adulterer is then in such a condition that he cannot repent. He is abhorred by God. The immoral person stands upon the threshold of hell, and when death gives him a push, he tumbles in!

Adultery sows discord. Adultery destroys peace and love – the two best flowers that grow in a family. It sets husband against wife and wife against husband, causing the joints of the same body to smite one against another. This division in a family works confusion, for a house divided against itself falls (Luke 11:17).

All this should sound a warning in our ears. It should call us away from the pursuit of so damnable a sin as immorality. Hear what the Scriptures say: Her house is the way to Sheol (Proverbs 7:27).

Application 4

I will now give some directions, by way of a remedy, to avoid the infection of this sin.

Do not enter into the company of an immoral woman. Avoid her house just as a sailor avoids a rock. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house (Proverbs 5:8). He who does not want the plague must not go near infected houses. To not avoid the occasion of sin, and yet to pray, Do not lead us into temptation (Matthew 6:13), is as if one would put his finger into the flame of the candle and yet pray that it may not be burnt!

Guard your eyes. Much sin comes in by the eye: having eyes full of adultery (2 Peter 2:14). The eye tempts the imagination, and the imagination works upon the heart. A lustful, impassioned eye may usher in sin. Eve first saw the tree of knowledge, and then she took (Genesis 3:6). First she looked, and then she loved. The eye often sets the heart on fire; therefore, Job laid a law upon his eyes: I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? (Job 31:1). Democritus the philosopher plucked out his eyes because he did not want to be tempted with vain objects. The Scripture does not command us to do this, but tells us to guard our eyes. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes (Psalm 101:3).

Guard your lips. Take heed of any unclean word that may ignite unclean thoughts in yourselves or others. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). Impure conversation is the bellows to blow up the fire of lust. Much evil is carried to the heart by the tongue. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3).

Be careful to guard your heart. Watch over your heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). Every person has a tempter in his own heart. Out of the heart come evil thoughts (Matthew 15:19). Thinking about sin prepares the way for the act of sin. Suppress the first risings of sin in your heart. As the serpent guards his head when danger is near, so keep your heart, which is the spring from which all lustful motions begin.

Be careful of your clothing. We read about the clothing of a harlot (Proverbs 7:10). Immodest clothing stirs up lust. Worldly hairstyles and makeup, excessive or worldly jewelry, tight clothing, half-naked breasts – are all enticements to immorality. Where the sign is hung out, people will go in and taste the alcohol. Jerome says, "Those who by their suggestive clothing attempt to draw others to lust, even if no evil follows, are tempters, and they will be punished, because they offered the poison to others, even though they would not drink."

Be careful to avoid evil companions. Sin is a very contagious disease. One person tempts someone else to sin, and he gets set in a life of sin. There are three cords that draw people to immorality:

  * the inclination of the heart,
  * the persuasion of evil company, and
  * the embraces of the harlot.

This threefold cord is not easily broken. A fire blazed up in their company (Psalm 106:18). The fire of lust is kindled in bad company.

Beware of worldly entertainment. A theater is often a preface to immorality. Plays furnish the seeds of wickedness. We are commanded to avoid every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22), and are not plays the appearance of evil? You see such things there that are not proper to behold with pure eyes. A wise clergyman observes that many people on their deathbeds have confessed, with tears, that the impurity of their bodies began with worldly entertainment.

Beware of mixed dancing. Dances are instruments of lust and indecency. Dancing leads to flirtation and lust, which leads to immorality. John Calvin (1509-1564) wrote, "There is, for the most part, some unchaste behavior in dancing." Dances draw the heart to immorality – by indecent gestures, by impure touches, and by lustful looks. John Chrysostom (349-407) denounced mixed dancing in his time. "We read in the Bible," he says, "of a marriage feast – but of dancing there, we read not."

Many people have been ensnared by dancing, such as the duke of Normandy and others. "Dancing is not the conduct of a chaste woman, but of the adulteress," said Ambrose (340-397). Chrysostom says, "Where dancing is, there the devil is!" I speak mainly of mixed dancing. We read of dances in Scripture, but they were purposeful and modest (Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. – Exodus 15:20). They were not mixed dances, but were orderly and religious, usually being accompanied with singing praises to God.

Beware of immodest and immoral books and pictures. These things promote lust. Just as the reading of the Scripture stirs up love to God, so reading morally corrupt books stirs up the mind to wickedness. To impure books I may add impure and immodest pictures, which captivate the eye and inflame lust! They secretly carry poison to the heart.

Beware of excess in diet. When gluttony and drunkenness lead, immorality and impurity follow. Wine inflames lust. Some of Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony (Ezekiel 16:49). The worst weeds grow out of the richest soil. Immorality proceeds from excess. They were well-fed lusty horses, each one neighing after his neighbor's wife (Jeremiah 5:8). Get the "golden bridle of temperance." God allows the refreshment of nature and what may prepare us the better for His service, but beware of excess and overindulgence. Excess in worldly things clouds the mind, chokes good affections, and arouses lust. I discipline my body and make it my slave (1 Corinthians 9:27). The overindulged flesh is prone to immorality.

Beware of idleness. When a person is idle, he is ready to receive any temptation. The devil sows most of his seeds of temptation in fallow ground. Idleness is the cause of impurity and immorality. Some of Sodom's sins were pride, laziness, and gluttony (Ezekiel 16:49). When David was idle on the top of his house, he observed Bathsheba and committed adultery with her (2 Samuel 11:4). Jerome gave his friend advice to be always well employed in God's vineyard, so that when the devil came, he might have no free time to listen to temptation.

Take care to avoid fornication and adultery. To avoid these sins, let every man have a pure, entire love to his own wife. Ezekiel's wife was the desire of his eyes (Ezekiel 24:16). When Solomon had turned away from immoral women, he prescribed a remedy against it: Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth (Proverbs 5:18). It is not having a wife that makes a man live in a pure manner, but it is loving a wife that makes him do so. He who loves his wife, whom Solomon calls his fountain, will not go abroad to drink of muddy, contaminated waters. Pure marital love is a gift of God, and it comes from heaven. However, like the sacred fire, it must be nourished so that it does not go out. He who does not love his wife is the likeliest person to embrace immorality and adultery.

Strive to get the fear of God into your hearts. By the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil (Proverbs 16:6). Just as the embankment keeps out the water, so the fear of the Lord keeps out immorality. Those who lack the fear of God lack the restraint that should keep them from sin! How did Joseph keep from giving in to the temptation from Potiphar's wife? The fear of God pulled him back! How then could I do this great evil and sin against God? (Genesis 39:9). Bernard of Clairvaux calls holy fear "the doorkeeper of the soul." As a nobleman's doorkeeper stands at the door and keeps out wanderers, so the fear of God stands and keeps out all sinful temptations from entering.

Take delight in the Word of God. How sweet are Your words to my taste! (Psalm 119:103). Chrysostom compares God's Word to a garden. If we walk in this garden and get sweetness from the flowers of the promises, we will never care to pluck the "forbidden fruit." "Let the Scriptures be my pure pleasure," says Augustine. The reason why people seek after impure, sinful pleasures is because they have nothing better. Caesar, riding through a city and seeing the women playing with dogs and parrots, said, "Surely they have no children." So those who play around with immoral people have no better pleasures. He who has once tasted Christ in a promise is ravished with delight, and he would reject a temptation to sin! Job said that the Word was his necessary food (Job 23:12). No wonder, then, that he made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1).

If you want to abstain from adultery, seriously consider the following points:

  1. Consider that God sees you in the act of sin! He sees all your secret and hidden wickedness. He is totus oculus: "all eye." The clouds are no canopy, and the night is no curtain to hide you from God's eye! Whenever you sin, your Judge looks on! As for your adulteries and your lustful neighings, the lewdness of your prostitution on the hills in the field, I have seen your abominations (Jeremiah 13:27). "They have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness," declares the Lord (Jeremiah 29:23).
  2. Consider that few who are entangled in the sin of adultery ever recover from its snare. None who go to her return again (Proverbs 2:19). This made some early Christians conclude that adultery was an unpardonable sin, but that is not so. David repented. Mary Magdalene was a weeping penitent; she got revenge upon her once-passionate eyes that sparkled with lust by washing Christ's feet with her tears!

Some, therefore, have recovered from this snare. None who go to her return; that is, very few do so. It is rare to hear of any who are enchanted and captivated with the sin of immorality who recover from it. I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her (Ecclesiastes 7:26). Her heart is a trap; that is, she is clever in deceiving those who come to her. Her hands are bonds, or chains; that is, her embraces powerfully hold and entangle her lovers. This consideration should make all fearful of this sin. Indulgent pleasures harden the heart.

  3. Consider what Scripture says, which may lay a barricade in the way to this sin: I will be a swift witness against . . . the adulterers (Malachi 3:5). It is good when God is a witness for us, when He witnesses to our sincerity, as he did to Job's, but it is sad to have God as a witness against us. I will be a swift witness against . . . the adulterers. Will anyone disprove God's witness? No. He is both witness and judge. Fornicators and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4).
  4. Consider the sad farewell that the sin of adultery leaves. It leaves a hell in the conscience. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol (Proverbs 5:3-5).

The goddess Diana was so artfully drawn that she seemed to smile upon those who came into her temple, but appeared to frown on those who went out. In the same way, the harlot smiles on her lovers as they come to her, but they soon come to the frown and the sting! Until an arrow pierces through his liver (Proverbs 7:23). In the end she is bitter.

When someone has been virtuous, the labor is gone, but the comfort remains; but when he has been wicked and immoral, the pleasure is gone, but the sting remains. "He gains momentary pleasure, and then eternal torment," says Jerome. When the senses have been feasted with impure pleasures, the soul is left to settle the account. Stolen water is sweet (Proverbs 9:17), but, as with poison, though sweet in the mouth, it torments the conscience. Sin always ends in tragedy!

Pray against this sin. Luther gave a lady the advice that when any lust began to rise in her heart, she should go to prayer. Prayer is the best armor against sin. It quenches the wildfire of lust. If prayer can cast out a demon, it will certainly cast out those lusts that come from the devil.

Application 5

If the body must be kept pure from defilement, much more must the soul of a Christian be kept pure. The meaning of the commandment is not only that we should not stain our bodies with immorality, but that we should keep our souls pure. To have a pure body but an unclean soul is like having a beautiful face with a cancerous heart. You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16).

The soul cannot be lovely to God until it has Christ's image stamped upon it, which consists in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). The soul especially must be kept pure, for it is a vital place of God's residence (Ephesians 3:17). A king's palace must be kept clean. If the body is the temple, the soul is the holy of holies, and must be consecrated. We must not only keep our bodies from carnal pollution, but we must keep our souls from envy and malice.

How can we know our souls are pure?

If our souls are pure, we flee from the appearance of evil. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We should not do that which even looks like sin. When Joseph's mistress courted and tempted him, he left his garment in her hand and fled (Genesis 39:12). He was wary to even be near her.

If our souls are pure, the light of purity will shine forth. Aaron had Holy to the Lord written upon his golden plate (Exodus 28:36). Where there is sanctity in the soul, Holy to the Lord is engraved upon the life. We are adorned with patience, humility, and good works, and we appear as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15). Carry Christ's picture in your life! The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6). Let us labor for this purity of soul! Without it, there is no seeing God. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). What partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14).

To keep the soul pure, make use of the blood of Christ. In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity (Zechariah 13:1). A soul immersed in the tears of repentance and bathed in the blood of Christ is made pure. Pray much for a pureness of soul. Create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10). Some pray for children, and others pray for riches, but you are to pray for purity of soul. Say, "Lord, though my body is kept pure, yet my soul is defiled. I pollute all that I touch. Purify me with hyssop (Psalm 51:7). Let Christ's blood sprinkle me. Let the Holy Spirit come upon me and anoint me. Make me evangelically pure so that I may be transported to heaven and placed among the cherubim, where I will be as holy as You want me to be and as happy as I can desire to be."

* * *

 In our day, we could also add movies, television, the internet, and even music.

 This likely refers to Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and a woman named Herleva.

 "Temperance is a bridle of gold" is from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (1577-1640).
The Eighth Commandment

You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

As the holiness of God sets a person against immorality in the command, You shall not commit adultery, so the justice of God sets him against theft and robbery in the command, You shall not steal. The thing forbidden in this commandment is interfering with another person's property. The civil lawyers define stealing or theft to be "the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's," or invading another's right.

The causes of theft

Internal causes:

  * Unbelief. A person may have a high distrust of God's providence. Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? (Psalm 78:19). "Can God spread a table for me?" asks the unbeliever. "No, He cannot," he determines. Therefore, he is resolved to spread a table for himself, but it will be at other people's cost, and both the first and second courses will be served with stolen goods.
  * Covetousness. The Greek word for "covetousness" signifies "an immoderate desire of getting." This is the root of theft. A person covets more than his own, and this itch of covetousness makes him scratch what he can from another. Achan's covetous heart made him steal the bar of gold – a bar that tore his soul away from God (Joshua 7:21).

External cause:

  * Satan's influence. Judas was a thief (John 12:6). How did he come to be a thief? Satan then entered into him (John 13:27). The devil is the great master thief. He robbed us of our coat of innocence, and he persuades people to take up his trade. He tells people how well they will live by stealing and that they will gain much wealth. As Eve listened to the serpent's voice, so do they. As birds of prey, they live upon spoil and plunder.

The kinds of theft

There is stealing from God. Those who rob God of any part of His day are thieves. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8). Not just part of the day, but the whole day must be dedicated to God. So that no one forgets this, the Lord has prefixed to this command: remember. Therefore, to spend the other part of the Lord's Day in vanity and pleasure after morning sacrifice is spiritual theft. It robs God of His due, and the very heathen will rise up in judgment against such Christians; for the heathen, as Macrobius notes, dedicated a whole day to their false gods.

There is stealing from others. There is stealing of souls, as heretics do, by robbing people of the truth, and thus robbing them of their souls. There is also stealing of money and goods.

  1. The highway thief, who robs others of a wallet or a purse, contrary to the letter of the commandment. You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him (Leviticus 19:13). Do not steal (Mark 10:19).
  2. The house thief, who steals and takes from his master's cash, or steals his belongings. The writer of Hebrews says that some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2), but many masters have entertained thieves in their houses without knowing it. The house thief is a hypocrite as well as a thief, for he has respectable looks and pretends to be helping his master, when he only helps himself.
  3. The legal thief who veils himself under the law, as the unjust lawyer who evades the truth and deals falsely. By deceit and evasion, the lawyer robs someone of his land, and he may be the means of ruining his family. He is no better than a thief in God's account.
  4. The church thief. He gets the golden fleece, but lets the flock starve. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, "Thus says the Lord God, 'Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock'" (Ezekiel 34:2-3). The shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock (Ezekiel 34:8). These ministers will be indicted as thieves at God's judgment seat.
  5. The shop thief, who steals in selling. He who uses false weights and measures, giving a customer less than requested or charging for more than is given, steals from others what is their due. To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, and to cheat with dishonest scales (Amos 8:5). Some sellers made the bushel small and gave less than a bushel, which was plainly stealing. A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress (Hosea 12:7). By making their weights lighter, people make their accounts heavier. He who steals in selling puts excessive prices on his commodities. He takes three times as much for an article as it cost him, or as it is worth.

To take advantage of others in selling is to steal money from them. You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him (Leviticus 19:13). To cheat or deceive him is to rob him. To take advantage of others in selling is a deceitful way of stealing, and is against both the law and the gospel. It is against the law of God: If you make a sale, moreover, to your friend or buy from your friend's hand, you shall not wrong one another (Leviticus 25:14). It is against the gospel: that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter (1 Thessalonians 4:6).

  6. The usurer, who takes by extortion from others by charging extremely high interest rates when lending money. He seems to help others by letting them borrow money in their necessity, but only gets them into more difficulty and sucks out their very blood and marrow. We read of a woman whom Satan had bound (Luke 13:16), and truly a person is in almost as bad a condition whom the usurer has bound. The usurer is a robber. A usurer once asked a prodigal when he would stop his wasteful spending. The prodigal replied, "I will stop spending what is my own when you stop stealing from others." Zacchaeus was an extortioner who, after his conversion, made restitution (Luke 19:8). He knew that all he had gotten by extortion was theft.
  7. The dishonest trustee who has the orphan's estate committed to him and is appointed to be his guardian and manage his estate for him. If the trustee reduces the estate by being dishonest and taking some of it for himself, wronging the orphan – he is a thief. This is worse than taking a purse by violence, because he betrays the trust of the other person, which is the highest piece of deception and injustice.
  8. The borrower, who borrows money from others, never intending to pay them back. The wicked borrows and does not pay back (Psalm 37:21). What is it but theft to take money and possessions from others, and not restore them again? The prophet Elisha told the widow to sell her oil, pay her debts, and then live upon the rest (2 Kings 4:7).
  9. The last sort of theft is the receiver of stolen goods. The one who receives and accepts stolen goods, even if he is not the actual thief, is an accessory to the theft, and the law makes him guilty. The thief steals the money, and the receiver holds the bag to put it in. The root would die if it were not watered, and theft would cease if it were not encouraged by the ones who receive the stolen goods. I am apt to think that he who does not hesitate to take stolen goods into his house would just as little hesitate to have stolen them himself.

What are some things that intensify the sinfulness of this sin?

  1. To steal when there is no need – to be a rich thief.
  2. To steal sacrilegiously – to devour things set apart for holy uses. It is a trap for a man to say rashly, "It is holy!" (Proverbs 20:25). Dionysius was such a person who robbed the temple and took away the silver vessels.
  3. To commit the sin of theft against the warnings of your conscience and the examples of God's justice. This, like the dye to the wool, dyes sin a crimson color.
  4. To rob the widow and orphan. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry (Exodus 22:22-23).
  5. To rob the poor. How angry was David that the rich man would take away the poor man's lamb! As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die (2 Samuel 12:5).

It is also possible to steal from oneself. How can a person steal from himself?

A person can rob himself by stinginess. The miser is a thief. He steals from himself in not allowing himself what is needful. He thinks that which he spends for himself is lost. He robs himself of necessities. He is a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction (Ecclesiastes 6:2). He fills his money chest and starves his belly! He is like the donkey that is loaded with gold, but feeds upon thistles. He robs himself of what God allows him. To live like this is to be punished with riches. It is to have an estate and lack the heart to take comfort in it.

A person can rob himself by foolishly wasting his estate. The prodigal wastes his money by lavish living. He is like Crates, the philosopher who threw his gold into the sea. The prodigal boils a great estate down to nothing. He who lavishes away an estate that might help bring about the comforts of life is a thief to himself.

He is a thief to himself who misspends his time in idleness or laziness. He who spends his hours in pleasure and foolishness robs himself of that precious time that God has given him to work out his salvation. Time is a rich commodity, because a happy eternity depends upon spending time well. He who spends his time idly and vainly is a thief to himself. He robs himself of much opportunity to pursue God, and he ends up robbing himself of salvation.

A person can be a thief to himself by suretyship, or co-signing a loan. Do not be among those who give pledges, among those who become guarantors for debts (Proverbs 22:26). By paying someone else's debt, he is a thief to himself. Let no one say that he would have been considered unkind if he had not entered into an agreement for his friend. It is better that your friend would consider you unkind than have all people consider you unwise. Lend someone else what you can spare; even give to him if he is in need – but never be a surety! Never agree to be responsible for someone else's debt. It is no wisdom for someone to help someone else in this way so as to bring ruin to himself. It is to rob himself and his family.

Application 1

To refute the doctrine of community, that all things are common and that one person has a right to someone else's possessions, we can look at Scripture. You shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor's standing grain (Deuteronomy 23:25). Property must be respected. God has set this eighth commandment as a hedge around people's homes, property, and possessions, and this hedge cannot be broken without sin. If all things are held in common, there can be no theft, and so this commandment would be in vain.

Application 2

This should be a reproof to those who live by stealing. Instead of living by faith, they live by their deception. The apostle Paul exhorts that everyone should work and eat his own bread (2 Thessalonians 3:12). The thief does not eat his own bread, but another's. If there are any who are guilty of this sin, let them labor to get free from the snare of the devil, by repentance, and let them show their repentance by restitution. Augustine wrote, "Without restitution, no remission." If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much (Luke 19:8). It is a thousand times better to restore goods unlawfully gotten than to stuff your pillow with thorns and have guilt trouble your conscience upon your deathbed.

Application 3

This is an exhortation to all to stay away from the sin of stealing, which is against the light of nature. Some may try to justify this sin. A coarse wool will take no dye, and stealing is a bad sin that has no excuse.

Some might say, "I have become poor, and business is bad. I have no other way to make a living."

  1. This shows great distrust in God, as if He could not provide for you without your sin.
  2. It shows sin to be extremely influential in that life when, because someone has grown poor, he will knock at hell's door; that is, he will go to the devil for a livelihood. Abraham would not have it said that the king of Sodom had made him rich (Genesis 14:23). O let it never be said that the devil has made you rich!
  3. You should not undertake any action upon which you cannot pray for a blessing, and you cannot pray for a blessing upon stolen goods. Therefore, beware of this sin. As Augustine said, "You gain materially, but your conscience suffers loss." Be careful that you do not gain the world and lose heaven.

Application 4

To discourage all from this horrid sin, consider the following:

  1. Thieves are the caterpillars of the earth, enemies to civil society.
  2. God hates them. In the law, the cormorant was unclean, because it is a thievish, devouring creature, a bird of prey, by which God showed his hatred of this sin (Leviticus 11:17).
  3. The thief is a terror to himself. He is always in fear. Guilt breeds fear. If the thief hears the leaves of a tree shaking, his heart shakes. It is said of the Roman politician Catiline that he was afraid of every noise. If a briar simply takes hold of a thief's garment, the thief is afraid it is the officer to apprehend him! There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (1 John 4:18).
  4. Judgments will follow this sin. Achan the thief was stoned to death (Joshua 7:25). Fabius, a Roman judge, condemned his own son to die for theft. Thieves die in shame. There is a worse thing than death, for while they rob others of money, they rob themselves of salvation.

What can be done to avoid stealing?

Work for a living. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good (Ephesians 4:28). The devil hires those who stand idle, and puts them in the trade of theft. An idle person tempts the devil to tempt him!

Be content with what God has given you. Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have (Hebrews 13:5). Theft is the daughter of greed. Learn contentment. Believe that the best condition is the one that God has carved out to you. He can bless the little meal in the barrel. We will not need these things long. We will carry nothing out of the world with us. If we have enough on which to live until we get to heaven, it is sufficient.
The Ninth Commandment

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)

The tongue, which was originally created to be an instrument of God's praise, has now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This ninth commandment binds the tongue to its good behavior. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue: the teeth and lips. This commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part. The prohibitory part is written down in plain words. The mandatory part is clearly implied.

The prohibitory part of the commandment, or, what it forbids in general.

It forbids anything that may disparage or harm our neighbor. More specifically, two things are forbidden in this commandment: slander and lying.

Slander. This is a sin against the ninth commandment. The scorpion carries his poison in his tail, and the slanderer carries his poison in his tongue. To slander is "to report things of others unjustly." Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know (Psalm 35:11). Many good Christians have their good names cut off by others. The apostle Paul was slandered by those who claimed that he preached that people could do evil if good might come of it. Why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), "Let us do evil that good may come"? (Romans 3:8).

Prominence is often attacked by slander. Holiness itself is no shield from slander. The lamb's innocence will not preserve it from the wolf. Christ, the most innocent upon earth, was reported to be a gluttonous man and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). John the Baptist was a man of a holy and austere life, and yet they said of him, He has a demon (Matthew 11:18).

The Scripture calls slandering "smiting with the tongue." Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue (Jeremiah 18:18). You can smite someone else without ever touching him. Augustine said, "The tongue inflicts greater wounds than the sword." No physician can heal the wounds of the tongue! To pretend to be a friend to someone, and then to slander him, is most abhorrent.

Just as it is a sin against this commandment to raise a false report about someone else, so it is a sin to receive a false report before we have examined it. O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend (Psalm 15:1-3). Not only must we not raise a false report, but we must also refuse to hear it. He who raises slander carries the devil in his tongue! He who receives slander carries the devil in his ear!

Lying. Three sins are condemned in this commandment: speaking that which is false, witnessing to that which is false, and swearing to that which is false.

1. Speaking that which is false. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22). To lie is to speak that which one knows to be an untruth. There is nothing more contrary to God than a lie. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth (1 John 4:6). Lying is a sin that does not go alone; it brings along other sins. Absalom told his father a lie when he said that he was going to pay his vow at Hebron, and this was a preface to his treason (2 Samuel 15:7).

Where a lie is in the tongue, the devil is in the heart. Why has Satan filled your heart to lie (Acts 5:3). Lying is a sin that is unsuitable for civil society. How can you converse or bargain with someone when you cannot trust a word he says? This sin highly provokes God. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling a lie (Acts 5:5, 10). The furnace of hell is heated for liars. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (Revelation 22:15).

Abhor this sin! Jerome instructs us, "Consider your every word an oath." When you speak, let your word be as genuine as your oath. Imitate God, who is the pattern of truth. Pythagoras was asked what made men like God. He answered, "When they speak the truth." The character of a person who will go to heaven is that he speaks truth in his heart (Psalm 15:2).

2. Witnessing that which is false. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. There are two ways we can give false testimony, or bear false witness.

We can bear false witness for someone else when we give our testimony for a person who is a criminal and guilty, and we justify him as if he were innocent. Who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! (Isaiah 5:23). He who seeks to acquit a wicked person makes himself unjust.

We can also bear false witness against someone when we accuse him falsely in court. This is to imitate the devil, who is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). Though the devil is not an adulterer, he is a false witness. Solomon says, Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor (Proverbs 25:18). In his face he is hardened like a club. He cannot blush, and he does not care what lie he claims to be a witness to. He is a sword. His tongue is a sword to wound the person he witnesses against in his property or life. Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones (1 Kings 21:13).

When the queen of Persia was sick, the magicians accused two godly virgins of having made the queen sick by their charms, whereupon she caused those virgins to be sawn asunder. A false witness perverts all justice. He corrupts the judge by making him pronounce a wrong sentence, and he causes the innocent to suffer. Vengeance will find out the false witness. A false witness will not go unpunished (Proverbs 19:5).

The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you (Deuteronomy 19:18-19). If, for instance, he was trying to have an innocent person put to death, his own life should be taken away.

3. Swearing to what is false. This can happen when people take a false oath, and by doing so take away the life of another. Do not love perjury (Zechariah 8:17). The Scythians made a law that when someone combined a lie with an oath, he was to lose his head because these sins took away all truth and faith from among men. The devil has taken great possession of those who dare swear to a lie.

Application 1

For reproof

The church of Rome is reproved when it approves of a lie or a false oath because it promotes the Catholic cause. It approves of a domineering lie and holds some sins to be lawful. God has no need of our lie. It is not lawful to tell a lie "for the glory of God," even if we were sure to bring glory to God by it, as Augustine explained.

Those people are reproved whose consciences are not bothered by slandering others. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son (Psalm 50:20). Paul was slandered as promoting sedition and being the head of a faction (Acts 24:5). The same word signifies both a slanderer and a devil. Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things (1 Timothy 3:11). "Not malicious gossips" in the Greek is the same as "not devils."

Some think it is not a big deal to misrepresent and slander others, but it is to act the part of a devil. Misrepresenting a person's credibility to make it appear less is worse than clipping the edge of a gold coin to misrepresent the weight of the gold. The slanderer wounds three people at once: (1) he wounds the person who is slandered, (2) he wounds the person to whom he reports the slander by causing uncharitable thoughts to arise up in his mind against the party slandered, and (3) he wounds his own soul by reporting about someone else that which is false. This is a great sin, but sadly, it seems to be common.

You can kill a person in his name as well as in his person. Some are reluctant to take away their neighbor's goods – their conscience would fly in their face; but it is better to take away their corn out of their field or their supplies out of their shop than to take away their good name! This is a sin for which no reparation can be made. A blot in a person's name is like a blot on white paper that can never be gotten out. Surely God will punish this sin. If idle words must be accounted for, will not unjust slanders be also? The Lord will make inquiry one day for names as well as for blood. Therefore, take heed of this sin! Was it not a sin under the law to speak falsely of a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:19)? Is it not a greater sin to speak falsely of a saint, who is a member of Christ?

The heathen, by the light of nature, abhorred the sin of slandering. Diogenes used to say, "Of all wild beasts, a slanderer is the worst." Antonius made a law that if a person could not prove the crime he reported another to be guilty of, he should be put to death.

Those people are reproved who are so wicked as to bear false witness against others. They are monsters in nature, unfit to live in a civil society. Eusebius tells about a man named Narcissus, a man famous for piety, who was accused by two false witnesses of immorality. To prove their accusations, they attempted to confirm it with oaths and curses. One said, "If I am not speaking the truth, I pray God I may perish by fire!" The other said, "If I am not speaking the truth, I wish I may be deprived of my sight." The first witness was burned in the flames, his house being set on fire. The other man was troubled in conscience, confessed his perjury, and ended up blind. Jezebel, who persuaded two false witnesses to testify against Naboth, was thrown down from a window, and the dogs ate her flesh (2 Kings 9:33-36). Oh, tremble at this sin! A perjured person is the devil's manure. His name is cursed and his conscience is seared. Hell opens wide for such a windfall.

Application 2

For exhortation

Let everyone beware of breaking this commandment, whether by lying, slandering, or bearing false witness. To avoid these sins, get the fear of God. Why does David say, The fear of the Lord is clean (Psalm 19:9)? Because it cleanses the heart from malice and the tongue from slander. The fear of the Lord is clean. It is to the soul as lightning is to the air, which cleanses it.

In addition to the fear of God, get love for your neighbor. You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). If we love a friend, we will not speak or claim anything that will harm him. People's minds are corrupted with envy and hatred, and so slandering and false witnessing come forth from the heart. Love is a lovely grace. Love does not take into account a wrong suffered (1 Corinthians 13:5). It puts the best interpretation upon another's words. Love is a well-wisher, and it is reluctant to speak poorly of him whom we wish well to. Love is that which cements Christians together. It heals divisions and restrains slander.

Here is some advice for those who are slandered and falsely accused:

  * Attempt to make a sanctified use of it. When Shimei denounced David, David made a sanctified use of it (2 Samuel 16:5-13). So if you are slandered or falsely accused, make a good use of it. See if you have any sin that you have not repented of that might be a reason for which God may allow you to be condemned and reproached. Consider if you have at any time wronged others in their name and said things about them that you cannot prove. If so, lay your hand on your mouth and confess that the Lord is righteous to let you fall under the scourge of the tongue!
  * If you are slandered or falsely accused, but you know that you are innocent, do not be too much troubled. Let your rejoicing be the witness of your conscience. Let it be your defense to know that you are guiltless. A good conscience is a wall of brass that will be able to stand against a false witness. As no flattery can heal a bad conscience, so no slander can hurt a good one. God will clear up the names of His people. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light (Psalm 37:6). As He will wipe away tears from the eyes (Revelation 21:4), so He will wipe off reproaches from the name. Believers will come forth out of all their slanders and reproaches like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and its pinions with glistening gold (Psalm 68:13).

Be very thankful to God if He has preserved you from slander and false witness. Job calls it the scourge of the tongue (Job 5:21). As a rod scourges the back, so the slanderer's tongue scourges the name. It is a great mercy to be kept from the scourge of a tongue. It is a mercy when God stops evil mouths from bearing false witness. What damage a lying report or a false oath can do! One destroys the name, and the other destroys the life. It is the Lord who muzzles the mouths of the wicked and keeps those dogs that snarl at us from attacking us!

You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues (Psalm 31:20). There is, I suppose, an allusion to kings, who being resolved to protect their favorites against the accusation of men, take them into their palaces where no one can touch them. In the same way, God has a pavilion, or a secret hiding place for His favorites, where He preserves their character and reputation untouched. He keeps them from the strife of tongues. We ought to acknowledge this to be a great mercy before God.

The implied mandatory part of the commandment is that we ought to stand up for others and vindicate them when they are wronged by lying lips.

The sense of the commandment is not only that we should not slander others or falsely accuse them, but that we should stand up in their defense when we know them to be wrongly accused and attacked and spoken against. A person can wrong someone else by silence as well as by slander. This can be done when he knows him to be wrongfully accused, yet does not speak in his behalf. If others cast false aspersions on anyone, we should wipe them off.

When the apostles were filled with the wine of the Spirit and were charged with drunkenness, Peter openly maintained their innocence. These men are not drunk, as you suppose (Acts 2:15). Jonathan knew that David was a worthy man and that all those things Saul said of him were slanders. Jonathan vindicated him: Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you. For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause? (1 Samuel 19:4-5).

When the early Christians were falsely accused of incest and of killing their children, Tertullian wrote a famous defense in their vindication. It is to act the part both of a friend and of a Christian to be an advocate for others when they are wronged in their good name.
The Tenth Commandment

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)

This commandment forbids covetousness in general: You shall not covet, and specifically: your neighbor's house, your neighbor's wife, etc.

It forbids covetousness in general.

You shall not covet. It is lawful to use the world and to desire as much of it as may keep us from the temptation of poverty: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God (Proverbs 30:8-9). It is good to seek those things that will enable us to honor God with works of mercy: Honor the Lord from your wealth (Proverbs 3:9). The danger is when the world gets into the heart. Water is useful for sailing a ship, but the danger is when the water gets into the ship. The danger regarding the world is when the world gets into the heart. You shall not covet.

What does it mean to covet?

There are two words in the Greek that set forth the nature of covetousness. Pleonexia signifies an "insatiable desire of getting the world." Covetousness is a dry disease. Augustine defines covetousness as "to desire more than enough." It is to desire a great estate, and to be like the daughter of the leech who cries, Give, give (Proverbs 30:15). The other word is philarguria, which signifies an "inordinate love of the world." The world is the idol. It is so much loved, that many will not part with it for any price. One who is covetous not only gets the world unrighteously, but who loves it inordinately.

For a more complete explanation of what it means to covet, I will give six points to help explain when a person may be said to be given to covetousness:

  1. A person is given to covetousness when his thoughts are wholly taken up with the world. A godly man's thoughts are in heaven. He is thinking about Christ's love and eternal recompense. When I awake, I am still with You (Psalm 139:18). That is, the person is still thinking about the things of God. A covetous man's thoughts are in the world. His mind is wholly taken up with it. He can think of nothing but his business or farm. Most of the thoughts in a covetous person's mind are worldly. He is always plotting and projecting about worldly things, like a young woman whose thoughts all center upon the young man whom she loves. His mind is on earthly things (Philippians 3:19).
  2. A person is given to covetousness when he takes more effort to gain the world than to gain heaven. He will turn every stone, give up sleep, and take many weary steps for the world, but he will take no effort for Christ or heaven. After the Gauls, an ancient people of France, had tasted the sweet wine of the Italian grape, they inquired after the country, never resting until they had arrived there. In the same way, a covetous person, having had a taste of the world, pursues after it, never resting until he has got it; but he neglects the things of eternity. He would be content if salvation were to drop into his mouth as a ripe fig drops into the eater's mouth (Nahum 3:12), but he is unwilling to put himself to too much sweat or trouble to obtain Christ or salvation. He hunts for the world, but he only wishes for heaven.
  3. A person is given to covetousness when all his conversation is about the world. He who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth (John 3:31). It is a sign of godliness to be speaking of heaven and to have the tongue tuned to the language of Canaan. Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious (Ecclesiastes 10:12). He speaks as if he had already been in heaven. So it is a sign of a covetous person to always speak of secular things, of his possessions and business and entertainment. A covetous man's breath, like a dying man's, smells strong of the earth. As it was said to Peter that his speech betrays him (Matthew 26:73), so a covetous person's speech betrays him. He is like the fish in the gospel that had a piece of money in its mouth (Matthew 17:27). Words are the mirror of the heart – they show what is within. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart (Luke 6:45).
  4. A person is given to covetousness when he so sets his heart upon worldly things that he will part with heaven for the love of them. For the bar of gold (Joshua 7:24), he will part with the pearl of great value (Matthew 13:46). When Christ said to the young man in the gospel, Go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me, the young man went away grieving (Matthew 19:21-22). He would rather part with Jesus than with all his earthly possessions.

Cardinal Bourbon said that he would give up his part in paradise if he could keep his cardinalship in Paris. When it comes to the critical point that people must either relinquish their possessions or Christ, and they would rather part with Christ and a good conscience than with their possessions and worldly lives, it is a clear case that they are possessed with covetousness! Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me (2 Timothy 4:10).

  1. A person is given to covetousness when he overloads himself with worldly business. He has many irons in the fire. He is so busy with his work that he cannot find time to serve God. He hardly has time to eat his food, but he has no time to pray. When a person is overly busy with the world, and as Martha, is distracted from the things of God by many other things so that he does not have time for his soul, he is under the power of covetousness (Luke 10:40).
  2. A person is given to covetousness whose heart is so set upon the world that he does not care what unlawful means he uses to get it. He intends to have the world by fair means or foul. He will wrong and defraud, and will raise his wealth upon the ruins of another. A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress. And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself" (Hosea 12:7-8). Pope Sylvester II sold his soul to the devil to become the pope.

Application

Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed (Luke 12:15). It is a direct breach of the tenth commandment. It is a moral evil. It infects and pollutes the whole soul.

Covetousness is a subtle sin. It is a sin that many cannot very well discern in themselves. This sin can clothe itself in the attire of virtue. It is called a pretext for greed (1 Thessalonians 2:5). It is a sin that wears a cloak. It conceals itself under the name of frugality and good taste. It has many pleas and excuses for itself – more than any other sin – such as providing for one's family. The more subtle the sin is, the less discernible it is.

Covetousness is a dangerous sin. It opposes all that is good. It is an enemy to grace. It smothers holy devotion, just as dirt puts out the fire. The hedgehog, in the fable, came to the rabbit burrows in stormy weather and desired harbor; but after he was allowed to enter in, he set up his prickles and did not stop until he had thrust the poor rabbits out of their burrows! In the same way, covetousness, by deceitful claims, winds itself into the heart; but as soon as you have let it in, it will not stop until it has choked all good beginnings and thrust all piety out of your hearts. Covetousness hinders the effectiveness in your heart of the Word preached.

In the parable of the sower, the thorns, which Christ explained represented the cares of this life, choked the good seed (Matthew 13:22). Many sermons lie dead and buried in earthly hearts. We tell people to get their hearts in heaven, but where covetousness is predominant, it chains them to earth and makes them like the woman whom Satan had bent down for eighteen years so that she was unable to stand up straight (Luke 13:11, 16). You may as well expect an elephant to fly in the air as a covetous person to live by faith.

We tell people to give freely to Christ's poor, but covetousness makes them like the man in the gospel who had a withered hand (Mark 3:1). They have withered hands and cannot stretch them out to the poor. It is impossible to be earthly minded and charitably minded. Covetousness obstructs the power of the Word and makes it prove unproductive to the covetous heart. Those whose hearts are rooted in the earth will be so far from profiting by the Word that they will be ready rather to ridicule it. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him (Luke 16:14).

Covetousness is a mother sin. It is a far-reaching evil. The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). The Roman poet Virgil said, "O accursed lust for gold! What crimes do you not urge upon the human heart!" He who has an earthly desire, a greedy hunger for the things of the world, has in him the root of all sin.

Covetousness breaks all ten commandments.

  * Covetousness breaks the first commandment: You shall have no other gods before Me. The covetous person has more than one god. Wealth is his god. He has a god of gold, and therefore is called an idolater (Colossians 3:5).
  * Covetousness breaks the second commandment: You shall not make for yourself an idol. . . . You shall not worship them or serve them. A covetous person bows down, not to the graven image in the church, but to the graven image on his coin.
  * Covetousness breaks the third commandment: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Absalom's plan was to get his father's crown. That was covetousness, but he talked of paying his vow to God, which was taking God's name in vain.
  * Covetousness breaks the fourth commandment: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. A covetous person does not keep the Lord's Day holy. He will attend to his business on a Sunday. Instead of reading the Bible, he will pursue his own interests.
  * Covetousness breaks the fifth commandment: Honor your father and your mother. A covetous person does not honor his father if he does not help him in his necessities. He may even get his father to make over his estate to him in his lifetime so that the father will be at his son's command.
  * Covetousness breaks the sixth commandment: You shall not murder. Covetous Ahab killed Naboth to get his vineyard (1 Kings 21:13). How many have swum to the crown in blood?
  * Covetousness breaks the seventh commandment: You shall not commit adultery. It causes immorality. You read of the hire of a harlot (Deuteronomy 23:18). An adulteress for money sets a price on both conscience and purity.
  * Covetousness breaks the eighth commandment: You shall not steal. It is the root of theft. Covetous Achan stole the bar of gold. Thieves and the covetous are put together: nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:10).
  * Covetousness breaks the ninth commandment: You shall not bear false witness. What except covetousness makes the perjurer take a false oath? He hopes for a reward.
  * Covetousness plainly breaks the tenth commandment: You shall not covet. The person who covets wealth and the things of this world covets his neighbor's house and goods, and wants to get them into his own hands.

Thus you see how evil a sin covetousness is! It is a mother sin! It is plainly breaking every one of the ten commandments.

Covetousness is a dishonorable sin to the Christian religion. For people to say their hopes are above, while their hearts are below; to profess to be above the stars, while they lick the dust of the serpent; to be born of God, while they are buried in the earth – how dishonorable this is to the Christian religion! The lapwing, which wears a little coronet on its head, yet feeds on dung, is an emblem of those who profess to be crowned kings and priests unto God, yet feed immoderately on earthly dunghill comforts. Are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them (Jeremiah 45:5). What? You, Baruch, who are ennobled by the new birth and are illustrious by your office, a Levite, do you seek earthly things, and seek them now? When the ship is sinking, are you decorating your cabin? O do not so degrade yourself nor blemish your insignia! Are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them. The higher grace is, the less earthly Christians should be, just as the higher the sun is, the shorter is the shadow.

Covetousness is a damning sin. It exposes us to God's abhorrence. The wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord (Psalm 10:3). A king abhors to see his statue abused, and God abhors to see man, made in his image, having the heart of a beast. Who would live in such a sin that makes him abhorred by God? God curses whom He abhors, and His curse blasts wherever it comes!

Covetousness brings people to eternal ruin and shuts them out of heaven. This you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5). What could a covetous person do in heaven? God could no more converse with him than a king could converse with a swine! Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9).

A covetous person is like a bee that gets into a barrel of honey, and there drowns itself. As a passenger ship owner who tries to increase his profit by taking in too many passengers and thus sinks his boat, so a covetous person takes in so much gold to increase his wealth that he drowns himself in damnation!

I have read of some inhabitants near Athens who lived in a very dry and barren island. They took much effort to direct a river to the island to water it and make it fruitful, but when they had opened the passages and brought the river to it, the water broke in with such force that it drowned the land and all the people in it. This is a picture of a covetous man who labors to draw riches to himself, and at last they come in such abundance that they drown him in destruction! How many people, to build up an estate, pull down their souls! Oh, then, flee from covetousness!

What is the cure for this covetousness?

The first remedy is faith. This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith (1 John 5:4). The root of covetousness is distrust of God's providence. Faith believes that God will provide, that He who feeds the birds will feed His children, that He who clothes the lilies will clothe His lambs; and thus, faith overcomes the world. Faith is the cure for covetousness and discontent. Faith not only purifies the heart, but satisfies it. It makes God our portion, and in Him we have enough. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me (Psalm 16:5-6). Faith, by a divine chemistry, extracts comfort out of God. A little, with God, is sweet. Thus, faith is a remedy against covetousness. It overcomes not only the fear of the world, but it also overcomes love for the world.

The second remedy is wise and thoughtful consideration.

  1. What disappointing things these earthly things are that we should covet them! They are far below the worth of the soul, which carries in it a likeness of God. The world is the workmanship of God, but the soul is His image. We covet that which will not satisfy us. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Solomon had put everything of the world on a scale and considered its worth, and he concluded that all was vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

A person with edema craves more water the more he drinks. In the same way, the more a covetous person has of the world, the more he thirsts. Worldly things cannot remove trouble of mind. When King Saul was troubled in conscience, his crown jewels could not comfort him (1 Samuel 28:15). The things of the world can no more ease a troubled spirit than a gold hat can cure a headache! The things of the world will not remain with you. The creature has a little honey in its mouth, but it has wings to fly away. Earthly things either leave us – or we leave them! What inadequate things are they to covet!

  2. The second consideration is the framework and appearance of the body. God has made the face look upward toward heaven. The Roman poet Ovid wrote, "He gave man an uplifted face, with the order to gaze up to heaven." Anatomists observe that whereas other creatures have but four muscles to their eyes, man has a fifth muscle by which he is able to look up to heaven. As for the heart, it is made narrow and contracted downward, but wide and broad upward.

The frame and form of the body teaches us to look to things above, and the soul is especially planted in the body as a divine spark to ascend upward. Can it be thought that God gave us intellectual and immortal souls to covet earthly things only? What wise man would fish for fish with hooks made of gold? Did God give us glorious souls only to have us fish for the world? Our souls are certainly made for a higher purpose – to aspire after the enjoyment of God in glory.

  3. The third consideration is the examples of those who have been despisers of the world. The early Christians were not like the world, but were wholly taken up in communion with God. They lived in the world, yet above the world. They were like the birds of paradise that soar above in the air and seldom touch the earth with their feet. Luther says that he was never tempted to the sin of covetousness. Though the saints of old lived in the world, they operated in heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). The Greek word for "citizenship" signifies that our commerce or traffic is in heaven. Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:24). His devotion was marvelous. He walked close to heaven every day. The righteous are compared to a palm tree (Psalm 92:12). Philo observes that whereas all other trees have their sap in their root, the sap of the palm tree is toward the top; thus, it is a symbol of saints, whose hearts are in heaven, where their treasure is!

The third remedy for covetousness is to covet spiritual things more. Covet grace, for it is the best blessing. It is the seed of God (1 John 3:9). Covet heaven, for it is the region of perfect happiness, the most pleasant climate. If we covet heaven more, we will covet earth less! To those who stand on the top of the Alps, the great cities of Campania seem like small villages, and if our hearts were more fixed upon the Jerusalem above, all worldly things would disappear, would diminish, and would be as nothing in our eyes.

We read of an angel coming down from heaven, setting his right foot on the sea and his left on the land (Revelation 10:2). If we had been in heaven and would have seen its magnificent glory, we would walk, in holy disdain, with one foot upon the earth and with the other foot upon the sea! What pleasure would we desire in worldly things after seeing the delights of heaven? O covet after heavenly things! There is the tree of life, the mountains of spices, the rivers of pleasure, the droppings from the honeycomb of God's love, the delights of angels, and the flower of joy, fully in bloom. There is the pure air to breathe in. No fogs or vapors of sin arise to infect that air, but the Sun of Righteousness enlightens the whole horizon continually with His glorious beams. Let your thoughts and delights be always taken up with the city of pearls, the paradise of God! It is reported of Lazarus that after he was raised from the grave, he was never seen to take delight in the things of the world. If our hearts were raised up to heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit, we would not be much absorbed with earthly things.

The fourth remedy is to pray for a heavenly mind. "Lord, let Your Spirit draw my heart upward. Lord, dig the earth out of my heart! Teach me how to possess the world, and how not to love it. Teach me how to hold it in my hand, but not let it get into my heart!"

The tenth commandment forbids covetousness in general, yet also forbids it more specifically.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, etc. Observe the holiness and perfection of God's law, which forbids the first motions and stirrings of sin in the heart. The laws of men deal with actions, but the law of God goes further; it not only forbids sinful actions, but it also forbids sinful desires. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. It does not say that you shall not take away his house, but that you shall not covet it. These lusts and desires after the forbidden fruit are sinful. The law has said, You shall not covet (Romans 7:7). Though the tree bears no bad fruit, it might be damaged at the root. In the same way, even though a person might not commit any blatant, atrocious sin, he cannot say that his heart is pure. There might be damage at the root. There might be sinful coveting and lusting in the soul.

Application

Let us be humbled for the sin of our nature, the stirrings of evil thoughts, and coveting that which we should not. Our nature is a seedbed of iniquity. Like charcoal that is ever sparkling, the sparks of pride, envy, and covetousness arise in the mind. How this should humble us! Even if there are not sinful actions, there may be sinful coveting in the heart. Let us pray for mortifying grace, which like the water of jealousy, may make the thigh of sin to rot (Numbers 5:21).

You shall not covet your neighbor's house. How depraved is man since the fall in the garden of Eden! He does not know how to keep within bounds, but covets more than his own. One would think that Ahab had enough, for he was a king. We would suppose that his wealth as a king would have contented him, but he coveted more. He wanted Naboth's vineyard, and he could not rest until he had it.

If there were not so much coveting, there would not be so much corruption. One person takes away another's house from him. Only the prisoner, who lives in a prison, can be sure that no one will try to take it from him!

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. This is a bridle to hold back the unrestrained and wicked lusts. It was the devil that sowed another man's ground (Matthew 13:25). How the hedge of this commandment is trodden down in our times! There are many who do more than covet their neighbors' wives – they take them! Cursed is he who lies with his father's wife. . . . And all the people shall say, "Amen" (Deuteronomy 27:20). If it were to be proclaimed, "Cursed is he who lies with his neighbor's wife," and all who were guilty would say, "Amen," how many would curse themselves!

You shall not covet your neighbor's . . . male servant or his female servant. Servants, when faithful, are a treasure. What a true and faithful servant Abraham had! He was his right hand. How prudent and faithful he was in the matter entrusted with him, of getting a wife for his master's son (Genesis 24). It certainly would have grieved Abraham if anyone had enticed his servant away from him. This sin of coveting servants is common. If someone has a good servant, others will be laying snares for him, endeavoring to draw him away from his master. This is a sin against the tenth commandment. To steal away another's servant by enticement is no better than direct theft.

You shall not covet your neighbor's . . . ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. If there were no coveting of ox and donkey, there would not be so much stealing. People first break the tenth commandment by coveting, and then they break the eighth commandment by stealing. It was an excellent appeal that Samuel made to the people when he said, Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you (1 Samuel 12:3). Paul gave a brave speech when he said, I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes (Acts 20:33).

What methods should we use to keep from coveting that which is our neighbor's?

The best remedy is contentment. If we are content with what we have, we will not covet that which belongs to others. Paul could say, I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. How could he say this? It was from contentment. I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am (Philippians 4:11). Contentment says, as Jacob did, I have plenty (Genesis 33:11). I have a promise from heaven, and I have enough to get my family there. I have enough.

He who has enough will not covet that which belongs to someone else. Be content! I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need (Philippians 4:11-12).

The best way to be content is to believe that the condition is best that God, in His providence, has laid out for you. If He had seen fit for us to have more, we would have had it. Maybe we could not manage a great estate. It is hard to carry a full cup without spilling anything, and it is difficult to manage a full estate without sinning! Great wealth may be a snare. A boat can be overturned by having too much sail. Believing that condition to be best that God appoints for us makes us content; and being content, we will not covet that which belongs to someone else.

The way to be content with the things that we have, and not to covet that which belongs to others, is to consider that the less we have, the less we will have to give account for at the last day. Every person is a steward and must be accountable to God. Those who have great wealth and possessions have the greater responsibility and will face greater judgment. God will ask, "What good have you done with all I have given you? Have you honored Me with your wealth? Where are the poor you have fed and clothed?" If you cannot give a good account, it will be sad. It should make us content with less than some others when we consider that the less riches we have, the less we will be judged for. This is the way to have contentment. There is no better antidote against coveting that which belongs to others than to be content with that which is our own.
The Law and Sin

Man's Inability to Keep the Moral Law

Is anyone able to keep the commandments of God perfectly? No. No mere human, since the fall, is able to perfectly keep the commandments of God in this life, but he daily breaks them in thought, word, and deed. We all stumble in many ways (James 3:2).

Man, in his original state of innocence, was endowed with the ability to keep the whole moral law. He had uprightness of mind, sanctity of will, and perfection of power. He had the copy of God's law written on his heart. No sooner did God command than he obeyed. As the master key fits all the locks and can open them, so Adam had a power suited to all God's commands, and he could obey them. Adam's obedience ran parallel with the moral law, just as a well-made sundial goes exactly with the sun.

Man, in his innocence, was like a well-tuned organ; he was sweetly in tune to the will of God. He was adorned with holiness as the elect angels, but was not confirmed in holiness as the angels. He was holy, but susceptible to change. He fell from his purity, and we fell with him. Sin cut the lock of original righteousness, where our strength lay. It brought a lifelessness and weakness into our souls. It has so weakened us that we will never recover our full strength until we put on immortality.

I now intend to demonstrate that we cannot give perfect obedience to the moral law.

An unregenerate person cannot perfectly obey all God's commands. He can just as well touch the stars or walk across the ocean as to yield exact obedience to the law. An unregenerate person cannot act spiritually, he cannot pray in the Holy Spirit, he cannot live by faith, and he cannot act out of love of duty to God; and if he cannot do duty spiritually, much less can he do it perfectly. It is clear that a natural man cannot yield perfect obedience to the moral law.

  1. An unsaved person cannot perfectly obey all God's commandments because he is spiritually dead. God has made you alive, you who were dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). How can someone, being dead, keep the commandments of God perfectly? A dead person is not fit for action. A sinner has the symptoms of death upon him. He has no awareness. He has no sense of the evil of sin, of God's holiness and truth. Therefore, he is said to be without feeling, or having become callous (Ephesians 4:19). An unsaved person has no strength (Romans 5:6). What strength does a dead person have? An unregenerate person has no strength to deny himself or to resist temptation. He is dead, and a dead person cannot fulfill the moral law.
  2. An unsaved person cannot perfectly keep all God's commandments because he is born in sin and lives in sin. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5). He drinks iniquity like water (Job 15:16). Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). The least evil thought is a breaking of God's law, and if there is any flaw, there cannot be perfection.

As an unsaved person has no power to keep the moral law, so he has no will to do so. He is not only dead, but he is worse than dead! A dead person does no harm, but there is a life of resistance against God that accompanies the death of sin. A natural, or unsaved, person not only cannot keep the law because of his weakness, but he breaks it through willfulness. We will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 44:17).

A regenerate, or saved, person cannot keep the moral law perfectly. There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20). Even in the best actions of a godly person is that which is damnable, if God would weigh him in the balance of justice. How his duties are contaminated! He cannot pray without wandering, nor believe without doubting. The willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not (Romans 7:18). Paul, though a saint of the first magnitude, was better at willing than at doing.

Mary asked where they had laid Jesus (John 20:13), for she had a mind to have carried Him away, but she lacked strength. In the same way, the saved have a desire to obey God's law perfectly, but they lack strength. Their obedience is weak and feeble. The target at which they are to aim is perfection of holiness, but even though they aim properly and do what they can, they miss the target. A Christian, while serving God, is like the rower who rows hard, but is hindered, for a gust of wind carries him back again! That is why Paul says, The good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want (Romans 7:19). I am driven back by temptation!

If there is any failure in a person's obedience, he cannot be a perfect expression of God's law. The virgin Mary's obedience was not perfect; she needed Christ's blood to wash her tears. Aaron had to make atonement for the altar to show that even the most holy offering has defilement in it and needs atonement to be made for it (Exodus 29:37).

If a person has no power to keep the whole moral law, why does God require him to do so? Is this justice?

Although man has lost his power to obey, God has not lost His right to command. If a master entrusts a servant with money, and the servant spends it on sin, may not the master justly demand it? God gave us power to keep the moral law, which we lost by messing with sin; but cannot God still call for perfect obedience, and justly punish us if we fail to meet His standard?

Why does God allow such an inability in us so that we cannot keep the law?

God allows this inability in us in order to humble us. Man is a self-exalting creature, and if he has or does anything at all of worth, he is ready to be proud and boastful. However, when he begins to see his shortcomings and failures and how far short he comes of the holiness and perfection that God's law requires, it pulls down the feathers of his pride and lays them in the dust. He weeps over his inability. He is ashamed of his leprous spots. He says with Job, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6 JUB).

God allows this inability in us so that we would call upon Christ. Our sins and failures should lead us to call upon Jesus to pardon our shortcomings and to sprinkle our best duties with His blood. When a person sees that he owes perfect obedience to the law, but has nothing to pay, it makes him flee to Christ to be his friend. He calls upon Jesus to answer all the demands of the law for him and to set him free in the court of justice.

Application 1

This is cause for humiliation for our fall in Adam. In the state of innocence, we were perfectly holy. Our minds were crowned with knowledge, and our wills, as a queen, swayed the scepter of liberty! But now we can rightly say, The crown has fallen from our head (Lamentations 5:16). We have lost that power that was inherent in us. When we look back to our earlier glory when we shone as earthly angels, we can take up Job's words, Oh that I were as in months gone by (Job 29:2). O that it were with us as at the beginning, when there was no stain upon our unstained nature, when there was a perfect harmony between God's law and man's will! But, sadly, the scene is now altered and our strength is gone from us. Every step we take is crooked. We fall short of every law and command of God. Our smallness will not reach the excellence of God's law. We fail in our obedience, and as we fail, we forfeit. This should cause us to mourn deeply and open a fountain of sorrow in our souls.

Application 2

It refutes wrong beliefs.

It refutes the Arminians, who emphasize the power of the will. They argue that they have a will to save themselves; however, by nature, we not only lack strength, but we lack the will to do that which is good (Romans 7:19). The will is not only full of weakness, but it is also full of stubbornness. My people did not listen to My voice (Psalm 81:11).

The will hangs forth a flag of defiance against God. Those who speak of the sovereign power of the will forget that it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). If the power is in the will of man, then what need is there for God to work in us the ability and power to will? If the air can light itself, what need is there for the sun to shine?

Those who talk of the power of nature and their ability to save themselves minimize Christ's merits. Christ has become of no effect to them (Galatians 5:4). Those who promote the power of their will in matters of salvation, without the sovereign grace of Christ, put themselves completely under the covenant of works. Can they perfectly keep the moral law? Sin is manifested in any blemish at all. If there is but the least defect in their obedience, they are lost. For one sinful thought, the law of God curses them and the justice of God condemns them. Cursed be their pride who speak of the power of nature as if, by their own inherent abilities, they could rear up a building, the top of which should reach to heaven!

It refutes those people who brag of perfection. Some people say that they can keep all God's commandments perfectly. I would ask such people whether at any time a vain thought has come into their minds. If there has, then they are not perfect. The virgin Mary was not perfect. Though her womb was pure (being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit), yet her soul was not perfect. Jesus understood that Mary was not perfect (Luke 2:49), and are those who claim to keep God's commandments perfectly more perfect than Mary was?

Those people who adhere to perfection have no need to confess sin. David confessed sin (Psalm 32:5). Paul confessed sin (Romans 7:25). Have these people progressed beyond David and Paul? They say they are perfect and that they never transgress, and where there is no transgression, what need is there for confession? Again, if they are perfect, they do not need to ask for pardon. They can pay God's justice what they owe. Therefore, why pray, Forgive us our debts (Matthew 6:12)?

It is amazing that the devil rocks some people so sound asleep as to make them dream of perfection! Do they indeed plead, Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude (Philippians 3:15)? Perfection in that verse refers to sincerity. God is best able to interpret His own Word. He calls sincerity perfection. God refers to Job as a blameless and upright man (Job 1:8). But who is exactly perfect? A person full of diseases may as well say he is healthy as for someone full of sins to say he is perfect.

Application 3

This should provide encouragement to those who are saved. Though you fail in your obedience and cannot keep the moral law exactly, do not be discouraged.

What comfort can be given to a regenerate person under the failures and imperfections of his obedience? It is good to know that a believer is not under the covenant of works, but under the covenant of grace. The covenant of works requires perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience. Under the covenant of grace, however, God will accept less than He required in the covenant of works.

  1. In the covenant of works, God required perfection of degrees; in the covenant of grace, He accepts perfection of parts. There He required perfect working, while here He accepts sincere believing. In the covenant of works, God required us to live without sin; in the covenant of grace, He accepts our battle against sin.
  2. Though a Christian cannot, on his own, perform all God's commandments, yet Christ, as his security and in his place, has fulfilled the law for him. God accepts Christ's obedience, which is perfect, to satisfy for our obedience, which is imperfect. Since Christ has been made a curse for believers, all the curses of the law have lost their sting.
  3. Though a Christian cannot keep the commands of God to His satisfaction, yet he may keep them to God's approval.

How is that done?

  1. He gives his full assent and consent to the law of God. He gives his assent in his judgment: The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12). He gives consent in the will: I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good (Romans 7:16).
  2. A Christian laments that he cannot keep the commandments fully. When he fails, he weeps. He is not angry with the law because it is so strict, but he is angry with himself because he is so deficient.
  3. He takes a sweet delight in the law. I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man (Romans 7:22). The Greek states, "I take pleasure in it." O how I love Your law! (Psalm 119:97). Although a Christian cannot keep God's law, he loves His law. Although he cannot serve God perfectly, he serves Him willingly.
  4. It is his sincere desire to walk in all God's commands. Oh that my ways may be established to keep Your statutes! (Psalm 119:5). Though his strength fails, yet his heart beats. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26).
  5. A Christian really strives to obey God's law perfectly, and where he falls short, he runs to Christ's blood to supply his defects. God esteems this sincere desire and real endeavor as perfect obedience. If the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have (2 Corinthians 8:12). Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet (Song of Solomon 2:14).

Though the prayers of the righteous are mixed with sin, God sees that they desire to pray better. He picks out the weeds from the flowers. He sees the faith and bears with the failing. The saints' obedience, although short of perfection, finds gracious acceptance, having sincerity in it and having Christ's merits mixed with it. When the Lord sees us truly desire after perfect obedience, He takes it well at our hands, just as a father who receives a letter from his child takes it as good, even though there may be blots and misspelled words in it. Oh, what stains there are in our holy things, but God is pleased to accept it as good. He says, "It is my child, and he would do better if he could; I will accept it."

Degrees of Sin

Are all transgressions of the law equally abhorrent? Some sins in themselves, and by reason of varying circumstances and intensity, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. He who delivered Me to you has the greater sin (John 19:11). The Stoic philosophers taught that all sins were equal, but this Scripture verse clearly shows that there is a gradual difference in sin. Some are greater than others. Some are mighty sins (Amos 5:12) and some are crying sins (Genesis 18:21). Every sin has a voice to speak, but some sins cry. As some diseases are worse than others, and some poisons more venomous than others, so some sins are more heinous than others. You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers (Jeremiah 16:12). You acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they (Ezekiel 16:47). Some sins have a more evil aspect than others. To steal the king's gold is treason, but to strike the king himself is a higher degree of treason. A foolish thought is a sin, but a blasphemous word is a greater sin.

It seems that the Bible teaches that some sins are greater than others:

  * There was a difference in the offerings under the law. The sin offering was greater than the trespass offering.
  * Some sins are not capable of pardon as others are; therefore, they must be more heinous, such as the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31).
  * Some sins have a greater degree of punishment than others. You will receive greater condemnation (Matthew 23:14). Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? (Genesis 18:25). God would not punish one person more than another if that person's sin was not greater. It is true that all sins are equally wicked in respect to being sins against the infinite God, but in another sense, all sins are not alike in wickedness. Some sins have more reprehensible circumstances in them, which are like the dye to the wool, to give it a deeper color.

Those sins are more reprehensible that are committed without any reason, such as when a person swears or becomes angry without any provocation. The less the provocation of sin, the greater is the sin itself.

Those sins are more reprehensible that are committed presumptuously, or on purpose and willingly. Under the law, there was no sacrifice for presumptuous sins. You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people (Numbers 15:29-30).

A sin of presumption heightens and aggravates sin, making it more heinous. To sin presumptuously is to sin against what we know is right and good. Others have been with those who rebel against the light; they do not want to know its ways nor abide in its paths (Job 24:13). Conscience, like the cherubim, stands with a flaming sword in its hand to deter the sinner (Genesis 3:24), and yet he will still willingly sin.

Did not Pilate sin against conviction, and high-handedly, in condemning Christ? He knew that because of envy they had handed Him over (Matthew 27:18). He confessed that he found no guilt in Him (Luke 23:14). Pilate's own wife sent to him saying, Have nothing to do with that righteous Man (Matthew 27:19). Yet despite all this, he gave the sentence of death against Christ. He sinned presumptuously, against an enlightened conscience.

To sin ignorantly does something to extenuate and decrease the guilt. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin (John 15:22). That is, their sin would have been less. But for someone to sin against the light he has and against what he knows to be right magnifies the sins. These sins make deep wounds in the soul. While other sins may draw blood, presumptuous sins stab at the heart!

In what ways can a person sin against what he knows to be right?

A person can commit a presumptuous sin when he lives in the total neglect of duty. He is not ignorant that it is a duty to read the Word of God, yet he lets the Bible lie nearby as rusty armor, seldom making use of it. He is convinced that it is a duty to pray in his family, yet he can go days and months without God ever hearing from him. He calls God Father, but never asks His blessing. Neglect of family prayer, as it were, uncovers the roof of men's houses and makes way for a curse to be rained down upon their tables!

A person can commit a presumptuous sin when he lives in the same sins he condemns in others. Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things (Romans 2:1). As Augustine says of Seneca, "He wrote against superstition, yet he worshiped those images that he reproved." One man condemns another for a quick temper, yet lives in the same sin himself. A master reproves his apprentice for swearing, yet he himself swears. The snuffers of the tabernacle were of pure gold (Exodus 25:38). Those who reprove and snuff the sins of others had better be free from those sins themselves. The snuffers must be of gold.

A person can commit a presumptuous sin when he sins after making a vow or a promise to God. Your vows are binding upon me, O God (Psalm 56:12). A vow is a religious promise made to God to dedicate ourselves to Him. A vow is not only a purpose, but it is a promise. Everyone who makes a promise to follow Jesus makes himself a debtor. He binds himself to God in a solemn manner. To sin after making a vow to promise himself to God, and then to give his soul to the devil, must certainly be against the highest principles.

When a person sins after counsels, admonitions, and warnings, he cannot plead ignorance. The trumpet of the gospel has been blown in his ears. It has sounded a retreat to call him off from his sins. He has been told of his injustice, living in ill will, and keeping bad company, yet he willingly continued in sin. This is to sin against conviction. It aggravates the sin. It is like a weight put into the scale to make his sin weigh heavier. If a beacon is set up to give warning that there are shelves and rocks in the water, yet the mariner still sails there and splits his ship, it is presumption. If he is shipwrecked after ignoring the warnings, who will pity him?

It is a presumptuous sin when a person sins against clear warnings and threatening. God has thundered out threatenings against such sins. Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, the hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds (Psalm 68:21). Even if God sets the point of His sword to the chest of a sinner, he will still commit sin! The pleasure of sin delights him more than the threatenings of God frighten him. Like the leviathan, he laughs at the rattling of the javelin (Job 41:29). He mocks God's threatenings. Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come to pass, that we may know it! (Isaiah 5:19). For people to see the fiery sword of God's threatening brandished, yet to strengthen themselves in sin, is to sin in an aggravated manner against what they know is right.

A person sins presumptuously when he sins under affliction. God not only thunders by threatening, but He lets His thunderbolt fall when He inflicts judgment. He inflicts judgments on a person so that the person can see his sins in his punishment – and yet he still sins! His sin may have been immorality, by which he wasted his strength and his estate. He may have had a severe sickness, and yet while feeling the sting of sin, he retains the love of sin. This is to sin against conviction.

In the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord (2 Chronicles 28:22). It makes the sin greater to sin against an enlightened conscience. It is full of stubbornness. People give no reason and make no defense for their sins, and yet they are resolved to hold fast to iniquity. An action can be measured and judged by the will involved – the more of the will in a sin, the greater is the sin. We are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart (Jeremiah 18:12). Though there is death and hell at every step, we will march on under Satan's banner!

What made the sin of apostate angels so great was that it was willful. They had no ignorance in their mind and no passion to stir them up. There was no tempter to deceive them, but they sinned willfully and from choice. To sin against convictions and the light of conscience is joined with rejection and contempt of God.

It is bad for a sinner to forget God, but it is worse to condemn Him. Why has the wicked spurned God? (Psalm 10:13). An enlightened sinner knows that he alienates and angers God by his sin, but he does not care whether God is pleased or not; he will have his sin. Therefore, such a person is said to reproach God. The person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord (Numbers 15:30).

Every sin displeases God, but sins against an enlightened conscience reproach the Lord. To condemn the authority of a prince is to reproach him. It is accompanied with lack of respect. Fear and shame are banished. The veil of modesty is laid aside. The unjust knows no shame (Zephaniah 3:5). Judas knew that Jesus was the Messiah. He was convinced of it by the authority of heaven and by the miracles Jesus did, and yet Judas boldly went on in his treason, even when Christ said, He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me (Matthew 26:23), and he knew that Jesus was referring to him. When he was going about his treason, and Christ pronounced a woe to him, he still proceeded in his treason. Indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed! (Luke 22:22). You can see that to sin presumptuously, against an enlightened conscience, dyes the sin a crimson color and makes it greater than other sins.

Those sins are more reprehensible than others that are sins of continuance. To carry on sin and to keep sin going is to enhance sin. He who plots treason makes himself a greater offender. Some people's heads are the workplace of the devil – they continually plan mischief, such as those who are inventors of evil (Romans 1:30). Some people invent new ways to swear, while other people look for new ways to deceive or harm others. These were the type of people who invented a decree against Daniel and got the king to sign it (Daniel 6:5-9).

Those sins are greater that proceed from a spirit of hostility. To attack holiness is diabolical. While it is a sin to lack grace, it is worse to hate it! In nature there are things opposed to each other or that are averse to each other, such as the vine and laurel. Some have this type of antipathy against God because of His purity: Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 30:11). If it were in their power, sinners would not only dethrone God, but they would annihilate Him! If they had it in their power, God would no longer be God. Thus, sin is stirred up to a greater height.

Those sins are of greater magnitude that are mixed with ingratitude. Of all things, God cannot endure to have His kindness ignored or unappreciated. His mercy is seen in being patient with people so long, in pursuing them by His Spirit and ministers, urging them to be reconciled to Him. God's mercy is seen in bestowing upon them so many temporal blessings. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).

To abuse all this love – when God has been filling up the measure of His mercy, yet people continue to fill up the measure of their sins – is high ingratitude and makes their sins a deeper crimson! Some are worse off because of God's mercy. "The vulture," says Aelian, "becomes sick from perfumes." So the sinner pursues evil from the sweet perfumes of God's mercy. William Parry was condemned to die, and Queen Elizabeth pardoned him; yet after he was pardoned, he conspired and plotted the queen's death! This is how some people deal with God. He bestows mercy upon them, and they plot treason against Him. Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me (Isaiah 1:2). In the fable, the frozen snake, after being warmed, stung him who gave it warmth! Sins against God's mercy are certainly reprehensible.

Those sins are more reprehensible than others that are committed with delight. A child of God may sin suddenly or unintentionally, not wanting to sin. The good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want (Romans 7:19). He is like one who is carried down the stream involuntarily.

To sin with delight, though, heightens and greatens the sin. It is a sign that the heart is in the sin. They feed on the sin of My people and direct their desire toward their iniquity (Hosea 4:8), just as people follow their gain with delight. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (Revelation 22:15). To tell a lie is a sin, but to love to tell a lie is a greater sin.

Those sins are more reprehensible than others that are committed under a pretense of religion. To cheat and defraud is a sin, but to do it with a Bible in one's hand is a double sin. To be impure is a sin, but to put on a mask of religion to commit the sin makes the sin greater. I was due to offer peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. . . . Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning (Proverbs 7:14, 18). She speaks as if she had been at church and had been saying her prayers. Who would ever have suspected her of dishonesty? But behold her hypocrisy. She makes her devotion a preface to adultery.

Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows' houses, and for appearance's sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation (Luke 20:46-47). The sin was not in making long prayers, for Jesus spent a whole night in prayer, but the sin was to make long prayers so they might do unrighteous actions. This made their sin more horrid!

Sins of apostasy are more reprehensible than others. Demas forsook the truth (2 Timothy 4:10). Dorotheus tells us that Demas later became a priest in an idol temple. To fall is a sin, but to fall away is a greater sin. Apostates cast a disgrace upon the Christian religion. "The apostate," says Tertullian, "seems to put God and Satan in the balance, and having weighed both their duties, prefers the devil's duties and proclaims him to be the best master!" In this respect, the apostate is said to put Christ to open shame (Hebrews 6:6). This makes the sin greater. It is a sin not to profess Christ, but it is a greater sin to deny Him. Not to display Christ's banner is a sin, but to run from His banner is a greater sin. A pagan sins less than a baptized apostate.

To persecute religion makes sin greater. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become (Acts 7:52). To reject the true Christian religion is a sin, but to try to destroy that true Christian religion is a greater sin. Antiochus Epiphanes took more long journeys and faced more dangers to persecute and oppose the Jews, than all his predecessors had done to obtain victories. Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison (Luke 3:20). He sinned before by incest, but by imprisoning the prophet he added to his sin and made it greater. Persecution fills up the measure of sin. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers (Matthew 23:32). If you pour a glass of water into a cistern, it adds something to it, but if you pour in a bucketful or two, it fills up the measure of the cistern. In the same way, persecution fills up the measure of sin and makes it greater.

To sin maliciously makes sin greater. Aquinas, and others with similar beliefs, say that the sin against the Holy Spirit is due to malice. The sinner does all he can to displease God, and this is even despite the Spirit of grace. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29). Thus, Julia threw his dagger into the air as if he would have been revenged upon God. Malice swells sin to its full size; it cannot be greater. Once a person has come to this, to blasphemously despise the Spirit, there is only one step lower he can fall – and that is to hell!

Sin is made greater and more severe not only when someone sins himself, but also when he tries to make others sin. Some teach errors to the people. These people's sins are greater than those of others. If those who break God's law are committing sin, what immense sin they have who teach others to break God's law (Matthew 5:19)!

Some people try to destroy others by their bad example. The swearing father teaches his son to swear, damning him by his example. Such people's sins are greater than those of others, and these people will have a hotter place in hell.

Application

You can see that all sins are not equal. Some are more heinous than others and bring greater wrath. Be especially careful to avoid these sins. Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:13). The least sin is bad enough. You do not need to aggravate your sins and make them even more heinous! He who has a little wound should not make it deeper. Beware of those circumstances that increase your sin and make it more heinous! The higher a person is in sinning, the lower he will lie in torment!
The Wrath of God

What does every sin deserve?

Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Sinful man is like a favorite turned out of the king's favor. He deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them (Galatians 3:10). When Christ cursed the fig tree, it withered (Matthew 21:19). In the same way, when God curses anyone, that person withers in his soul. God's curse destroys wherever it comes. The sinful person also deserves God's wrath, which is nothing else but the carrying out of His curse.

What is God's wrath?

God's wrath is privative. That is, it deprives a person of the smiles of God's face. It is hell enough to be excluded from His presence; in His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). His smiling face has that splendor and beauty in it that ravishes the angels with delight. This is the diamond in the ring of glory. If it were such a misery for Absalom not to be able to see the king's face, how miserable it will be for the wicked to be shut out from beholding God's glorious face! To be deprived of the sight of God is the greatest of all punishments. Wrath has come upon them to the utmost (1 Thessalonians 2:16).

God's wrath cannot be resisted. Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? (Psalm 90:11). Sinners may oppose God's ways, but not His wrath. Will the briers strive with the fire? Will the finite contend with the infinite? Do you have an arm like God? (Job 40:9).

God's wrath is dreadful. We tend not to think much about God's wrath, but it is very tremendous and dismal, as if scalding lead would be dropped into one's eyes. The Hebrew word for "wrath" signifies heat. To show that the wrath of God is hot, therefore, it is compared to fire in the text. Fire, when it is raging, is dreadful, and the wrath of God is like fire – it is most dreadful. Other fire is only as painted fire compared to this. If God's wrath is kindled only a little, and it is dreadful if a spark of it flies into a wicked man's conscience in this life, what will it be when God will stir up all His wrath (Psalm 78:38)?

How sad it is with a soul that has deserted God! God then dips His pen in a bitter venom and writes bitter things (Job 13:26). Your arrows have sunk deep into me (Psalm 38:2). I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome. Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me (Psalm 88:15-16).

Martin Luther, feeling forsaken by God, was in such horror of mind that no blood was seen in his face, but he lay as one dead. If God's wrath is like that toward those whom He loves, what will it be toward those whom He hates? If those who sip of the cup of God's wrath find it so bitter, what will they do who drink its dregs? For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs (Psalm 75:8).

Solomon says, The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion (Proverbs 19:12). What, then, is God's wrath like? When God assembles all His forces and sets Himself in battle against a sinner, how can his heart endure? Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? (Ezekiel 22:14). Who is able to lie under mountains of wrath? God is the sweetest friend, but the most dreadful enemy!

The wrath of God will grab hold of every part of a sinner. The wrath of God will take hold of the body of a reprobate. The body, which was so tender that it could not bear heat or cold, will be tormented in the winepress of God's wrath! Those eyes that before could behold lovely objects will be tormented with the sight of devils! The ears, which before were delighted with music, will be tormented with the hideous shrieks of the damned!

The wrath of God will take hold of the soul of a reprobate. Ordinary fire cannot touch the soul. God's wrath burns the soul. The memory will be tormented to remember what means of grace have been abused. The conscience will be tormented with self-accusations. The sinner will accuse himself for presumptuous sins, for misspending his precious hours, and for resisting the Holy Spirit.

The wrath of God is without intermission. Hell is an abiding place, but it is no resting place. There is not a minute's rest. Our earthly pains have some relief. In many diseases and afflictions, the patient has ease at times, but the torments of the damned have no relief. He who feels God's wrath never says, "I am at ease."

The wrath of God is eternal. So says the text: Eternal fire! No tears can quench the flame of God's anger, not even if we could shed rivers of tears. In all the pains of this life, people hope for relief, hoping that the suffering will not continue long, that either the tormentor or the tormented will die; but the wrath of God is always feeding upon the sinner.

The terror of natural fire is that it consumes what it burns, but what makes the fire of God's wrath so dreadful is that it does not consume what it burns. Bernard wrote, "Those who are lost will so die as to remain always alive." The sinner will be in the furnace forever! After innumerable millions of years, the wrath of God is as far from ending as it was at the beginning. If all the earth and sea were sand, and every thousand years a little bird would come and take away a grain of sand, it would be a very long while before that vast heap of sand were emptied; but if, after all that time, the damned could come out of hell, there would be some hope; but this word "forever" breaks the heart!

How is it consistent with God's justice to punish sin, which perhaps was committed in a moment, with eternal fire? This is due to the heinous nature of sin. Consider the Person offended; it is a charge of the highest treason. Sin is committed against an infinite majesty; therefore it is infinite, and the punishment must be infinite. Because the nature of man is finite, and a sinner cannot bear infinite wrath all at once, he must therefore satisfy in eternity what he cannot satisfy at once.

While the wicked lie scorching in the flames of wrath, they have none to show pity to them. It is some ease of grief to have some to console us, but the wicked have wrath and no pity shown to them. Who will pity them? God will not. They mocked His Holy Spirit, and He will now laugh at their calamity. I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes (Proverbs 1:26). The saints will not pity them. They persecuted the saints upon earth; therefore the saints will rejoice to see God's justice executed on them. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance (Psalm 58:10).

The sinner under God's wrath has no one to speak a good word for him. If an elect person sins, he has one to intercede for him. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). Christ will say, "It is one of my friends, one for whom I have shed My blood; Father, pardon him." But the wicked who die in sin have no one to intercede for them. They have an accuser, but no advocate. Christ's blood will not plead for them. They rejected Christ and refused to humble themselves under His authority; therefore, Christ's blood cries against them.

God's wrath is just. The Greek word for "vengeance" signifies justice. The wicked will drink a sea of wrath, but not one drop of injustice! It is just for God's honor to be restored, and how can that be done except by punishing offenders? He who violates the king's laws deserves the penalty. Mercy acts according to favor, and punishment according to what one deserves. Open shame belongs to us (Daniel 9:8). Wrath belongs to us, for we are sinners. It is due to us as just wages, which are paid.

Application 1

For information

God is justified in condemning sinners at the last day. They deserve wrath, and it is not injustice to give them that which they deserve. If a criminal deserves death, the judge does not do him any wrong in condemning him. I heard the angel of the waters saying, "Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it." And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments." (Revelation 16:5-7). After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her." And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever" (Revelation 19:1-3). Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).

See what a great evil sin is that exposes a person to God's wrath forever! You can know how evil sin is by the wrath and curse it brings! When you see a man brought to the gallows, you conclude he is guilty of some heinous crime that brings such a punishment; so when a man lies under the fierce anger of God's wrath and roars out in flames, you must say, "How horrid an evil sin is!" Those who do not see any evil in sin now will see how reprehensible it looks in the mirror of hell's torments!

God's wrath will stop a sinner's amusement. He is now vibrant and exuberant. He sings idle songs to the sound of the harp (Amos 6:5). Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things (Ecclesiastes 11:9). Let him remember that the wrath and curse of God hang over him, which will shortly, if he does not repent, be executed on him! The sword of God's justice hangs over a sinner, and when the slender thread of life is cut apart, it falls upon him! For a drop of pleasure, you must drink a sea of wrath! Your momentary pleasure cannot be as sweet as God's eternal wrath is bitter. The delights of the flesh cannot offset the horror of conscience. It is better to lack the devil's honey than to be stung with the eternal wrath of God! The garden of Eden, which signifies pleasure, had a flaming sword placed at the east end of it (Genesis 3:24). The garden of carnal and sinful delight is surrounded with the flaming sword of God's wrath!

Application 2

For reproof

The foolishness of those sinners is reproved who do not seem to care about the curse and wrath of God that is due to them. No one recalls (Isaiah 44:19). If they were in debt and were about to be arrested, they would care about that; but even though the fierce wrath of God is ready to engage them, they have no concern. Though a beast has no shame, he has fear; he is afraid of fire. But sinners are worse than the beasts, for they do not fear the fire of hell until they are in it! Most have their consciences asleep or numb, but when they will feel the vials of God's wrath dropping, they will cry out, I am in agony in this flame (Luke 16:24).

Application 3

For exhortation

Let us cherish God's patience, who has not brought this wrath and curse upon us all this time. We have deserved wrath, yet God has not given us what we deserve. We can all agree with Psalm 103:8, 10, that the Lord is slow to anger, and He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. God has delayed His wrath and has given us time to repent. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality (Revelation 2:21). He is not like a quick-tempered creditor who demands the debt and gives no time for payment. God shoots off His warning-piece so that He does not shoot off His damning-piece. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God adjourns the courts of law to see if sinners will turn. He delays the storm of His wrath; but if people will not heed His warning, they should know that God's great patience is not the same as forgiveness.

Let us seek to prevent the wrath we have deserved. How careful people are to prevent poverty or disgrace! Labor to prevent God's eternal wrath, that it may not only be delayed, but removed.

What should we do to prevent and escape the wrath to come?

We must obtain a saving interest in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only thing standing between us and the wrath of God. He felt God's wrath so that those who believe in Him would never have to feel it, even Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace was a type of God's wrath, yet that furnace did not singe the garments of the three Hebrew men, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them (Daniel 3:27). Jesus Christ went into the furnace of His Father's wrath, and the smell of the fire of hell will never pass upon those who believe in Him.

If we want to prevent the wrath of God, let us take care to avoid those sins that will stir it up. Edmund had a saying, "I would rather leap into a furnace of fire than willingly commit a sin against God."

There are several fiery sins we must beware of that will provoke the fire of God's wrath:

  * The fire of impulsive anger. Some who profess Christianity cannot bridle their tongue. They do not care what they say in their anger. They will even curse their emotional outbursts. James says that the tongue is set on fire by hell (James 3:6). Oh, beware of a fiery tongue, lest it bring you to fiery torment! The once-rich man in Abraham's bosom begged for a drop of water to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24). Cyprian says he had offended the most with his tongue, and now that was the thing most set on fire.
  * The fire of malice. Malice is a malignant evil whereby we wish evil to others. It is a parasite that lives on blood. It studies revenge. Caligula had a chest where he kept deadly poisons for those against whom he had malice. The fire of malice brings people to the fiery furnace of God's wrath!
  * The fire of immorality. Fornicators and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4). Those who burn in immorality are in great danger to burn one day in hell! Let one fire put out another; let the fire of God's wrath put out the fire of lust!

To you who have a well-grounded hope that you will not feel this wrath that you deserve, let me exhort you to be very thankful to God, who has given His Son to save you from this tremendous wrath. Jesus has delivered you from the wrath to come. The Lamb of God was scorched in the fire of God's wrath for you! Christ felt the wrath that He did not deserve so that you could escape the wrath that you do deserve! Pliny observes that there is nothing better to quench fire than blood. Christ's blood has quenched the fire of God's wrath for you. Your curse be on me, said Rebekah to Jacob (Genesis 27:13). Jesus Christ said to God's justice, "Upon Me be the curse, that My elect may inherit the blessing."

Be patient under all the afflictions that you endure. Affliction can be severe, but it is not wrath; it is not hell. Who would not willingly drink from the cup of affliction if he knew that he would never then drink from the cup of damnation? Who would not be willing to bear the wrath of man if he knew that he would never then feel the wrath of God?

Christian, though you may feel God's rod, you will never feel God's bloody axe! Augustine once said, "Strike, Lord, where You will, as long as my sin is pardoned." Say, "Afflict me, Lord, as You will in this life, since I will escape the wrath to come!"
The Way of Salvation

Faith

What does God require of us so that we can escape His wrath and curse due to us for our sin? He requires faith in Jesus Christ and repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ imparts to us the benefits of redemption.

I begin with the first: faith in Jesus Christ. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement in His blood through faith (Romans 3:25). The great privilege in the text is to have Christ for an atoning sacrifice. This not only frees us from God's wrath, but it brings us into His love and favor. The manner of having Christ to be our propitiation is faith in His blood.

There is a twofold faith:

  1. The faith that is believed: this is the doctrine of faith.
  2. The faith by which we believe: this is the grace of faith.

The act of justifying faith lies in resting: we rest on Christ alone for salvation. As a person about to drown grabs hold on the bough of a tree, so a poor trembling sinner, seeing himself ready to perish, catches hold by faith on Christ, the tree of life, and is saved. The work of faith is by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, faith is called the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Faith does not grow in fallen human nature; it is an exotic plant – a fruit of the Spirit.

This grace of faith is the most hallowed possession of the human heart. It is the most precious rich faith, the most holy faith, and the faith of God's elect. Just as gold is most precious among metals, so faith is most precious among the graces. Faith is the queen of the graces. Faith is the condition upon which the gospel depends.

Your faith has saved you, not your tears (Luke 7:50). Faith is the vital artery of the soul that gives life. The righteous will live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Though unbelievers breathe, they lack life. "Faith," says Clement, "is a mother grace."

Faith excites and invigorates all the graces. No grace stirs until faith sets it to work.

Faith sets repentance to work; it is like fire to the pan.

Faith sets hope to work. First we believe the promise, and then we hope for it. If faith did not feed the lamp of hope with oil, it would soon die.

Faith sets love to work. Faith works through love (Galatians 5:6). Who can believe in the infinite merits of Christ without his heart ascending in a fiery chariot of love? It is a universal remedy against all troubles. Faith is the anchor cast into the sea of God's mercy that keeps us from sinking in despair. Other graces have done worthily, but you, O faith, excel them all.

In heaven, love will be the main grace, but while we are here on earth, love must give place to faith. Love takes possession of glory, but faith gives a title to it. Love is the crowning grace in heaven, but faith is the conquering grace upon earth. This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith (1 John 5:4). Faith carries away the crown from all the other graces. Other graces help to sanctify us, but only faith has the honor to justify us. We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).

How does faith come to be so precious?

It is not that faith is a more holy quality or has more worthiness than other graces, but it is precious with respect to its object. Faith lays hold on Christ as the blessed object and brings in His fullness. Faith in itself is but the beggar's hand, but as this hand receives the rich alms of Christ's merits, it becomes precious and claims a superiority over the rest of the graces.

Application 1

Of all sins, beware of unbelief! Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart (Hebrews 3:12). People think that as long as they do not get drunk or swear often, it is not a big deal to be unbelievers. This is the gospel sin; it dyes your other sins thoroughly.

Unbelief is a Christ-reproaching sin. It belittles Christ's infinite merit, as if it could not save. It makes the wound of sin to be broader than the bandage of Christ's blood. This is a high contempt offered to Christ, and it is a deeper spear than that which the Jews thrust into His side!

Unbelief is an ungrateful sin. The ungrateful person is to be avoided like a fearful crime. The world herself produces nothing more shameful. Ingratitude is a type of wickedness! Unbelief is being ungrateful for the richest mercy! Suppose a king, to redeem a captive, would part with his crown of gold, and after he had done this, says to the redeemed man, "All I desire of you in exchange for my kindness is for you to believe that I love you." If the redeemed man would say, "No, I don't believe that. I don't believe that you care for me at all," would not this be deplorable ingratitude?

This is the case here. God has sent His Son to shed His blood. He only requires us to believe in Him, that He is able and willing to save us. "No!" says unbelief. "His blood was not shed for me. I cannot persuade myself that Christ has any purpose of love to me!" Is not this horrid ingratitude? This enhances a sin and makes it a crimson color!

Unbelief is a leading sin. It is the breeder of sin. A life of wickedness has unbelief as its point of origin. Unbelief is a root sin, and the devil labors to water this root so that the branches will be fruitful. It breeds hardness of heart. Therefore unbelief and hard hearts go together. He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart (Mark 16:14). Unbelief breeds the heart of stone. He who does not believe in Christ does not care about His sufferings. He does not melt in tears of love. Unbelief freezes the heart. It first defiles the heart, and then it hardens the heart. Unbelief breeds profaneness. An unbeliever will not be bothered by any sin – not by false weights or by false oaths. He will allow treason against God. Judas was first an unbeliever, and then a traitor. Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him (John 6:64). He who has no faith in his heart will have no fear of God before his eyes.

Unbelief is a wrath-obtaining sin. Bernard calls unbelief "an enemy of salvation." He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). Dying in unbelief, he is as certain to be condemned as if he were so already. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36). He who does not believe in the blood of the Lamb will feel the wrath of the Lamb. The Gentiles who do not believe in Christ will be damned just as certainly as the Jews who blaspheme Him. If unbelief is so fearful and damnable a sin, should we not be afraid to live in it?

Application 2

Above all graces, put faith to work in Christ. Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). Say as Queen Esther said, I will go in to the king, . . . and if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16). She had nothing to encourage her. She proceeded against the law, yet the golden scepter was held forth to her.

We have promises to encourage our faith. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out (John 6:37). Let us, then, advance faith by a holy dependence upon Christ's merits. Christ's blood will not justify without believing. Both are put together in the text: propitiation in His blood through faith (Romans 3:25). The blood of God, without faith in Christ, will not save.

Christ's sufferings are the liniment to heal a sin-sick soul, but this liniment must be applied by faith. Money in a rich man's hand, even if offered to us, will not enrich us – unless we receive it. In the same way, Christ's virtues or benefits will do us no good – unless we receive them by the hand of faith. Above all graces, put faith to work.

Faith in Jesus Christ is most acceptable to God for several reasons:

  1. Faith is a God-exalting grace. It glorifies God. Abraham did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20). It honors God to a high degree to believe that there is more mercy in God and merit in Christ than sin in us. It honors God to believe that Christ has answered all the demands of the law and that His blood has fully satisfied the wrath of God for us. Faith in the Mediator brings more glory to God than martyrdom or the most heroic act of obedience.
  2. Faith in Christ is acceptable to God because it is a self-denying grace. It makes a person go outside of himself, renounce all self-righteousness, and wholly rely on Christ for justification. It is very humble, it confesses its own need, and it lives wholly upon Christ. As the bee sucks sweetness from the flower, so faith draws all its strength and comfort from Christ.
  3. Faith is a grace acceptable to God because by faith we present a righteousness to Him that best pleases Him. We bring into court the righteousness of Christ, which is called the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). To bring Christ's righteousness is to bring Benjamin with us, as Joseph required of his brothers (Genesis 42:20). A believer may say, "Lord, it is not the righteousness of Adam or of the angels, but it is the righteousness of Christ, who is God-man, that I bring before You." The Lord can smell a sweet savor in Christ's righteousness.

Application 3

Let us examine and test our faith. There is something that looks like faith, but it is not. Pliny says there is a Cyprian stone that highly resembles a diamond, but it is not a real diamond. Just so, there is a false faith in the world.

Some plants have the same leaves as others, but the herbalist can distinguish them by the root and taste. In the same way, something may look like true faith, but it can be distinguished in several ways:

  1. True faith is grounded upon knowledge. Knowledge carries the torch ahead of faith. There is a knowledge of Christ's great excellencies. I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8). He is made up of all love and beauty. True faith is a wise and intelligent grace. It knows whom it believes and why it believes. Faith is seated just as much in the understanding as in the will. It has an eye to see Christ as well as a wing to fly to Him. Those, therefore, who are veiled in ignorance or have only an indirect faith to believe as their church believes, do not have true and genuine faith.
  2. Faith lives in a broken heart. Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe" (Mark 9:24). True faith is always found in a heart bruised because of sin. They, therefore, whose hearts have never sorrowed for sin, have no faith. If a physician would tell us there was an herb that would help us against all infections, but it always grows in a watery place, and we see an herb like it in color, leaf, smell, and blossom, but it was growing upon a rock, we could conclude that it was the wrong herb. Saving faith always grows in a heart humbled for sin – in a weeping eye and a tearful conscience. If, therefore, there is a show of faith, but it grows upon the rock of a hard, impenitent heart – it is not the true faith.
  3. True faith is at first nothing but a seed. It is minute and small. It is full of doubts, temptations, and fears. It begins in weakness. It is like the smoking flax (Matthew 12:20). It smokes with desire, but does not flame with comfort. It is at first so small that it is barely discernible. Those who at first have a strong persuasion that Christ is theirs, who leap out of sin into assurance, have a false and spurious faith. The faith that comes to its full stature on its day of birth is a monster. The seed withered that sprung up suddenly (Matthew 13:5-6).
  4. Faith is a refining grace that consecrates and purifies. Moral virtue may wash the outside, but faith washes the inside. He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). Faith makes the heart a temple with the inscription, Holy to the Lord (Exodus 28:36). Those whose hearts are crowded with lusts were never acquainted with the true faith. For one to say he has faith, and yet to live in sin, is as if one should say he was in health when he is full of cancer. Faith is a pure grace. It is joined with sanctity. Holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience (1 Timothy 3:9). The jewel of faith is always put in the cabinet of a pure conscience. The woman who touched Christ by faith received a healing and cleansing virtue from Him (Mark 5:28-34).
  5. True faith is obedient. The obedience of faith (Romans 16:26). Faith melts our will into the will of God. If God commands duty, even if displeasing to flesh and blood – faith obeys. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed (Hebrews 11:8). It not only believes the promise, but it obeys the command. It is not having an academic knowledge that will indicate that you are believers. The devil has knowledge, but the thing that makes him a devil is that he has no obedience.
  6. True faith is increasing. From faith to faith (Romans 1:17). That is, faith grows from one degree of faith to another. Faith does not lie in the heart as a stone lies in the earth, but as a seed that grows. Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Christ, but was afraid to confess Him at first. Afterward he went boldly to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus (John 19:38).

A Christian's increase in faith is known two ways:

    * A Christian's increase in faith is known by his steadfastness. He is a pillar in the temple of God, firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith (Colossians 2:7). Unbelievers are skeptical about Christianity. They are doubtful. They question every truth. However, when faith is increasing, it strengthens the spirit and fortifies the Christian. He is able to prove his principles. He holds on to no more than he will die for. As that martyr woman said, "I cannot debate for Christ, but I can burn for Him." An increasing faith is not like a ship in the midst of the sea that fluctuates and is tossed upon the waves, but is like a ship at anchor that is firm and steadfast.
    * A Christian's increase in faith is known by his strength. He can do that now which he could not do before. When a person has grown up, he can do that which he was not able to do when he was a child; he can carry a heavier burden. In the same way, a growing Christian can bear crosses with more patience.

Some might say, "But I am afraid that I have no faith, for it is so weak!" If you have faith, even if it is in its infancy, do not be discouraged.

  * A little faith is still faith, just as a spark of fire is still fire.
  * A weak faith can lay hold on a strong Christ. A weak hand can tie the knot in marriage as well as a strong one. The woman in the gospel who simply touched Christ still received virtue from Him.
  * The promises are not made to a strong faith, but to a true faith. The promise does not say that he who has a giant faith, who can believe God's love through difficulties, who can rejoice in affliction, who can work wonders, move mountains, or stop the mouth of lions will be saved, but whoever believes, no matter how small that faith may be. A reed is weak, especially when it is bruised, yet a promise is made to it: A battered reed He will not break off (Matthew 12:20).
  * A weak faith can still be fruitful. Weakest things multiply most. The vine is a weak plant, but it is fruitful. The thief on the cross, who was newly converted, was weak in grace, but how many precious clusters grew upon that tender plant! He rebuked his fellow thief: Do you not even fear God? (Luke 23:40). He judged himself: We indeed are suffering justly (Luke 23:41). He believed in Jesus when he said, "Lord." He made a heavenly prayer: Remember me when You come in Your kingdom (Luke 23:42). Weak Christians can have strong devotion. How strong is the first love, which is after the first planting of faith!
  * The weakest believer, as well as the strongest, is a member of Christ, and the weakest member of the body of Christ will not perish. Christ will cut off rotten members, but not weak members. Therefore, Christian, do not be discouraged. God, who desires us to receive those who are weak in faith, will not Himself refuse them (Romans 14:1).

Repentance

God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18). Repentance seems to be a bitter pill to take, but it is needed in order to purge out the bad poison of sin. Some Antinomian proponents condemn repentance as being legalistic and of the law, but Christ Himself preached it. From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). In His last farewell, when He was ascending to heaven, He commanded that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations (Luke 24:47).

Repentance is a pure gospel grace. The covenant of works would not accept repentance. It cursed all who could not perform perfect and personal obedience (Galatians 3:10). Repentance comes in by the gospel. It is the fruit of Christ's purchase that repenting sinners will be saved. It is brought about by the ministry of the gospel, while it sets Christ crucified before our eyes. Repentance is not optional, but it is necessary; there is no being saved without it. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3). We can be thankful to God that He has left us this plank after our shipwreck.

I will show first the counterfeits of repentance:

  1. Natural softness and tenderness of spirit. Some have a tender affection in their character, whereby they are apt to weep and soften when they see any object of sympathy and pity. These are not repenting tears, though, for many people weep at another's misery who cannot weep at their own sin.
  2. Legal terrors. A man who has lived a life of sin is at last aware of his situation. He sees hell ready to devour him, and he is filled with anguish and horror; but after a while, the tempest of conscience is blown over, and he is calm. He then concludes he is a true penitent because he had felt some bitterness in sin – but this is not repentance. Judas had some trouble of mind. If anguish and trouble were sufficient for repentance, then the damned would be most penitent, for they are most in anguish of mind. There can be trouble of mind where there is no grieving for sin against God.
  3. A slight superficial sorrow. When God's hand lies heavy upon someone, such as when a person is sick or afflicted, he may vent a sigh or tear, and say, "Lord, have mercy;" yet this is not true repentance. Ahab did more than this. He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently (1 Kings 21:27). His clothes were rent, but not his heart. The eye can be watery, yet the heart can remain as hard as flint. An apricot can be soft on the outside, but it has a hard stone within.
  4. Good intent rising in the heart. Every good intent is not repentance. Some think that if they intend in their hearts to break off their sins and become religious, that this is repentance. As the devil can stir up bad thoughts in the godly, so the Spirit of God can stir up good intent in the wicked. Herod had many good thoughts and inclinations stirred up in him by John the Baptist's preaching, yet he did not truly repent, for he still lived in incest.
  5. Vows and resolutions. What vows and solemn declarations some people make in their sickness, that if God would heal them, they will be new people – but afterward they are as bad as ever! The people of Israel said they would not sin, but God reminded them that despite their declaration, Israel pursued her idols, and on every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a harlot (Jeremiah 2:20).
  6. Leaving some terrible sin. A person may depart from some sins, but keep others. Herod reformed many things that were wrong, but he kept his Herodias. A person might leave an old sin in order to begin a new one. A person might leave immorality or wasteful spending, only to pursue covetousness. That is not repentance, but is merely to exchange one sin for another.

These are the counterfeits of repentance. If you find that yours is a counterfeit repentance and you have not repented sincerely, fix what you have done wrong. As in the body, if a bone is set wrong, the surgeon has no way but to break it again and set it properly, and so you must do by repentance. If you have not repented properly, you must have your heart broken again in a godly manner and be more deeply afflicted for sin than ever.

This brings me to show what repentance consists of:

It consists of two things: humiliation and transformation.

Humiliation. If their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled (Leviticus 26:41). There is, as some say, a twofold humiliation, or breaking of the heart:

  1. Attrition: as when a rock is broken in pieces. This is done by the law, which is a hammer to break the heart.
  2. Contrition: as when ice is melted into water. This is done by the gospel, which is as a fire to break, or melt, the heart. The sense of abused kindness causes contrition.

"Is not My word like fire?" declares the Lord, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (Jeremiah 23:29).

Transformation, or change. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). Repentance works a change in the whole person. Just as when wine is put into a glass of water and runs into every part of the water, changing its color and taste, so true repentance does not rest in one part, but spreads itself into every part.

  * Repentance causes a change in the mind. Before conversion, a person loves sin and speaks in defense of it, as Jonah did when he said, I have good reason to be angry (Jonah 4:9) – or I have a good reason to swear or break the Sabbath. When someone becomes truly repentant, his judgment is changed; he looks upon sin as the greatest evil. The Greek word for "repentance" signifies "after wisdom," such as after having seen how awful and damnable a thing sin is, we change our mind.

Paul, before conversion, truly thought he should do many things that were contrary to the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9), but after he repented, he was of another mind. I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8). Repentance causes a change of judgment.

  * Repentance causes a change in the affections, which move under the will as soldiers move under the orders of the commander-in-chief. It transforms the affections. It turns rejoicing in sin into sorrowing for sin. It turns boldness in sin into holy shame. It turns the love of sin into hatred of sin. As Ammon hated Tamar more than he ever loved her (2 Samuel 13:15), so the true penitent hates sin more than he ever loved it. I hate every false way (Psalm 119:104).
  * Repentance works a change in the life. Though repentance begins at the heart, it does not stay there, but it goes into the life. It begins at the heart. Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem (Jeremiah 4:14). If the spring is corrupt, no pure stream can run from it. Even though repentance begins at the heart, it does not stay there, but it changes the life.

What a change repentance made in Paul! It changed a persecutor into a preacher. What a change it made in the jailer! He took Paul and Silas, washed their stripes, and set food before them (Acts 16:33-34). What a change it made in Mary Magdalene! She who before kissed her lovers with immoral embraces kissed Christ's feet. She who used to curl her hair and dress it with costly jewels made it a towel to wipe Christ's feet. Her eyes that used to sparkle with lust and with impure glances to entice her lovers became fountains of tears to wash her Savior's feet. Her tongue that used to speak vainly and loosely became an instrument set in tune to praise God.

This change of life has two things in it:

1. This change of life involves breaking off the sin. Break away now from your sins by doing righteousness (Daniel 4:27). This breaking away from sin must have three qualifications:

  * Breaking away from sin must be universal. You must break away from all sin. One disease can kill as well as many. Holding on to one sin can damn a person as well as holding on to many sins. The real penitent breaks off secret, gainful, habitual sins. He takes the sacrificing knife of mortification and death to self and runs it through the heart of his dearest lusts!
  * Breaking away from sin must be sincere. It must not be done out of fear, but upon spiritual grounds, as from abhorrence and disgust toward sin and a principle of love to God. If sin did not have such evil effects, a true penitent would forsake it anyway out of love to God. The best way to separate things that are frozen is by fire. When sin and the heart are frozen together, the best way to separate them is by the fire of love. Will I sin against a gracious Father and abuse that love that pardons me?
  * Breaking away from sin must be perpetual. You must break away from sin so as to never have anything to do with sin anymore. What more have I to do with idols? (Hosea 14:8). Repentance is a spiritual divorce that must last until death.

2. This change of life involves returning unto the Lord. It is called repentance toward God (Acts 20:21). It is not enough to leave old sins when we repent, but we must also engage in God's service. When the wind leaves the west, it turns to a different direction. The repenting prodigal not only left his harlots, but he also arose and went to his father (Luke 15:18). In true repentance, the heart points directly to God, just as the needle points to the north pole.

Application

Let us all take upon ourselves this great work of repentance. Let us repent sincerely and quickly. Let us repent of all our sins. Let us repent of our pride, our impulsive anger, and our unbelief. Without repentance, there is no remission of sin. It is not consistent with the holiness of God's nature to pardon a sinner while he is in the act of rebellion. Do not meet God with weapons, but with tears in your eyes.

To stir you up to a melting repentant state of mind and heart, I offer some advice.

Consider what there is in sin that would cause you to continue in the practice of it. It is the accursed thing (Joshua 7:11). It is the spirit of evil. It defiles the soul's glory. It is like a stain to beauty. It is compared to a plague and an affliction (1 Kings 8:38). Nothing so much changes one's glory into shame as sin. Without repentance, sin leads to final damnation. The moment of sin passes, but the guilt remains. Sin at first shows its color in the glass, but afterward it bites like a serpent. Those locusts in Revelation 9:7-10 are an emblem of sin: On their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings.

Sin unrepented of ends in tragedy. It has the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death and damnation for its wages. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). What is there in sin, then, that people would continue in it? Do not say that it is sweet. Who would desire the pleasure that kills?

Repentance is very pleasing to God. There is no sacrifice like a broken heart. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise (Psalm 51:17). Augustine caused this sentence to be written over his bed when he was sick. When the widow brought empty vessels to Elisha, the oil was poured into them (2 Kings 4:5). Bring God the broken vessel of a contrite heart, and He will pour in the oil of mercy. Repenting tears are the joy of God and of angels (Luke 15:7). Doves delight to be near the water, and surely God's Spirit, who once descended in the likeness of a dove, takes great delight in the waters of repentance. Mary stood at Jesus' feet weeping (Luke 7:38). She brought two things to Christ: tears and ointment, but her tears were more precious to Christ than her ointment.

Repentance leads the way to pardon. That is why they are joined together. Repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations (Luke 24:47). Pardon of sin is the richest blessing. It is enough to make a sick man well. No resident will say, "I am sick"; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity (Isaiah 33:24). Pardon brings us the richer charter of the promises. Pardoning mercy is the sauce that makes all other mercies taste sweeter. It sweetens our health, riches, and honor.

David had a crown of pure gold set upon his head (Psalm 21:3). That which David most blessed God for was not that God had set a crown of gold upon his head, but that He had set a crown of mercy upon his head: Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion (Psalm 103:4). What was this crown of mercy and lovingkindness? You can see in verse 3: Who pardons all your iniquities.

David rejoiced more that he was crowned with forgiveness than that he wore a crown of pure gold. What is it that makes the way for pardon of sin but repentance? When David's soul was humbled and broken, the prophet Nathan brought him good news: The Lord also has taken away your sin (2 Samuel 12:13).

Some people might say, "But my sins are so great, that if I would repent, God would not pardon them!" God will not back away from His promise. "Return, faithless Israel," declares the Lord; "I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious," declares the Lord (Jeremiah 3:12). If your sins are as rocks, upon your repentance, the sea of God's mercy can drown them! Wash yourselves (Isaiah 1:16). Wash in the laver of repentance. "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

Manasseh was a crimson sinner, but when he humbled himself greatly, the golden scepter of mercy was held forth. When his head was a fountain to weep for sin, Christ's side was a fountain to wash away sin. It is not the magnitude of sin that destroys, but lack of repentance. The Jews, who had a hand in crucifying Christ, learned that, upon their repentance, the blood they had shed was a sovereign balm to heal them. When the prodigal came home to his father, he had the robe and the ring placed upon him, and his father kissed him (Luke 15:20-22).

If you leave your sins, God will become a friend to you. All that is in God will be yours. His power will be yours to help you. His wisdom will be yours to counsel you. His Spirit will be yours to sanctify you. His promises will be yours to comfort you. His angels will be yours to guard you. His mercy will be yours to save you.

There is much sweetness in tears of repentance. The soul is never more enlarged and more inwardly delighted than when it can warmly melt for sin. Weeping days are festival days. The Hebrew word for "repent" signifies "to take comfort." Your grief will be turned into joy (John 16:20). Christ turns the water of tears into wine. David, who was the great mourner in Israel, was also the sweet singer (2 Samuel 23:1).

The joy that a true penitent finds is a foretaste of the joy of paradise. The wicked man's joy turns to sadness, but the penitent's sadness turns to joy. Though repentance seems at first to be thorny and bitter, yet from this thorn a Christian gathers grapes. These are all considerations that should open a vein of godly sorrow in our souls so that we can both weep for sin and turn from it. If ever God restores comfort, it is to His mourners. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners (Isaiah 57:18).

When we weep tears of repentance, let us look up to Christ's blood for pardon. Say, "Lord, wash my tears in Your blood!" We drop sin with our tears, and we need Christ's blood to wash them.

This repentance must not be for a few days only, like mourning for a friend, which is soon over, but our repentance must be the work of our lives. Godly sorrow must not be stopped until death. After sin is pardoned, we must still repent when we fall to sin again. Some people shed a few tears for sin, and when, like the widow's oil, they have continued awhile, they cease. Many people wipe off the ointment of repentance if it begins to sting a little, but it must remain on and repentance for sins must not be plucked off until death; then, as with all other tears, these tears of godly sorrow will be wiped away.

What can we do to obtain a repentant frame of heart?

Seek God for it. It is His promise to give a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) and to pour on us a spirit of mourning (Zechariah 12:10). Seek God's Holy Spirit. He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow (Psalm 147:18). When the wind of God's Spirit blows upon us, then the waters of repentant tears will flow from us.

The Word of God

The third way to escape the wrath and curse of God and to obtain the benefit of redemption by Christ is by the diligent use of ordinances – in particular, the Word, sacraments, and prayer.

I begin with the best of these ordinances: the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

What is meant by the Word performing its work in you who believe? The Word of God is said to work effectually in us when it has the good effect upon us for which it was appointed by God – when it works a powerful illumination and thorough reformation. To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). The opening of their eyes denotes illumination, and turning them from Satan to God denotes reformation.

How is the Word of God to be read and heard so that it can become effectual to salvation? This question consists of two branches: (1) How can the Word be read effectually? and (2) How can we hear the Word so that it will be effectual and saving to our souls?

How can the Word be read effectually?

1. Let us have a reverential regard of every part of Scripture. They are more desirable than gold (Psalm 19:10). Value the Book of God above all other books. It is a golden epistle, written by the Holy Spirit, and sent to us from heaven. More specifically, to raise our respect for the Word of God, the Scriptures are a spiritual mirror by which we dress our souls. It shows us more than we can see by the light of natural conscience. This may reveal heinous sins, but the mirror of the Word also shows us sins of the heart, vain thoughts, unbelief, and much more. It not only shows us our spots, but it washes them away.

The Scripture is an armory from which we can get spiritual artillery to fight against Satan. When our Savior was tempted by the devil, He used armor and weapons from Scripture: It is written (Matthew 4:4, 7). The Holy Scripture is a panacea, or universal medicine, for the soul. It gives a recipe to cure deadness of heart (Psalm 119:50), pride (1 Peter 5:5), and unbelief (John 3:36). It is a garden of remedies from which we can gather an herb or an antidote to expel the poison of sin. The leaves of Scripture, like the leaves of the tree of life, are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2). Should this not cause a reverential admiration and respect for the Word?

2. If we desire the written Word to be effectual to our souls, let us read it with intenseness of mind. Search the Scriptures (John 5:39). The Greek word signifies to search as for a vein of silver. The Bereans examined and searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was what the Bible really said (Acts 17:11). The word meaning "examined" or "searched" used in that verse signifies to make a meticulous and critical search.

Apollo was mighty in the Scriptures (Acts 18:24). Some rush through or skim a chapter in haste, and they get no good out of it. If we want the Word to be effectual and saving, we must pay attention to and observe every passage of Scripture. That we may be diligent as we read the Scriptures, consider that the Bible is the only standard of conduct – the rule and platform by which we are to live our lives. It contains in it all things needful to salvation. It informs us what duties we are to do and what sins we are to avoid (Psalm 19:7-9). God gave Moses a pattern of how He wanted the tabernacle to be made, and Moses was to go exactly according to the pattern (Exodus 25:9). The Word of God is the pattern that God has given us in writing for how we are to live our lives. How careful, therefore, should we be in pursuing and looking over this pattern!

As the written Word is our pattern, so it will be our judge. The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day (John 12:48). We read of the opening of the books: I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds (Revelation 20:12). One book that God will open is the book of the Scripture, and He will judge people out of it. He will ask, "Have you lived according to the standard and decrees of this Word?" The Word has a double work: to teach and to judge.

3. If we want the written Word to be effectual to our souls, we must bring faith to the reading of it. We must believe it to be the Word of the eternal God. It comes with authority, and it shows its commission from heaven. Thus says the Lord! It is of divine inspiration. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). The oracles of Scripture must be more certain to us than a voice from heaven (2 Peter 1:18-19). Unbelief incapacitates the virtue of Scripture and renders it ineffectual. People first question the truth of the Scripture, and then they fall away from it.

4. If we want the written Word to be effectual to salvation, we must delight in it as our spiritual refreshment. Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart (Jeremiah 15:16). All true solid comfort is obtained from the Word. The Word, as Chrysostom says, is a spiritual garden, and the promises are the fragrant flowers or spices in this garden. How should we delight to walk among these beds of spices!

Is it not a comfort, in all uncertain, puzzling cases to have a Counselor to advise us? Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors (Psalm 119:24). Is it not a comfort to find our evidences for heaven? And where should we find them except in the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)? The Bible is a sovereign medicine, or comfort, in an hour of distress. This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me (Psalm 119:50). It can turn all our water into wine. We should take great delight in the Word! Only those who come to the Word with delight go from it with success.

5. If we desire the Scripture to be effectual and saving, we must be sure, after we have read the Word, to hide it in our hearts. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You (Psalm 119:11). The Word, locked up in the heart, is a preservative against sin. Why did David hide the Word in his heart? That I may not sin against You. Just as one would carry medicine with him when he comes near an infected place, so David carried the Word in his heart as a sacred remedy to preserve him from the infection of sin. When the sap is hidden in the root, it makes the branches fruitful. When the seed is hidden in the ground, the corn springs up. When the Word is hidden in the heart, it brings forth good fruit.

6. If we desire the written Word of God to be effectual in our lives, let us labor not only to have its light in our heads, but its power in our hearts! Let us endeavor to have it written out, and then written a second time in our hearts. The law of his God is in his heart (Psalm 37:31). The Word says, Clothe yourselves with humility (1 Peter 5:5). Let us be low and humble in our own eyes. The Word calls for holiness. Let us labor to partake of the divine nature and to have something conceived in us that is of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). When the Word is copied out into our hearts like this, and we are changed into its likeness, it is made effectual to us and becomes to us a savor of life.

7. When we read the Holy Scriptures, let us look up to God for a blessing. Let us beg the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that we may see the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10). That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17). Ask God that the same Spirit who wrote the Scriptures would enable us to understand it. Pray that God would give us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him, that we would savor a sweetness in the Word we read (2 Corinthians 2:14). David tasted it as sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). Let us pray that God would not only give us His Word as a standard of holiness, but that He would also give us His grace as a principle of holiness!

How can we hear the Word so that it will be effectual and saving to our souls?

1. Give much attention to the Word preached. Let nothing pass without taking special notice of it. All the people were hanging on to every word He said (Luke 19:48). They hung upon the words of Jesus. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14).

Give attention to the Word as a matter of life and death. For this purpose, banish all empty and irrelevant thoughts that will distract you from the work at hand. These fowls will be coming to the sacrifice; therefore, we must drive them away (Genesis 15:11). An archer may take proper aim, but if someone stands right beside him and bumps him when he is about to shoot, he will not hit the target. Christians can have good intentions in hearing the Word of God, but beware of irrelevant thoughts that will prod and hinder you in God's service!

Banish dullness. The devil gives many hearers a drug to make them tired – so that they cannot keep their eyes open at a sermon. They eat so much on the Lord's Day that they are more suited for the pillow and couch than the temple! Frequent and regular sleeping at a sermon shows high contempt and irreverence of the preaching of the Word of God. It gives a bad example to others. It calls your sincerity into question. It is the devil's seedtime. While his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares (Matthew 13:25). Shake off drowsiness, just as Paul shook off the viper (Acts 28:5). Be serious and attentive in hearing the Word. It is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life (Deuteronomy 32:47). When people do not pay attention to what God speaks to them in His Word, God pays just as little attention to what they say to Him in prayer!

2. If you desire the Word preached to be effectual, come with a holy hunger for the Word. Long for the pure milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2). The thirsting soul is the thriving soul. In nature, one can have an appetite and no digestion; but it is not so in Christianity. Where there is a great appetite for the Word, there is, for the most part, good digestion. Come with a soul hungering after the Word, and desire that it may not only please you, but that it will also profit you. Do not look at the designs on the dish more than at the food. Do not look at the eloquence and the oratory more than at the meat of the Word. It suggests an unhealthy appetite to feed on sweets and treats rather than on wholesome food.

3. If you desire the preaching of the Word to be effectual, come to it with tenderness upon your heart. Because your heart was tender (2 Kings 22:19). Preaching to hard hearts is like shooting an arrow against a bronze wall – the Word does not enter. It is like setting a gold seal upon marble that makes no impression. Come to the preaching of the Word with a melting condition of the heart! It is the melting wax that receives the stamp of the seal, and when the heart is in a melting state, it will better receive the stamp of the preached Word. When Paul's heart was melted and broken for sin, he cried, What shall I do, Lord? (Acts 22:10). Do not come with hard hearts. Who can expect a crop when the seed is sown upon stony ground?

4. If you want the Word to be effectual, receive it with meekness. In humility receive the word (James 1:21). Meekness involves a submissive frame of heart to the Word – a willingness to hear the counsels and reproofs of the Word. Contrary to this meekness is fierceness of spirit, whereby people are ready to rise up in rage against the Word. Proud people and guilty people cannot endure to hear of their faults. Proud Herod put John in prison (Mark 6:17). The guilty Jews, being reminded that they crucified Christ, stoned Stephen (Acts 7:59)! To tell people of sin is to hold a mirror to someone, showing him his flaws and deformities when he cannot endure to see his own face!

Stubbornness of heart is also contrary to meekness. This is when people are resolved to hold on to their sins no matter what the Word of God says. Rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her (Jeremiah 44:17). Take heed of this! If you desire the Word of God to be preached effectually, lay aside fierceness and stubbornness, and receive the Word with meekness. By meekness, the Word preached comes to be grafted. As a good branch that is grafted in a bad stem changes the nature of the fruit and makes it taste sweet, so when the Word is grafted into the soul, it sanctifies it and causes it to bring forth the sweet fruit of righteousness.

5. Mingle the preaching of the Word with faith. The word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard (Hebrews 4:2). If you leave out the main ingredient in a medicine, it hinders its effectiveness; do not leave out the ingredient of faith. Believe the Word, and so believe it as to apply it. When you hear Christ preached, apply Him to yourselves. This is to put on the Lord Jesus. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Romans 13:14). When you hear a promise spoken, apply it. This is to sip the promise, the nectar of the flower – and turn it into honey!

6. Do not only be attentive while hearing the preaching of the Word, but also be retentive after hearing. For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it – lest we should let it run out as water out of a sieve (Hebrews 2:1). If the ground does not retain the seed sown into it, there cannot be a good crop. Some people have memories like leaking vessels; the sermons they hear are soon gone, and no good is done in their hearts and lives. If food does not stay and digest in the stomach, it will not nourish. Satan labors to steal the Word out of the mind. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them (Mark 4:15). Our memories should be like the chest of the ark where the law was kept.

7. Reduce your hearing to practice. Live on the sermons you hear. I hope for Your salvation, O Lord, and do Your commandments (Psalm 119:166). Rachel was not content that she was beautiful, but her desire was to be fruitful. What is a knowing head without a fruitful heart? Filled with the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11). It is obedience that crowns hearing. The type of hearing that does not reform the life will never save the soul.

8. Earnestly ask God to accompany His Word with His presence and blessing. The Holy Spirit must make it all effectual. Pastors can prescribe the remedy, but it is God's Spirit who must make it work. Augustine said, "He who converts souls has his pulpit in heaven." While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message (Acts 10:44). It is said that the chemist can draw oil out of iron. God's Spirit can produce grace in the most strong-willed heart.

9. If you desire to have the Word work effectually to your salvation, make it familiar to you. Discuss what you have heard after you get home. Let my tongue sing of Your word (Psalm 119:172). One reason why some people do not get more good from what they hear is that they never speak to anyone else about what they have heard, as if sermons were such secrets that they must not be spoken of again, or as if it were a shame to speak about matters of salvation. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name (Malachi 3:16).

Application 1

As you care for your soul, be careful that the Word does not become powerless to you. There are some to whom the Word preached is unproductive. This includes:

  * Those who condemn the Word. Instead of judging themselves, they judge the Word.
  * Those who live in contradiction to the Word. This is a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the Lord (Isaiah 30:9).
  * Those who are more hardened by the Word. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets (Zechariah 7:12). When people harden their hearts willfully, God hardens them judicially. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim (Isaiah 6:10). The Word of God is unproductive in these people. Would it not be sad if a person's food did not nourish him, but instead turned to poison? Be careful that the Word preached is not profitless and to no purpose in you!

Application 2

Consider three things:

  1. If the Word of God does us no good, there is no other way by which we can be saved. This is God's institution, and the main instrument that He uses to convert souls. If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:31). If the Word of God preached to you does not persuade you, then you would not be convinced even if an angel would come to you out of heaven and preach about the excellency of the glorified state and the joys of heaven, and would do so in the most moving manner! If a condemned spirit would come from hell and preach to you in flames, telling you what a dreadful place hell is, shouting out the torments of the damned, it might make you tremble, but it would not convert you – if the preaching of the Word will not do it!
  2. The devil is pleased when you come to the Word of God without being changed by God. He does not care if you hear the Word preached often, as long as it does you no good. He is not an enemy to hearing, but to benefiting. Even if the minister holds out the truth of the Scriptures to you, the devil does not care, as long as you do not drink the sincere milk of the Word. The devil does not care how many sermon-pills you take, as long as they do not work upon your conscience.
  3. If the Word preached is not effectual to people's conversion, it will be effectual to their condemnation. The Word will be effectual one way or the other. If it does not make your hearts better, it will make your chains heavier. We feel sorry for those who do not have the Word of God preached, but it will be worse with those who hear it but are not sanctified by it. Dreadful is the case of those who go loaded with sermons to hell! I will conclude with the words of the author of Hebrews: We are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation (Hebrews 6:9).

The Lord's Supper

While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." (Mark 14:22-24)

The Lord's Supper is the most spiritual and sweetest ordinance that was ever instituted. This deals specifically with the person of Christ. In prayer, we draw near to God; in the sacrament, we become one with Him. In prayer, we look up to Christ; in the sacrament, by faith, we touch Him. In the Word preached, we hear Christ's voice; in the sacrament, we feed on Him.

What names and titles in Scripture are given to the sacrament?

It is called the Lord's Table. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). The Roman Catholics call it an altar, not a table. The reason is because they turn the sacrament into a sacrifice and pretend to offer up Christ bodily in the mass. The Bible calling it the Lord's Table shows with what reverence and solemn devotion we should approach these holy mysteries. The Lord takes notice of the frame of our hearts when we come to His table. The king came in to look over the dinner guests (Matthew 22:11). We dress well when we come to the table of royalty, and when we are going to the table of the Lord, we should dress ourselves by holy meditation and heart consideration.

Many people think it is enough to simply come to the sacrament, but they do not care whether or not they come according to the ordinance (1 Chronicles 15:13). They might not have had even one serious thought beforehand regarding where they were going. They only clothed themselves by the mirror and not by the Bible. John Chrysostom calls it the "dreadful table of the Lord," and so it is to those who come unworthily.

The sacrament is called the Lord's Supper. This signifies that it is a spiritual feast. As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:20). It is a royal feast. God is at this feast. Christ, in both natures, God and man, is the subject of this supper.

It is called a communion. Is not the bread which we break a sharing [communion] in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16). The sacrament being called a communion shows:

  1. This ordinance is for believers only, because no one else can have communion with Christ in these holy mysteries. Communion is based upon union. Faith alone gives us union with Christ, and by virtue of this, we have communion with Him in His body and blood. No one but the spouse communes with her husband. A stranger might drink of his cup, but she alone has his heart and communes with him in a marital manner. In the same way, strangers might drink of the cup, but only believers drink of Christ's blood and have communion with Him.
  2. The sacrament being called a communion shows that it is a symbol of love – a bond of that unity and love that should be common among Christians. Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread (1 Corinthians 10:17). As many grains make one loaf of bread, so many Christians are one body. A sacrament is a love feast. The early Christians, as Justin Martyr notes, had their holy greetings at the blessed supper, in token of that dearness of affection that they had for each other. It is a communion, and therefore there must be love and union.

The Israelites ate the Passover with bitter herbs, and we must eat the sacrament with bitter herbs of repentance – but not with bitter hearts of wrath and malice. The hearts of the communicants should be knit together with the bond of love. "You brag of your faith" says Augustine, "but show me your faith by your love to the saints." For as light and heat are inseparable in the sun, so faith and love are inseparably twisted together. Where there are divisions, the Lord's Supper is not properly a communion, but a disunion.

What is the Lord's Supper?

The Lord's Supper is a visible sermon wherein Christ crucified is set before us. It is a sacrament of the New Testament wherein our communion with Christ is signified and sealed up to us by receiving the holy elements of bread and wine. It is a divinely instituted sacrament wherein Christ's death is showed forth by giving and receiving bread and wine, and wherein the worthy receivers by faith are made partakers of His body and blood and of all the benefits flowing from thence.

For further explanation of the nature of the Lord's Supper, I will refer to its beginnings. While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you" (Matthew 26:26-27).

Jesus took bread. Here is the master of the feast, or the institutor of the sacrament. The Lord Jesus took bread. The only one suited to institute a sacrament is the one who is able to give virtue and blessing to it. He took bread. His taking the bread was one part of consecrating the elements and setting them apart for a holy use. As Christ consecrated the elements, so we must labor to have our hearts consecrated before we receive these holy mysteries in the Lord's Supper. How unfitting it is to see anyone come to these holy elements with hearts full of pride, covetousness, or envy! These people receive the devil in the dipped morsel along with Judas (John 13:26), and are no better than those who crucified the Lord of glory.

He blessed it. This is another part of the consecration of the element. Christ blessed it. He blesses and it will be blessed. He looked up to heaven for a benediction upon this newly established ordinance.

He broke it. The broken bread and the poured-out wine signify to us the agony and shame of Christ's sufferings, the rending of Christ's body on the cross, and the outpouring of blood that poured from His blessed side.

He gave it to them. Christ's giving the bread signifies that He gave Himself and all His benefits to us freely. Though He was sold, yet He was given. Judas sold Christ, but Christ gave Himself to us. He gave it to them. That is, He gave it to the disciples. This is bread for the children. Jesus does not cast these pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Whether Judas was present at the supper is a topic of some debate. I incline to think he was not, for Christ said to the disciples, This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood (Luke 22:20). He knew that His blood was never shed effectually and intentionally for Judas. In eating the Passover, He gave Judas a morsel, which was a bit of unleavened bread dipped in a sauce made with bitter herbs. Judas, having received the morsel, went out immediately (John 13:30). Suppose Judas was there – he would have received the elements, but not the blessing.

Take, eat. This expression of eating signifies four things:

  1. Take, eat. The extraordinary union between Christ and His saints. As the food that is eaten merges with the body and becomes one with it, so by eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood spiritually, we partake of His merits and graces and are supernaturally one with them. I in them (John 17:23).
  2. Take, eat. Eating shows the infinite delight the believing soul has in Christ. Just as eating is grateful and pleasing to the palate, so feeding on Christ by a lively faith is delicious. Lactantius said, "The soul knows no sweeter food." There is nothing as sweet as to feed on Christ crucified. This is a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine (Isaiah 25:6).
  3. Take, eat. Eating signifies nourishment. Just as food is delicious to the palate and is nourishing to the body, so eating Christ's flesh and drinking His blood is nourishing to the soul. The new creature is nourished at the table of the Lord to everlasting life. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life (John 6:54).
  4. Take, eat. This shows the wisdom of God, who restores us by the same means by which we fell. We fell by taking and eating the forbidden fruit, and we are recovering by taking and eating Christ's flesh. We died by eating the tree of knowledge, and we live by eating the tree of life.

This is My body. These words have been much argued about between us and the Roman Catholics. This is My body; that is, by a metaphor, "It is a sign and figure of My body." The Roman Catholics teach transubstantiation – that the bread, after consecration, is turned into the very substance of Christ's body. We say that we receive Christ's body spiritually; they say that they receive Christ's body physically, which is contrary to Scripture. Scripture affirms that the heavens must receive Christ's body until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time (Acts 3:21). Christ's body cannot be at the same time in heaven and in the host. Aquinas says, "It is not possible by any miracle that a body should be locally in two places at once." Besides, it is absurd to imagine that the bread in the sacrament would be turned into Christ's flesh, and that His body that was crucified before would be made again of bread. This is My body is as if Christ had said, "This is a sign and representation of My body."

He took the cup. The cup is a figure of speech for the wine in the cup. It represents the blood of Christ shed for our sins. The taking of the cup signifies the abundance of merit in Christ and the fullness of our redemption by Him. He not only took the bread, but He also took the cup.

He gave thanks. Jesus gave thanks that God had given these elements of bread and wine to be signs and seals of man's redemption by Christ. Christ's giving thanks shows His benevolence, or love, to mankind, who did so rejoice and bless God that lost humanity was now in a way of recovery, and that we should be raised higher in Christ than we ever were in innocence.

He gave the cup to them. Why then do any dare to withhold the cup from others? This is to pollute and restrict the ordinance, changing it from its original intent and use. Christ and His apostles administered the sacrament in both kinds, the bread and the cup (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). The cup was received in the ancient church for the space of 1,400 years, as is confessed by two Roman Catholic councils. Christ says specifically, Drink from it, all of you (Matthew 26:27), as foreseeing the sacrilegious irreverence of the church of Rome in keeping back the cup from the people.

The Roman Catholic council of Constance speaks plainly but presumptuously, "That although Christ instituted and administered the sacrament in both kinds, the bread and the wine – yet the authority of the holy canons, and the customs of the mother church, think good to deny the cup to the laity." Thus, as the Roman Catholic priests make Christ only half a Savior, so they administer to the people only half a sacrament. The sacrament is Christ's last will and testament. This is My blood of the covenant (Matthew 26:28). To change or take away anything from a person's will and testament is a great wrong. How much more evil is it to alter and mangle Christ's last will and testament? It certainly is a great insult to Christ.

What are the purposes of the Lord's Supper?

It is an ordinance appointed to confirm our faith. Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe (John 4:48). Christ sets the elements before us so that by these signs our faith may be strengthened. As faith comes by hearing, so faith is confirmed by seeing Christ crucified. The sacrament is not only a symbol to represent Christ, but it is a seal to confirm our interest in Him.

The purpose of the sacrament is to continue to remember Christ's death. Do this . . . in remembrance of Me (1 Corinthians 11:25). If a friend gives us a ring at his death, we wear it to continue to remember our friend. Much more should we keep the memorial of Christ's death in the sacrament. His death lays a foundation for all the magnificent blessings that we receive from Him. The covenant of grace was agreed on in heaven, but sealed upon the cross. Christ has sealed all the articles of peace in His blood. Remission of sin flows from Christ's death. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28).

Consecration, or making us holy, is the fruit of Christ's death. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14). Christ's intercession is made available to us by virtue of His death. He could not have been acknowledged as an advocate if he had not been first a sacrifice. Our entering into heaven is the fruit of His blood. We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). He could not have prepared mansions for us if He had not first purchased them by His death. We have much cause to commemorate His death in the sacrament.

In what manner are we to remember the Lord's death in the sacrament? The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is not just a historical remembrance of Christ's suffering and death. Judas remembered His death and betrayed Him. Pilate remembered His death and crucified Him. Our remembering His death in the sacrament must be a mournful as well as a joyful remembrance.

  * A mournful remembrance. We should not be able to look on Christ crucified with dry eyes. They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10). O Christian, when you look on Christ in the sacrament, remember how often you have crucified Him! The Jews only did it once, but you have done so often. Every profanity is a nail with which you pierce His hands. Every unjust sinful action is a spear with which you wound His heart. Oh, remember Christ with sorrow – to think you would make His wounds bleed again!
  * A joyful remembrance. Abraham rejoiced to see My day (John 8:56). When a Christian sees a sacrament day approaching, he should rejoice. This ordinance of the supper is a pledge of heaven. It is the mirror in which we see Him whom our souls love. It is the chariot by which we are carried up to Christ. When Jacob saw the wagons and the chariots that were to carry him to his son Joseph, his spirit revived (Genesis 45:27).

God has appointed the sacrament on purpose to cheer and revive a sad heart. When we look on our sins, we have reason to mourn, but when we see Christ's blood shed for our sins, we rejoice. In the sacrament, our needs are supplied and our strength is renewed. We meet there with Christ, and does not this call for joy? A woman who has been long kept away from the company of her husband is glad of his presence. At the sacrament, the believing spouse meets with Christ. He says to her, "All I have is yours. My love is yours to comfort you. My mercy is yours to save you." How can we participate in the sacrament and think about the shed blood of Christ and not rejoice? Christ's blood is the key that opens heaven; without it, we would have all been shut out.

The purpose of the sacrament is to work in us an endearing love for Christ. When Christ bleeds for us, we can well say, "Behold how He loved us!" (John 11:36). Who can see Christ die and not be lovesick? It is a heart of stone that Christ's love will not melt!

The purpose of the sacrament is to subdue corruption. To see Christ crucified for us is a means to crucify sin in us. His death, like the water of jealousy, makes the thigh of sin to rot (Numbers 5:27). How can a wife endure to see the knife that was used to kill her husband? How can we endure those sins that made Christ veil His glory and shed His blood? When the people of Rome saw Caesar's bloody robe, they were incensed against those who slew him. Sin has torn the white robe of Christ's flesh and dyed it a crimson color. The thoughts of this should make us seek to be avenged of our sins.

Another purpose of the sacrament is the nourishment and increase of all the graces, such as hope, zeal, and patience. The Word preached brings about grace, and the Lord's Supper nourishes it. The body by feeding increases strength, and the soul grows stronger by feeding on Christ through the sacrament. "When my spiritual strength begins to fail, I know a remedy," says Bernard. "I will go to the table of the Lord; there will I drink and recover my decayed strength." There is a difference between dead stones and living plants. The wicked, who are stones, receive no spiritual increase; but the godly, who are plants of righteousness and are being watered with Christ's blood, grow more fruitful in grace.

Why are we to receive this holy supper?

We are to celebrate the Lord's Supper because it is an essential duty. Take, eat. Notice that this is a command of love. If Christ had commanded us to do some great thing, would we not have done it? Had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? (2 Kings 5:13). If Jesus had instructed us to have given Him thousands of rams or to have parted with our children, would we not have done it? How much more should we obey when He only says, Take, eat! Let My broken body feed you. Let My blood poured out save you. Take, eat. This is a command of love, and will we not cheerfully and willingly obey?

We are to celebrate the Lord's Supper because it is insulting Christ to stay away. Wisdom has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table (Proverbs 9:2). Christ has furnished His table. He has set bread and wine (representing His body and blood) before His guests, and when they willfully turn their backs upon the ordinance, He looks upon it as disregarding and disrespecting His love, and it makes the fury rise up in His face. I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner (Luke 14:24). I will shut them out of My kingdom. I will provide them a dreadful banquet, where weeping will be the first course, and gnashing of teeth will be the second course! The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42).

Should the Lord's Supper be administered often?

Yes. As often as you eat this bread (1 Corinthians 11:26). The ordinance is not to be celebrated once a year or only once in our lives, but often. A Christian's own necessities should cause him to come here often. His corruptions are strong, and therefore he needs to come here often for an antidote to expel the poison of sin. His graces are weak. Grace is like a lamp that is apt to go out if it is not often fed with oil. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die (Revelation 3:2).

How greatly, then, do those who only very seldom come to this ordinance sin against God! Can they thrive who for a long time abstain from food? There are some who never partake of the Lord's Supper, and this is a great contempt offered to Christ's ordinance. They indirectly say, "Let Christ keep His feast to Himself!" How contradictory man is! He will eat when he should not, and he will not eat when he should. When God says, "Eat not of this forbidden fruit," then he will be sure to eat! When God says, "Eat of this bread, and drink of this cup," then he refuses to eat!

Are all to come carelessly to this holy ordinance?

No, for that would make the Lord's Table a common table. Christ forbids you to throw your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). The sacramental bread is children's bread, and it is not to be cast to the profane. Just as when God gave the law and set boundaries around the mount so that no one would touch it, so God's table should be guarded so that the profane would not come near. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, "Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it" (Exodus 19:12).

In earlier times, after the sermon was over and the Lord's Supper was about to be celebrated, an officer stood up and cried, "Holy things for holy men," and then several members of the congregation departed. "I would rather have my hand cut off," says Chrysostom, "than to give Christ's body and blood to the profane." The wicked do not eat Christ's flesh, but they tear it. They do not drink His blood, but they spill it. These holy mysteries in the sacraments are mysteries, which the soul is to tremble at. Sinners defile the holy things of God. They poison the sacramental cup. We read that the wicked are to be set at Christ's feet – not at His table (Psalm 110:1).

In order to receive the supper of the Lord worthily, and so it may bear fruit in us, there must be some preparation.

We must solemnly prepare ourselves before we come.

We must not rush upon the ordinance crudely and irreverently, but must come with respect and order. There was a great deal of preparation for the Passover, and the sacrament comes in the place of it (2 Chronicles 30:18-19). This solemn preparation for the ordinance consists in examining ourselves, in clothing our souls before we come, which is by washing in the water of repentance and by putting on the garment of grace, and in earnestly and prayerfully seeking a blessing upon the ordinance.

Solemn preparation for the sacrament consists in self-examination.

A man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). It is not only advice, but it is a command: A man must examine himself. This is as if a king would say, "Let it be made a law." These elements in the supper, having been consecrated by Jesus Christ to a high mystery, represent His body and blood. Therefore, there must be preparation. If there is preparation, there first must be self-examination. Let us be serious in examining ourselves, as our salvation depends upon it. We like to question and investigate when we examine other things. We will not take gold until we examine it and make sure it is genuine. We will not take land before we examine the title. Will we not, then, be as exact and questioning in examining the state of our souls?

What is required for this self-examination?

There must be a solemn seclusion of the soul. We must set ourselves apart and withdraw for some time from all secular employment so that we can be more serious in the work. You do not examine your financial statements in a crowd of people, and we cannot examine ourselves when we are in a crowd of worldly business. We read that a man who was on a journey could not come to the Passover because his mind was full of secular cares and his thoughts were taken up about his journey (Numbers 9:13). When we are upon the work of self-examination, we do not need to be in a hurry or to have any distracting thoughts, but we should get alone in a quiet, solitary place so that we can be more focused upon the work.

What is self-examination?

Self-examination is the setting up a court of conscience and keeping a record there, so that by strict scrutiny a person can see how matters stand between God and his soul. It is a spiritual inquisition, a heart anatomy, whereby someone looks at his heart in pieces, as with a watch, and sees what is defective therein. It is a dialogue with one's self. I will meditate with my heart (Psalm 77:6). David called himself to account and interrogated his own heart. Self-examination is a critical inquiry or search. As the woman in the parable lit a candle and searched for her lost coin, so the conscience is the candle of the Lord (Luke 15:8). Use this candle to search for what you can find worked in you by the Holy Spirit.

What is the standard by which we are to examine ourselves?

The standard by which we must examine ourselves is the Holy Bible. We must not make the standard to judge ourselves our own reasoning or the good opinions that others might have of us. As the goldsmith brings his gold to the touchstone to test the gold's purity, so we must bring our hearts to a Scripture touchstone. To the law and to the testimony! (Isaiah 8:20). What does the Word of God say? Are we cut off from sin? Are we renewed by the Spirit? Let the Word decide whether we are suitable communicants or not. We judge colors by the light of the sun, and so we must judge the state of our souls by the sunlight of Scripture.

What are the main reasons for self-examination before we approach the Lord's Supper?

Self-examination is a duty imposed: A man must examine himself (1 Corinthians 11:28). The Passover was not to be eaten raw (Exodus 12:9). To come to such an ordinance casually, without examination, is to come in an improper manner, and is like eating the Passover raw.

Self-examination is not only a duty imposed, but it is a duty opposed. There is nothing to which the heart is naturally more opposed than self-examination. We can know that a duty is good if the heart opposes it. Why does the heart so oppose it? Because it crosses the tide of corrupt nature and is contrary to flesh and blood. The heart is guilty, and does a guilty person love to be examined? The heart opposes it; therefore examine yourselves, for that duty is good that the heart opposes.

Self-examination is a needful work. Without it, a person can never tell how he is doing and whether he has grace or not. This makes things very uncomfortable for the person. He does not know, if he would suddenly die, what will become of him, to what coast he will sail – whether to hell or to heaven! As Socrates said, "I am about to die, and the gods know whether I shall be happy or miserable." How needful, therefore, is self-examination, that a person can search and can know the true condition of his soul and can know how it will go with him in eternity!

Self-examination is needful with respect to the excellence of the sacrament. Let him eat of that bread, that excellent bread, that consecrated bread, that bread that is not only the bread of the Lord, but the bread that is the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:28). Let him drink of that cup, that precious cup that is perfumed and spiced with Christ's love, that cup that holds the blood of God sacramentally. Cleopatra put a jewel in a cup that contained the price of a kingdom! This sacred cup that we are to drink of, enriched with the blood of God, is above the price of a kingdom. It is worth more than heaven. Therefore, coming to such a royal feast and having a whole Christ, both His divine and human nature to feed on, how much we should examine ourselves beforehand so that we will be suitable guests for such a magnificent banquet!

Self-examination is needful because God will examine us. That was a sad question, Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes? (Matthew 22:12). People are reluctant to ask themselves the questions, "O my soul, are you a suitable guest for the Lord's Table? Are there not some sins you have to mourn over? Are there not some indications that you are prepared for heaven that you must demonstrate?"

When people will not ask themselves these questions, then God will ask them, "How did you get in here to My table unprepared? How did you get in here with an unbelieving or profane heart?" Such questions will cause a heart to tremble. God will examine a person as the chief captain wanted to examine Paul – with scourging (Acts 22:24). It is true that the best saint, if God would weigh him on the scales of justice, would be found deficient (Daniel 5:27), but when a Christian has made an impartial search and has labored to deal honestly between God and his own soul, Christ's merits will cast in some grains of allowance onto the scales!

Self-examination is needful because of secret corruption in the heart that will not be discovered without searching. There are hidden pollutions in the heart, Augustine said. When Joseph's brothers were accused of having the cup, they were ready to swear that they did not have it, but upon searching for it, it was found in one of their sacks (Genesis 44:12). It is the same with a Christian and sin in his heart. Little does a Christian realize what pride, atheism, and immorality are in his heart until he searches it! If there is such hidden wickedness, like a spring running under ground, then we need to examine ourselves so that we will be humbled and repent upon realizing our secret sin. Hidden sins, if not searched out, defile the soul. If corn lies long in the husk, the husk defiles the corn. In the same way, sins long hidden defile our duties. It is therefore necessary, before we come to the holy supper, that we search out these hidden sins, just as Israel searched for leaven before they came to the Passover.

Self-examination is needful because without it we can easily be deceived about our own hearts. The heart is more deceitful than all else (Jeremiah 17:9). Many people's hearts will tell them they are prepared for the Lord's Table. Christ asked the sons of Zebedee, Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? (Matthew 20:22). Can you drink such a bloody cup of suffering? They said to Him, "We are able."

In the same way, the heart will suggest to a person that he is fit to drink of the sacramental cup, that he has on the wedding garment. Augustine wrote, "The heart is a great impostor." Just as a cheating salesman will sell someone damaged merchandise, so the heart will make a person content with apparent grace instead of saving grace. The heart will convince a person that a tear or two shed is repentance, or that a few lazy desires are faith. Blue and red flowers growing among corn look like good flowers, but are only beautiful weeds. The foolish virgins' vessels looked as if they had oil in them, but they had none (Matthew 25:3). Therefore, to prevent being deceived, and so we do not accept false grace as true, we need to make a thorough search of our hearts before we come to the Lord's Table.

Self-examination is needful because of the false fears that the godly are inclined to nourish in their hearts that make them go sad to the sacrament. As those who have no grace and neglect to examine themselves presume their hearts are fine, so those who have grace and neglect to examine themselves are ready to despair. Many of God's children look upon themselves through the dark lenses of fear. They fear Christ is not formed in them. They fear they have no right to the promise. These fears in the heart cause tears in the eye, but if they would only search and examine, they might find that they have saving grace. Are not their hearts humbled for sin? What is this but the bruised reed? Do not they weep after the Lord? What are these tears but seeds of faith? Do they not thirst after Christ in an ordinance? What is this but the new creature crying for milk? You can see seeds of grace here, and if Christians would examine their hearts, they might see that there is something of God in them. If so, their false fears would be prevented, and they could approach the holy mysteries in the Lord's Supper with peace.

Self-examination is needful in respect to the danger of coming unworthily without it. He shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:27). Dutch theologian Hugo Grotius wrote, "It is as if he were butchering Christ!" God deals with him as with one who crucified the Lord Jesus! He does not drink Christ's blood, but he sheds it. That brings a curse upon him, as when the Jews said, His blood shall be on us and on our children! (Matthew 27:25). Nothing is more comfortable than the virtue of Christ's blood; nothing is more dreadful than the guilt of it!

We must examine ourselves before the sacrament because of the difficulty of the work. Difficulty raises a noble spirit. Self-examination is difficult because it is an inward work. It lies with the heart. External acts of devotion are easy. To lift up the eye, to bow the knee, or to read over a few prayers is as easy as for the Roman Catholics to count over a few rosary beads! But to examine oneself, to take the heart in pieces, to test our fitness for the Lord's Supper by the standard of Scripture – is not easy. Introspective acts are hardest. The eye cannot see itself, except in a mirror, and we must have the mirror of the Word and conscience to see our own hearts. It is easy to notice the faults of others, but it is hard to find our own faults!

Self-examination is difficult with regard to self-love. Ignorance blinds, but self-love flatters. What Solomon says of love, Love covers all transgressions, is certainly true of self-love (Proverbs 10:12). To a person looking upon himself in the flattering mirror of self-love, his virtues appear greater than they are, and his sins seem less. Self-love causes a person to justify himself rather than examine himself. Self-love makes one think the best of himself, and he who has a good opinion of himself does not suspect himself. Since he does not suspect himself, he is not inclined to examine himself. Therefore, since the work of self-examination is so difficult, it requires even more impartiality and diligence. Difficulty should motivate us to be diligent.

We must examine ourselves before we come because of the benefit of self-examination. The benefit is great however it ends up. If, upon examination, we find that we have no grace in truth, the mistake is discovered and the danger is prevented. If we find that we have true grace, we can take comfort in it. He who learns that he has even the smallest degree of grace is like one who has found his box of proof. He is happy, for he is a suitable guest at the Lord's Table, is heir to all the promises, and is as certain to go to heaven as if he were already there!

What must we examine?

We must examine our sins. See if any dead fly has spoiled the sweet ointment (Ecclesiastes 10:1). When we come to the sacrament, as the Jews did before the Passover, we should search for leaven; and when we find it, we should burn it!

Let us search for the leaven of pride. This sours our holy things. Will a humble Christ be received into a proud heart? Pride keeps Christ out. Its presence within blocks the entrance so that nothing else can enter in. To a proud person, Christ's blood has no virtue. It is like a refreshing drink put into a dead person's mouth – it loses its usefulness. Let us search for the leaven of pride and cast it away.

Let us search for the leaven of covetousness. The Lord's Supper is a spiritual mystery, representing Christ's body and blood. What would a worldly heart do here? Dirt puts out fire, and worldliness quenches the fire of holy love. Dirt is heavy and cannot ascend. A soul covered with the world cannot ascend to heavenly meditations. Covetousness, or greed, is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Will Christ come into the heart where there is an idol? Search for this leaven before you come to this ordinance. How can an earthly heart commune with that God who is a spirit? Can a lump of dirt kiss the sun?

Search for the leaven of hypocrisy. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (Luke 12:1). Aquinas describes hypocrisy as "the counterfeiting of virtue." The hypocrite is a living pageant, for he only makes a show of Christianity. He gives God his knee, but not his heart; and God gives him bread and wine in the sacrament, but no Christ. Oh, let us search for this leaven of hypocrisy and burn it!

We must examine our graces. I will only mention one – our knowledge.

We are to examine whether we have knowledge. If we lack knowledge, we cannot give God our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). Knowledge is necessary in one who participates in the Lord's Supper. Without knowledge, there can be no suitability for the sacrament. A person cannot be prepared to come to the Lord's Table who has no goodness, but without knowledge, the mind is not good. It is not good for a person to be without knowledge (Proverbs 19:2). Some say they have good hearts, even though they lack knowledge. That is as if one should say that his eye is good, but it lacks sight.

Under the law, when the plague of leprosy was on a man's head, the priest was to pronounce him unclean (Leviticus 13). The ignorant person has the plague in his head. He is unclean. Ignorance is the womb of sin. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance (1 Peter 1:14). Therefore it is necessary, before we come to the Lord's Table, to examine what knowledge we have in the main fundamentals of the Christian religion. Let it not be said of us, that to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart (2 Corinthians 3:15).

In this intelligent age, we must have some insight into the mysteries of the gospel. I fear, though, that we are like Rachel, who was beautiful, but barren (Genesis 29:17). Therefore, let us examine whether we are properly equipped and proficient in knowledge. Is it strong? Does our knowledge warm our heart? Clearness in our understanding results in zeal in our doing. Saving knowledge not only directs, but awakens. It is the light of life (John 8:12). Is our knowledge practical? We hear much, but do we love the truths we know? The right kind of knowledge is that which not only adorns the mind, but also reforms the life.

This solemn preparation for the sacrament consists in clothing our souls before we come.

This soul clothing involves two things:

1. It involves washing in the basin of repenting tears. To come to this ordinance with the guilt of any sin unrepented of makes way for further hardening of the heart, and it gives Satan fuller possession of it. They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him (Zechariah 12:10). The cloud of sorrow must drop into tears. We must grieve for the filthiness and for the unkindness in every sin that is against the love of Christ who died for us. When Peter thought of Christ's love in calling him out of his sinfulness to make him an apostle and to carry him up to the Mount of Transfiguration, where he saw the glory of heaven in a vision, and then to consider his denying Christ – it broke his heart: he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75).

Before we come to a sacrament, to think about our sins against the loving mercies of the God the Father, the bleeding wounds of God the Son, and the blessed inspirations of God the Holy Spirit, it is enough to fill our eyes with tears and to put us into a holy agony of grief and contrition. We must be distressed for sin and be divorced from it. Before the serpent drinks, it casts up its poison; in this we must be wise as serpents. Before we drink of the sacramental cup, we must cast up the poison of sin by repentance. Augustine said, "He truly laments the sins he has committed, who does not commit the sins he has lamented."

2. The soul clothing involves enlivening and stirring up the garment of grace into active practice. I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you; that is, the gifts and graces of the Spirit (2 Timothy 1:6). The Greek word for "kindle afresh" signifies to blow up grace into a flame. Grace is often like fire in the embers, which needs blowing up. It is possible that even a godly person may not come so well prepared to this ordinance if he has not before made an effort to get his heart in proper form, to stir up grace into vigorous exercise; and though he does not eat and drink damnation, yet he does not receive consolation in the sacrament.

A solemn preparation for the sacrament consists in earnestly and prayerfully seeking God's blessing upon the ordinance.

The benefit of the sacrament depends upon the blessing of the Spirit. When Jesus instituted the sacrament, He blessed the elements. Jesus took bread and blessed it (Matthew 26:26). The sacrament will do us good no farther than it is blessed to us. Before we come to it, then, we ought to pray for a blessing that it may not only be a sign to represent Jesus Christ and all His benefits, but that it will also be a seal to confirm and an instrument to convey Christ and all His benefits to us. We are to pray that this great ordinance may be poison to our sins and food to our graces. As with Jonathan, whose eyes were enlightened when he tasted the honeycomb (1 Samuel 14:27), so by receiving this holy ordinance, our eyes may be enlightened to properly discern the Lord's body (1 Corinthians 11:29). We should earnestly seek a blessing upon the ordinance before we come. The sacrament is like a tree full of fruit, but none of this fruit will fall unless shaken by the hand of prayer.

In order for the sacrament to bear fruit in us, we must properly participate in it. This consists of four things:

1. A right participation of the Lord's Supper is when we draw near to God's table in a humble sense of our unworthiness. We do not deserve one crumb of the bread of life. We are poor, impoverished creatures who have lost our glory. We are like a vessel that is shipwrecked! We smite on our chest, as the publican, saying, "God be merciful to us sinners" (Luke 18:13). This is partaking of the ordinance properly. It is part of our worthiness to see our unworthiness.

2. We rightly partake of the Lord's Table when we are filled with breathing of soul and inflamed desires after Christ. Only His blood can quench these desires. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). They are blessed not only when they are filled, but also while they are thirsting.

3. A right participation of the Lord's Supper is when we receive it in faith. Without faith, we get no good. What is said of the Word preached, that it did not profit them, because it was not united by faith, is true of the sacrament (Hebrews 4:2). Christ turned stones into bread, and unbelief turns the bread into stones – stones that do not nourish.

We partake rightly when we come in faith. Faith has a twofold act: adhering and applying. By the first we go over to Christ, and by the second we bring Christ over to us. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20).

This is the grace we must put to work. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43). Philo calls it "the eye of faith." It is the eagle eye that discerns the Lord's body. It causes a virtual contact. It touches Christ. After His resurrection, Jesus told Mary not to touch Him (John 20:17). She was not to touch Him with the hands of her body, but He tells us to touch Him with the hand of our faith.

Faith makes Christ present to the soul. The believer has a real presence in the sacrament. The body of the sun is in the sky, but the light of the sun is in the eye. Christ's essence is in heaven, but He is in a believer's heart by His light and influence. That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17). Faith is the palate that tastes Christ. If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord (1 Peter 2:3). It causes the bread of life to nourish. "Believe, and you have fed," said Augustine. Faith makes us one with Christ (Ephesians 1:23). Other graces make us like Christ, but faith makes us members of Christ.

4. We partake rightly of the sacrament when we receive it in love.

  * Love to Christ. Who can see Christ pierced with a crown of thorns, sweating in His agony, and bleeding on the cross – without his heart being endeared in love to Him? How can we not love Him who has given His life a ransom for us? Love is the spiced wine and juice of the pomegranate that we must give to Christ (Song of Solomon 8:2). Our love for this superior and blessed Jesus must exceed our love for other things, as the oil runs above the water. Though we cannot, with Mary, bring our ointment to anoint His body, we do more than this when we bring Him our love, which is sweeter to Him than all ointments and perfumes.
  * Love to the saints. This is a love feast. Though we must eat it with the bitter herbs of repentance, yet we do not need to eat it with the bitter herbs of malice. Would it not be sad if all the food we eat would end up hurting us? He who comes in malice to the Lord's Table turns all he eats to his hurt. He who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself (1 Corinthians 11:29).

Come in love. It is the same with love as it is with fire that you keep burning all day upon the hearth, but at special times, you make it larger. We must have love for all people, but for the saints, who are our fellow members here, we must draw out the fire of our love larger. We must show our great love and affection for them by cherishing them, by choosing their company, by doing all duties of love to them, by counseling them in their doubts, comforting them in their fears, and by supplying them in their needs.

Thus, one Christian may be an Ebenezer to another (1 Samuel 7:12), and as an angel of God to him. The sacrament cannot be beneficial to the person who does not receive it in love. If a person drinks poison and then drinks a pleasant drink, the pleasant drink will do him little good. In the same way, the pleasant drink of the remembrance of Christ's blood will do no good to one who has the poison of malice in his soul. Therefore, come to the Lord's Supper in love and charity.

Application 1

Learn how precious this sacrament should be to us. It is a sealed deed to bestow the blessings of the new covenant to us. A small piece of wax put to a parchment is made the instrument to confirm transferring wealth or imparting lordship to another. In the same way, these elements of bread and wine in the sacrament, though in themselves of no great value, yet being consecrated to be symbols to confirm the covenant of grace to us, are of more value than all the riches of the Indies.

Application 2

As the sacrament is such a holy mystery, let us come to it with holy hearts. No heart but a consecrated heart can receive a crucified Christ. Christ in His conception lay in a pure virgin's womb, and at His death His body was wrapped in clean linen and was put into a new virgin tomb that had never been defiled. If Christ would not lie in an unclean grave, then certainly He will not be received into an unclean heart. Purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord (Isaiah 52:11). If those who carried the vessels of the Lord were to be holy, then certainly those who are to be the vessels of the Lord and who are to hold Christ's blood and body ought to be holy.

Application 3

Christ's body and blood in the sacrament are a most sovereign healing potion or comfort to a distressed soul. Having poured out His blood, God's justice is fully satisfied. There is enough in the death of Christ to answer all doubts. If sin is the poison – the flesh of Christ is an antidote against it! If sin is as red as scarlet – Christ's blood is of a deeper color and can wash away sin. If Satan strikes us with his darts of temptation – here is a precious balm out of Christ's wounds to heal us. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). So what if we feed upon the bread of affliction – as long as in the sacrament we feed upon the Bread of Life? Christ received properly in the sacrament is a universal medicine for healing and a universal remedy for cheering our distressed souls!
Prayer

I give myself unto prayer (Psalm 109:4 JUB)

I will not write in great detail here about prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's Prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer. A person who prays frequently is said to be given to prayer, just as someone who often distributes alms is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance. It is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by His Spirit, and we go up to Him by prayer.

What is prayer?

Prayer is offering up our desires to God for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ. Prayer is offering up our desires, and therefore it is called making known our requests. Let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6). In prayer we come as humble petitioners, begging to have our request granted. Prayer is offering up our desires to God. Prayer is not to be made to anyone but God. The Roman Catholics pray to saints and angels, who do not know our problems. Abraham does not know us (Isaiah 63:16). All angel worship is forbidden (Colossians 2:18-19). We must not pray to anyone except one whom we may believe in. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? (Romans 10:14). We cannot believe in an angel for salvation, and therefore we must not pray to him.

Why must prayer be made to God alone?

Because only He hears prayer. O You who hear prayer (Psalm 65:2). God is known to be the true God because He hears prayer. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God (1 Kings 18:37).

Because only God can help. We can look to secondary causes, and cry, as the woman did, Help, my lord, O king! The king replied, If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I help you? (2 Kings 6:26-27). If we are in outward distress, only God can send help from heaven and save us. If we are in inward agony, only He can pour in the oil of joy. Therefore, prayer is to be made only to Him.

We are to pray for things agreeable to His will. When we pray for outward things, such as for riches or children, God might see these things not to be good for us. Our prayers should be in accord with His will. We can undoubtedly pray for grace. This is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). There must be no strange incense offered (Exodus 30:9). When we pray for things that are not agreeable to God's will, we are offering strange incense.

We are to pray in the name of Christ. To pray in the name of Christ is not just to mention Christ's name in prayer, but it is to pray in the hope and confidence of His goodness. Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord (1 Samuel 7:9). We must carry Christ the Lamb in the arms of our faith, and that is how we will prevail in prayer. When Uzziah wanted to offer incense without a priest, God was angry and struck him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16-19). When we do not pray in Christ's name and in the hope of His mediation, we offer up incense without a priest, and we can expect to be met with divine rebukes and to have God answer us by dreadful things.

What are the specific parts of prayer?

  * Confession – the acknowledgment of sin.
  * Supplication – when we either condemn and pray against some evil, or we request the obtaining of some good.
  * Thanksgiving – when we give thanks for mercies received, which is the most excellent part of prayer. In petition, we act like humans; in giving thanks, we act like angels.

What are the specific kinds of prayer?

  * Mental prayer – in the mind. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard (1 Samuel 1:13).
  * Vocal prayer. My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud (Psalm 77:1).
  * Exclamatory prayer, which is a sudden and short elevation of the heart to God. So I prayed to the God of heaven (Nehemiah 2:4).
  * Inspired prayer – when we pray for those things that God puts into our hearts. The Spirit helps us with sighs and groans (Romans 8:26). Both the expressions of the tongue and the impressions of the heart, as far as they are right, are from the Spirit.
  * Prescribed prayer. Our Savior has given us a pattern of prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). God prescribed a set form of blessing for the priests (Numbers 6:23-26).
  * Public prayer – when we pray in the audience of others. Prayer is more powerful when many join and unite their forces. A united force is stronger. If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:19).
  * Private prayer – when we pray by ourselves. Go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:6).

That prayer that is most likely to prevail with God is that which is properly accomplished. A good medicine has the right ingredients, and a prayer is good and is most likely to prevail with God that has these seven ingredients in it:

1. Prayer must be mixed with faith. He must ask in faith without any doubting (James 1:6). Believe that God hears and will in due time grant your request. Believe His love and truth. Believe that He is love, and therefore, He will not deny you. Believe that He is truth, and therefore, He will not deny Himself. Faith sets prayer to work. Faith is to prayer what the feather is to the arrow. It feathers the arrow of prayer and makes it fly swifter, piercing the throne of grace. The prayer that is faithless is fruitless.

2. It must be a tender prayer. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit (Psalm 51:17). The incense was to be beaten (Exodus 30:36), representing the breaking of the heart in prayer. Some Christians might say that they cannot pray with such gifts and eloquence as others, as Moses said: Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue (Exodus 4:10). You do not need to be eloquent, but can you not weep? Does your heart melt in prayer? Weeping prayer prevails. Tears drop as pearls from the eye. Jacob wept and made supplication and had power over the angel (Hosea 12:4).

3. Prayer must be fired with zeal and fervency. Fervent prayer accomplishes much (James 5:16). Cold prayers never prevail. Prayer without fervency is like a sacrifice without a fire. Prayer is referred to as pouring out the soul, signifying earnestness. I have poured out my soul before the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15). Formality starves prayer. Prayer is compared to incense. May my prayer be counted as incense before You (Psalm 141:2). Hot coals were to be put to the incense to make it aromatic and fragrant. Fervency of devotion in prayer is like coals to the incense – it makes prayer ascend as a sweet perfume. Christ prayed with strong cries. He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death (Hebrews 5:7). "Such a cry pierces the clouds," Martin Luther said. Fervent prayer makes heaven's gates fly open.

To cause holy devotion and fire of soul in prayer, consider the following points:

  * Prayer without fervency is not prayer. It is speaking, not praying. Lifeless prayer is no more prayer than the picture of a man is a man. One may say as Pharaoh, I have had a dream (Genesis 41:15). It is dreaming, not praying. Life and wholeheartedness characterize a duty and give it a name.
  * Consider in what need we stand of those things which we ask in prayer. We come to ask the favor of God, and if we do not have His love, all we enjoy is cursed to us. We pray that our souls may be washed in Christ's blood. If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me (John 13:8). When will we be sincere and impassioned if not when we are praying for the life of our souls?
  * It is only fervent prayer if it has the promise of mercy attached to it. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Prayer is dead without a promise; and the promise is made only to fervency. God's heart is always open to fervent prayer.

4. Prayer must be sincere. Sincerity is the silver thread that must run through all the duties of the Christian religion. Sincerity in prayer is when we have gracious holy intent – when our prayer is not so much for material mercies as for spiritual. We send out prayer as our merchant ship, that we might have large returns of spiritual blessings. Our goal in it is that our hearts will be more holy, that we will have more communion with God, and that we may increase our supply of grace. The prayer that lacks a good purpose lacks a good outcome.

5. The prayer that will prevail with God must have a steadfastness of mind. My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast (Psalm 57:7). Since the fall, the mind has been like mercury, which will not remain fixed; it has a principle of restlessness, and not of peace. The thoughts will be wandering and dancing up and down in prayer, just as if someone who is traveling to a certain place wanders off the road and loses his way. In prayer, we are traveling to the throne of grace – but how often do we, by purposeless thoughts, wander off the road! This is more like wandering than praying.

How can we cure unproductive, irrelevant thoughts that distract us in prayer and, we fear, hinder its acceptance?

  * Be very aware in prayer of the infiniteness of God's majesty and purity. His eye is upon us in prayer, and we may say as David, You have taken account of my wanderings (Psalm 56:8). Thinking about these things should make us concerned about the duty at hand. If someone were to deliver a request to an earthly king, would he at the same time be playing with a feather? Set yourselves, when you pray, as in God's presence. If you could just look through the keyhole of heaven and see how devout and intent the angels are as they worship God, you would certainly be ashamed at your foolish and irrelevant thoughts and your shameful disrespect in prayer.
  * If you want to keep your mind focused in prayer, you must keep your eye focused on God. To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! (Psalm 123:1). Much that does not benefit enters in at the eye. When the eye wanders in prayer, the heart wanders. To think that you can keep the heart focused in prayer while letting your eye wander is as if one would think that he can keep his house safe while leaving the windows open.
  * If you want your thoughts to be focused in prayer, get more love to God. Love helps us focus our thoughts. He who is in love cannot keep his thoughts off the object of the love. He who loves the world has his thoughts upon the world. If we loved God more, our minds would be more intent upon Him in prayer. If we had more delight in duty, we would have less distraction.
  * Earnestly plead for the help of God's Spirit to focus your minds and make them intent and serious in prayer. The ship without a pilot floats rather than sails. We need the blessed Spirit to be our pilot to steer us so that our thoughts do not float up and down in prayer. Only God's Spirit can confine the thoughts. It is as difficult for a shaking hand to draw a straight line as it is for us to keep our hearts focused in prayer without the Spirit of God.
  * Make holy thoughts your usual, common thoughts in your ordinary course of life. David often had his thoughts on God. When I awake, I am still with You (Psalm 139:18). He who gives himself liberty to have foolish and empty thoughts outside of prayer will scarcely have serious thoughts in prayer.
  * If you want to keep your mind focused on God, watch your hearts – not only after prayer, but in prayer. The heart will be prone to wander and to have a thousand different notions in prayer. We read of angels ascending and descending on Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12), and in prayer you will find your hearts ascending to heaven, and then in a moment descending upon earthly objects. O Christians, watch your hearts in prayer! What a shame is it to think that when we are speaking to God, our hearts would be in the fields, or in our businesses, or anywhere else – running upon the devil's errand!
  * Strive for larger degrees of grace. The more ballast the ship has, the better it sails, and the more grace the heart has, the steadier it will sail to heaven in prayer.

6. Prayer that is likely to prevail with God must contain good argument and reason. God loves to have us plead with Him and to use arguments in prayer. This does not mean to argue, but to use reason and logic from His Word. See how many arguments Jacob used in prayer. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother (Genesis 32:11). The arguments he used are from God's command: [You] said to me, "Return to your country and to your relatives" (Genesis 32:9). It as if he had said, "It was not my idea to take this journey, but I took it by Your direction; therefore, You must in honor protect me."

Jacob uses another argument, too: You said, "I will surely prosper you" (Genesis 32:12). "Lord, will You go back from Your own promise?" Thus, Jacob was argumentative in prayer, and he not only got a new blessing, but he received a new name. Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed (Genesis 32:28). God loves when we use strength of argument, especially when we use His Word.

Thus, when we come to God in prayer for grace, let us use logic and reason. "Lord, You call Yourself the God of all grace, and where should we go with our jar but to the fountain? Lord, Your grace can be imparted, yet not diminished." Has not Christ purchased grace for poor, needy creatures? Every grain of grace costs a drop of blood. Will Christ die to purchase grace for us, and will we not have the fruit of His purchase?

"Lord, it is Your delight to give us Your mercy and grace, and will You cut Yourself off from Your own delight? You have promised to give Your Spirit to implant grace. Can truth lie? Can faithfulness deceive?" God loves to hear us use reason in prayer based upon His Word.

7. Prayer that prevails with God must be joined with holiness of life. If you would direct your heart right and spread out your hand to Him, if iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and do not let wickedness dwell in your tents (Job 11:13-14). Sin lived in makes the heart hard and makes God's ear deaf. It is foolish to pray against sin – and then to sin against prayer. If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear (Psalm 66:18). Prayer loses its virtue when it is polluted with sin. The incense of prayer must be offered upon the altar of a holy heart.

Thus, you see what type of prayer is most likely to prevail with God.

Application 1

It reproves those who do not pray at all. It is a characteristic of reprobates that they do not call upon God. Do all the workers of wickedness not know, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord? (Psalm 14:4). Do they think they will receive charity if they never ask for it? Do they think they will receive mercy from God if they never seek it? Do they think that God would sustain them more than He sustained His own Son? Jesus offered up prayers with strong cries (Hebrews 5:7). None of God's children are born again without the ability to cry unto Him! Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:6).

It reproves those who have stopped praying. To neglect prayer is a sign that they never felt the fruit and comfort of prayer. He who stops praying has stopped fearing and respecting God. Indeed, you do away with reverence and hinder meditation before God (Job 15:4). A person who has stopped praying is ready for any wickedness. When Saul had stopped inquiring after God, he went to the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28).

Application 2

Be people given to prayer. David said that he gave himself to prayer (Psalm 109:4). Pray for pardon and purity. Prayer is the golden key that opens heaven! The tree of the promise will not drop its fruit unless it is shaken by the hand of prayer. All the benefits of Christ's redemption are handed over to us by prayer.

Some might say that they have prayed a long time for mercy, and have received no answer. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God (Psalm 69:3). God hears us, even when we do not hear from Him. As soon as prayer is made, God hears it, even though He may not immediately answer. A friend might receive our letter even though he does not quickly send us an answer. God might delay prayer, but He will not deny it.

Why might God sometimes delay an answer to prayer?

God might delay an answer to prayer because He loves to hear the voice of prayer. The prayer of the upright is His delight (Proverbs 15:8). You let the musician play a great while before you throw him money because you love to hear his music. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet (Song of Solomon 2:14).

God might delay an answer to prayer when He will not deny it so that He can humble us. He has spoken much to us in His Word about the need to leave our sins, but we would not hear Him. Therefore He lets us speak to Him in prayer and seems not to hear us. "Just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen," says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 7:13).

God might delay an answer to prayer when He will not deny it because He sees we are not yet ready for the mercy we ask. Maybe we pray for deliverance when we are not ready for it – our filth still remains. We want God to be swift to deliver us, yet we are slow to repent.

God may delay an answer to prayer so that we will more greatly value the mercy we pray for and so it will be sweeter to us when it comes. The longer the merchant's ships stay abroad, the more the merchant rejoices when they come home loaded with spices and jewels. Therefore, do not be discouraged, but follow God with prayer. Though God delays, He will not deny. Prayer conquers the invincible. It moves the Omnipotent. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel (Hosea 12:4). The Syrians tied their god Hercules securely with a golden chain so that he could not move. The Lord was held by Moses' prayer as with a golden chain. Let Me alone (Exodus 32:10). What did Moses do? He simply prayed. Prayer ushers in mercy. No matter how sad and difficult your situation might be, if you can only pray, you do not need to fear. O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear (Psalm 10:17).

Therefore, give yourself to prayer.
Thomas Watson – A Brief Biography

Thomas Watson (c. 1620-1686) was an English Nonconformist Puritan pastor and author. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1646 Watson was employed at St. Stephen Walbrook Church in London, where he remained for the next sixteen years.

Thomas married Abigail Beadle in about 1647, and they had at least seven children, although four of the children died when young. During the English Civil War (1642-1649), Watson leaned toward Presbyterian views, and he sided with the Presbyterians in opposition to the death of King Charles I. Watson was imprisoned in 1651 for his part in a plot to bring back Charles II.

In 1652 Watson was released from prison and returned to his duties at St. Stephen Walbrook Church. After the Act of Uniformity was passed in 1662, Watson, a Nonconformist, could no longer preach there, although he continued preaching in private when he was able. After the Declaration of Indulgence was passed in 1672, Thomas Watson was able to obtain a license to preach at Crosby Hall in London. He continued preaching there until his health began to decline. He then retired to Barnston in Essex, where he died in 1686 while praying.

Thomas Watson's notable writings include The Godly Man's Picture, The Ten Commandments, Heaven Taken by Storm, The Doctrine of Repentance, The Beatitudes, The Lord's Prayer, and The Body of Divinity.

Thomas Watson lived his life for God, and he fit his own definition of a true Christian. Watson wrote that "A true Christian carries Christ in his heart and the cross on his shoulders." Watson had his share of difficulty and sorrow, yet he remained a good soldier of Jesus Christ. He believed what he preached and wrote, and he lived what he believed.

"Soon the battle will be over. It will not be long before the day will come when Satan will no longer trouble us. There will be no more deception, temptation, accusation, or confrontation. Our warfare will be over and our commander, Jesus Christ, will call us away from the battlefield to receive the victor's crown." —Thomas Watson
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The Ten Commandments – Thomas Watson

Revised Edition Copyright © 2019

First edition published 1692

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Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Scripture quotations marked JUB are taken from the Jubilee Bible, copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010, 2013 by Russell M. Stendal. Used by permission of Russell M. Stendal, Bogota, Colombia. All rights reserved.

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