Part 155 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 156 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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[2.] Secondly, When God shows singular MERCY to his people, and when he does great things for his people—then he expects and looks that his people should be a holy people, and then he calls loudest for holiness. Exod. 19:3-5, "Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine."
Here Moses makes use of a very elegant expression, to show the singular love, care, kindness, and goodness of God towards his people, "He carried you upon eagles' wings." The eagle is a very princely, noble bird, she fears no birds from above to hurt her young ones, and because she fears the arrow from beneath, therefore she carries her young ones upon her wings—just so, that there is no hurting, nor harming, nor no killing of them—but by shooting through the body of the mother eagle.
Other birds carry their young ones in their talons, and so expose them to danger—but the eagle carries hers upon her wings, that they may be safe and secure. Moses, to show how choice and watchful God was of Israel, and how much he stood upon their safety and security, tells them that he carried them upon eagles' wings; so that none of their enemies might ruin or destroy them, yes, that they might not so much as in the least hurt or harm them. He carried them out of Egypt, and he carried them through the Red Sea sweetly, swiftly, strongly, and tenderly, as the eagle carries her young ones when danger is at hand.
Now God having expressed such love, such care, such affections, such tenderness, such sweetness, and such kindness to his people, he looks and expects that they should be a holy people, and therefore he strongly urges them to obey his voice indeed, and to keep his covenant. Now what is it for a man to obey God's voice indeed, and to keep his covenant—but to be really holy, yes, to be eminently holy? Just so, in that 10th chapter of Deuteronomy, where Moses had made a large narrative of the singular favors and mercies of God to Israel in the eleven first verses of that chapter, he falls in the 12th and 13th verses upon pressing of them to be a holy people.
"And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you—but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul? To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command you this day." The word in the 12th verse rendered require, signifies to ask, to request, or petition a person.
Now here Moses brings in God, asking, requesting, and petitioning of Israel that they would fear him and walk in his ways, etc., and what is that but that they would be a holy people to him, that had done such great and glorious things for them? The word in the 13th verse rendered keep, signifies to keep carefully, diligently, faithfully to keep, Job 12:12; 1 Kings 20:39, as watchmen keep the city, or as soldiers keep their garrisons, or as jailers keep their prisoners.
Now God would have his people thus to keep his commandments and his statutes, and this God would have them to do so, upon the account of those high acts of favor and grace that he had showed unto them; and thus to keep his commandments and his statutes, what is it but to be a holy people, yes, to be a very holy people unto the Lord?
And so in Ezra 9:13-14, "What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. Shall we again break your commands and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor?" Free and rich mercy calls hardest and most sincere duty. The more merciful God has been to his people, the more fearful they should be of offending of him, and the more careful they should be in pleasing of him. Divine blessings should be the greatest obligations in the world upon a Christian to keep at a distance from sin, and to keep close to a holy God. The greater the mercy is, and the more miraculous the deliverance and the salvation is, which God crowns his people with, the greater are the engagements that God has put upon them to be a holy people to him.
Just so, in that 116th Psalm, David gives in a bill of particulars in the eight first verses; he gives you a choice narrative of the singular favors and blessings of God, both in respect of his inward and his outward man. God had been good to his soul, and he had been kind to his body; he tells you of God's sparing mercy, and of his preventing mercy, and of hispreserving mercy, and of his delivering mercy, and of his supporting mercy, and of his multiplying mercy, and of his pardoning mercy; he tells you that God has heard his prayers, and wiped off his tears, and preserved his feet from falling, and his soul from death. And then in the following words he tells you what his resolution is upon the whole: "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living," verse 9th, or rather, as the Hebrew has it, "I will walk before the face of the Lord." The Hebrew word that is here rendered walk, signifies a continued action, or the reiteration of an action. David resolves that he will not only take a step or two with God, or walk a pretty way with God, as Orpah did with Ruth, and then take his leave of God, as Orpah did of her mother, Ruth 1:10-15; but he resolves, whatever comes on it, that he will walk constantly, resolutely, and perpetually before God, or before the face of the Lord.
This walking before the face of the Lord implies a very exact, circumspect, accurate, and precise walking before God; and indeed no other walking is either suitable or pleasing to the eye of God. But is this all that he will do upon the receipt of such amazing mercies? Oh no! for he resolves to take the cup of salvation, and to call upon the name of the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, Ruth 1:13, 17.
But is this all that he will do? Oh no! for he resolves that he will presently pay his vows unto the Lord in the presence of all his people, Ruth 1:14, 18. But is this all that he will do? Oh no! for he resolves that he will love the Lord better than ever and more than ever, Ruth 1:1-2. He loved God before with a genuine love—but having now received such rare mercies from God, he is resolved to love God with a more raised love, and with a more inflamed love, and with a more active and stirring love, and with a more growing and increasing love than ever.
And so the apostle in that Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." When this great apostle would work up the Romans to a full resignation of themselves to God and to his service, and would fence and arm them against the sinful fashions, customs, examples, dispositions, and practices of a corrupt and wicked world—he sets the mercies of God before them.
The apostle very well knew that there was no such spur to holiness, nor any such preservative against wickedness, as this was. The apostle could have set threatenings before them, and the curse before them, and wrath before them, and former and latter judgments before them, and hell before them; and yet he passes over all these things, and presents the mercies of God before them, as the most effectual means under heaven to engage them to holiness, and to fortify them against all sinful conformity and worldly vanity.
O sirs! you are all under several amazing mercies this day. You are out of hell, and is not that an amazing mercy? You have many mercies that others lack, and is not that an amazing mercy? Yes, God rains manna every day about your tents when others wander several miles, and are too often put off with stones instead of bread, and is not that an amazing mercy? That wicked men's hearts should be so full of wrath, rage, revenge, envy, and malice, and you cast at their feet and yet not trod to death, is an amazing mercy.
That you should standwhen others fall, that you should be faithful when others are false, that you should persevere when others backslide, that you should be for God when so many are for Baal, and that you should be followers of the Lamb when so many thousands are dancing after Antichrist's pipes, are all very rare and amazing mercies; and calls aloud upon you to be holy, yes, to be eminently holy, etc. But,
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Part 156 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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