Part 160 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 161 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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[7.] When men are called forth to WAR by God. Oh! that is a special time and season wherein God calls aloud for holiness. The man of war must have holiness written upon the bridles of the horses, Zech. 14:20. When men carry their lives in their hands, they had need of holiness in their hearts; when in every encounter a man must expect to enter upon a state of eternity, he had need be very holy, so that if he should fall in the encounter, he may be sure to be eternally happy. [The Romans lived more orderly in time of war than in the times of their greatest peace.]
Deut. 23:9, 14, "When the army goes forth against your enemies, then keep from every wicked thing. For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you: therefore shall your camp be holy, that he sees no unclean thing in you, and turn away from you." When the sword devours on both hands, when it eats the flesh of nobles, and drinks the blood of nobles; when it feeds upon the flesh of the poor, and drinks the blood of the needy—then every soldier had need be a saint. When an eternity of glory or misery is every moment before every soldier, every soldier had need walk very accurately, he had need live very holily.
Mark, though the people of God were to keep themselves from every wicked thing at all other times—yet when they went out against their enemies, then in a special manner it highly concerned them to keep themselves not from some—but from every evil thing, or rather, as the Hebrew has it, from every evil word. He who is in danger of death every step he takes, and who carries his very soul in his hand, had need precisely to abstain not only from every evil work—but also from every evil word, as here God expressly charges Israel to do. When God finds holiness in Israel's camp, then God will quickly give up Israel's enemies into Israel's hands; but when the camp becomes a den of iniquity, then God will depart from the camp. And when God, who is the bulwark of a camp, has departed—all the world cannot preserve that camp from being destroyed.
The Lamb looks that all those brave hearts that engage with him against Antichrist, should be called, and chosen, and faithful, Rev. 17:14. There is no armor compared to that of holiness. Let a man be ever so well mounted, clothed, armed, weaponed—yet if he is unholy, he lies naked and open to all disasters, calamities, and miseries. O sirs! it is one of the most dreadful things in the world, to hear such a-cursing, swearing, lying, and damning of themselves, and to see such a-giving up themselves to work all manner of wickedness with greediness—who carry their lives in their hands every hour in the day! Yes, at whose elbows damnation stands every moment! O sirs! when God gives the sword a commission to eat flesh, and drink blood, to slay both old and young, to spare none who come before it, and to pity none who come near unto it—it highly concerns all men to be holy. This is a special season wherein God calls aloud for holiness.
I confess I am for peace and truth, for peace and righteousness, for peace and holiness; and am against all war; but whenever the Lord shall call forth his people to fight his battles against Antichrist, and to smite Daniel's image in pieces—it concerns them very much—to be a holy people, yes, to be eminently holy, as they would have the presence of God with them, and the power of God engaged for them, and the mercy, goodness, and blessing of God following and prospering of them, 1 Sam. 25:28; Dan. 2:31, et seq. Though he who goes to war had need carry his purse with him—yet he must be sure to leave his sins behind him, or else his sins will do him more mischief than all his enemies, for they will set God against him; and how can straw and stubble possibly stand before a consuming fire?
I have read of Xerxes, who, viewing almost an innumerable army of men, he fell a-weeping, saying, "Where will all these men be within a hundred years?" He wept to think that all that mighty army would be in their graves within a hundred years. Ah, what cause of weeping is there, when we behold the multitudes in the world, considering that within a few years, yes, months, for anything we know—most of them may be in hell—except there is found repentance on their sides, and pardoning mercy on God's side—they are so abominable, debauched, and wicked. "As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it." Luke 19:41. But,
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