God Rewards His Piety by Owning Them
what can he not do? The Lord Almighty can in an instant, alter the face of things. There are no impossibilities with God. If means fail, he can create. It is therefore, high prudence to get this Lord Almighty on our side. "If God is for us—who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31).
And if we would engage God to he on our side:
First, let us be earnest suitors to him—exercise eyes of faith, and knees of prayer (Jer. 14:9). And in prayer, let us use Joshua's argument, "What will You do about Your great name?" (Josh. 7:9).
Lord, if the cause of true religion loses ground, how will your name suffer!
Secondly, let us put away iniquity. (Job 11:14). Sin is not worth keeping. Who would keep a plague sore? Let us discard and abjure our sins (Jer. 7:3); and then the Lord Almighty will be on our side and, as a pledge of his favorable presence, he will entail the gospel, that crowning blessing, upon us and our posterity.
So much for the Person speaking, "the Lord Almighty".
A. God Rewards His People by Owning Them I now come to the REWARD itself, the first part of which is—God's owning them, "They shall be mine." I take the sense of it to be,
"They shall be mine in covenant." "I entered into a covenant with you —and you became mine!" (Ezek. 16:8; Isa 43:1). This is no small blessing—to be in covenant with God. Therefore, when God told
Abraham that he would enter into covenant with him, Abraham fell on his face (Gen. 17:3), as being amazed that the great God should
bestow such a signal favor upon him. God never entered into covenant with the angels when they fell—but he proclaims himself
God in covenant with believers, "They shall be mine." This covenant enriched with free grace, is a better covenant than that which was made with Adam in innocence, for:
1. The least failing would have made the first covenant null and void —but many failings do not invalidate the covenant of grace. I grant the least sin makes a trespass upon the covenant—but it does not cancel it. Every failing in the marital relation, does not break the marriage bond.
2. If the first covenant was violated, the sinner had no remedy; all doors of hope were shut. But the new covenant allows of a remedy. It provides a Surety, "Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" (Heb.
12:24).
First use: INFORMATION.
See the amazing goodness of God to his people, to enter into covenant with them and say, "You are mine!" "He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure!" (2 Sam.
23:5). The first covenant stood upon the delicate foundation of works. Adam had no sooner a stock of original righteousness to trade with, than he broke the covenant. But this covenant of grace is confirmed with God's decree, and rests upon two mighty pillars—the oath of God, and the blood of God. That you may see how great a privilege it is to be owned by the Lord federally, consider:
1. If we are in covenant with God, and he says to us "You are mine"—then all that is in God is ours!A person falling on hard times and then marrying a king, has a share in all the crown revenues. God having entered into a near relation with us and saying,
"You are mine"—we have a share in his rich revenues! The Lord says to every believer, as the King of Israel said to the King of Syria, "I am yours, and all that I have is yours!" (1 Kings 20:4). My wisdom shall be yours to teach you, my holiness shall be yours to sanctify you, my mercy shall be yours to save you! What richer dowry—than Deity!
God is a whole ocean of blessedness. If there is enough in him to fill the angels—then surely, he has enough to fill us!
2. If God says to us, "You are mine"—then he will have a tender care for us. "Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you!" (1 Pet. 5:7). God, to show his tender solicitude towards Israel, bore them "on eagles wings" (Exod. 19:4). The eagle carries her young ones upon her wing to defend them; the arrow must first shoot through the old eagle, before it can touch her young ones. A mother's care is seen in leading a child, so that it may not fall. Such is God's care: "It was I who taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand." (Hos. 11:3). We may argue from the lesser to the greater, that if God takes care of the lowest insects and animals which creep upon the earth, much more will he take care of his covenant saints. He is still contriving and planning for their good.
If they wander out of the way—he guides them; if they stumble—he holds them by the hand; if they fall—he raises them; if they become dull—he quickens them by his Spirit; if they are obstinate—he draws them with cords of love; if they are sad—he comforts them with his promises.
3. If God says to us, "You are mine"—then he will entirely love us! "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). The Lord may give a man riches—and not love him; his prosperity may be as Israel's quails—sauced with God's wrath (Num. 11:32-33). But when God says, "You are mine"—he cannot but love. Everyone loves his own. If God has any love better than another—his covenant
people shall have it; he will extract the essence of his love for them; he loves them as he loves Christ! (John 17:23).
4. If God says to us, "You are mine"—then he will not allow us to be in need. Believers are not only of God's family—but of Christ's body; and will the Head let the body starve? "Truly you shall be fed" (Psalm 37:3). God has not promised dainties; he will not satisfy his people's lusts—but he will supply their needs. If the bill of fare should be restricted, what they lack in worldly comforts, they shall have in spiritual blessing: "He shall bless your bread, and your water" (Exod. 23:25). God will rather work a miracle than that any of his children shall famish. The raven is so unnatural that she will hardly feed her young—yet she became a caterer and brought food to the prophet Elijah.
5. If God says to us, "You are mine"—then we have great freedoms!
1. We are freed from the revenging wrath of God! We are not free from God's anger as a Father—but as a Judge. God will not pour his vindictive justice upon us. Christ has drunk the red wine of God's wrath upon the cross—that believers may not taste a drop of it!
2. We are freed from the predominant reign of sin. "Sin shall not have dominion over you" (Romans 6:14). Though believers are not freed from the indwelling of sin, nor from combat with it—yet they are freed from its imperious command. As it it said of those beasts in Daniel, "They had their dominion taken away—yet their lives were prolonged for a season" (Dan. 7:12), so sin lives in the regenerate, but its domination is taken away. And to be thus freed from the jurisdiction, power, and tyranny of sin—is no small blessing! A wicked man is at the command of sin, as the donkey at the command of the driver. The curse of Ham is upon him, "a servant
of servants shall he be" (Gen. 9:25). He is a slave to his lusts, and a slave to Satan! Oh, what a privilege it is—to have one's neck out of the devil's yoke!
3. We are freed from the accusations of conscience. The worm of conscience is part of the torment of hell. But, God being our
God, we are freed from the clamors of this hellish fury. Conscience sprinkled with Christ's blood speaks peace! A good conscience, like the bee, gives honey. It is like the golden pot which had manna in it
(2 Cor. 1:12).
6. If God says to us, "You are mine"—then we shall he his forever! "This God is our God, forever and ever" (Psalm 48:14). You cannot say that you have health—and you shall have it forever. You cannot say that you have a child—and you shall have it forever. But if God is your God—you shall have him forever! The covenant of grace is a royal charter, and this is the happiness of it—it is made for eternity! Justification is never rescinded. The covenant between God and his people shall never be broken off. How false therefore is the opinion of falling from grace! Shall any whom God makes his own by federal union fall finally? Indeed if salvation has no better pillar to rest upon than man's will (as the Arminians hold) no wonder if there is falling away; but a Christian's stability in grace, is built upon a surer basis, namely, God's "everlasting (or inviolable) covenant"
(Isaiah 55:3). Once in Christ—forever in Christ. A star may sooner fall out of its place—than a true believer be plucked away from God!
"None of them is lost" (John 17:12). "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand."
(John 10:28) 7. If God says to us, "You are mine"—then he will take us up to himself at death! Death breaks the union between the body and
the soul—but perfects the union between God and the soul. This is the emphasis of heaven's glory—to be forever with God. What is the joy of the blessed—but to have a clear, transparent sight of God, and to be in the sweet and soft embraces of his love forever! This has made the saints desire death, as the bride her wedding day! "I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better!" (Phil.
1:23). "Lead me, Lord, to that glory", said a holy man, "a glimpse whereof I have seen as in a glass darkly."
Second Use: COMFORT.
Let this be for the consolation of the saints. There is a covenant union between God and them. God is theirs—and they are his! "They shall be mine, says the Lord." Here is a standing cordial for the godly.
God looks upon them as having a propriety in them, "They shall be mine!"
1. This is comfort, in respect of Satan's accusations. He accuses the saints first to God—then to themselves. But if God says,
"You are mine", this answers all of Satan's accusations. Christ will show the debt book, crossed out in his blood. It was a saying of Bucer, "I am Christ's, and the devil has nothing to do with me."
2. This is comfort, in respect of poverty. Believers are married to the King of heaven—and all that is in God is theirs! A philosopher comforted himself with this, that though he had no music or vine trees—yet he had the household gods with him. So we, though we have not the vine or fig tree—yet if God is ours and we are his—this creates joy in the most impoverished condition! And that which may raise the comfort of the godly higher, and cause a jubilation of spirit, is that shortly God will own his people before all the world, and say,
"These are mine!" At present the elect are not known: "It does not yet appear what we shall be" (1 John 3:2). The saints are like kings in