Reflections on Psalm 80

Through a poetic lament, the psalmist, who represents the nation of Israel, bemoans that the nation has faced a great persecution from its enemies and is devastatingly separated from God. The agonizing pain felt by the entire nation can be seen through verses 4-6: “O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.” Perhaps you have consumed tears at some point in your life and God seemed nowhere near as you have walked the road of depravity. Perhaps you thought God was so distant that you imagine God being at a point of anger with you.

The psalmist’s lament over this distress of Israel is further exemplified in the imagery of a vine: “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it” (verse 8). Israel is the vine that God brings out and plants. The extent to which the vine grows fills the land from the sea to mountains to mighty cedars to the river. God gives land and a place of dwelling for the Israelites; it was He who had called the Israelites out from their captivity to give them new freedom to be enjoyed. Yet, this very vine faces a judgment from God. God is the one who has “broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit” (verse 12). The enemies of Israel ravage and feed upon the Israelites as a predator would do to a prey.

WHY? would be the appropriate question to ask in a situation such as this. Why would God, who is explained as the “Shepherd of Israel” and as the king who is “enthroned upon the cherubim” (verse 1) abandon the Israelites to this anguish? This is not a question of a cold-minded logician who seeks an answer to the philosophical problem of evil. This is a question of a man facing existential dilemma and longs for a return to encountering the presence of God.  He is a contrite man, who would be satisfied with seeing the shining face of God (note verse 2, 7, and 19 for repetition) as the very act of salvation. A return to the robust fellowship with God as the nation is what he longs for.

Only when he completely feels ruined and utterly desolate does the epiphany and the prophecy of salvific hope reach the psalmist. He understands that the salvation of Israel can and only will come through “the son” (verse 15) whom God has made strong for Himself. This is the man of God’s “right hand” (verse 17), the right hand which always symbolized blessing and power in the Old Testament. God’s hand is upon the man, and this man is to bring salvation for the people. He is to make God’s face shine as the glory of the living God and the very image of Him. He is the one who can “give… life” to the dying vine for He is the true vine (John 15) to which they can cling and finally bear fruit.  He is the vine to which the branches cover the entire world, not only Israel, and is the vine that will never be ravaged. He is the vine that the Vinedresser approves.

That man is Jesus Christ. To all who accept him, they will be grafted unto the true vine as the branches. To those who cling to the true vine shall not only turn back from God, but they cannot turn back from God. They are forever grafted to him and given the salvation by which they can call upon God’s name. They can find hope in the one whom God’s hand is upon. This is grace and the gospel for not only the psalmist but us as well. To all the ones agonizing from the bondage of sin and death, come to Christ and find rest in the true vine.  Come, come to him who has taken all the anger and all the wrath and all the judgment of God that you might no longer be separated from God by your sins. Come to him by whom we can only find the source of life.

New City Catechism #13

Q: Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly?
A: Since the fall, no mere human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly, but consistently breaks it in thought, word, and deed.

Romans 3:10-12
None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.

New City Catechism 13

Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly? No. It is impossible for human beings to perfectly keep the law of God.
The Bible talks about the sinfulness of man. Sin is universal, and there is no exception – everyone is a sinner by nature and by conduct.
“God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 53:2-3)
“Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
The Bible knows that we all do evil. We think evil, we act evil, we live evil lives. Why is it the case that human beings do evil? It is because our very nature as human beings is evil.
“What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?” (Job 15:14)
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
Evil is not a learned concept, but it is rather something that one is born with. Sinfulness is passed on from parent to children as it is part of one’s nature.

Wickedness can be even observed in the human life. The Bible understands that the heart of man is deceitful and sick.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
The passion in man’s heart desires for the self and one’s own agenda. Man is in love with himself. Even when one does good things, it is for oneself and one’s own agenda.
This self-love of an individual can be seen from an early age. A child does not learn how to be selfish and get angry at others. It is typical to see kids hoard all the toys or all the candies to himself. It seems that lying is inherent in all human beings when no one teaches a kid how to lie, yet she does it.
When we look at the religions of the world, we see that a clear case is made about the universality of sin. The religions teach how for one to be better conductors of oneself. They do not deny the fact that there is some sort of innate wickedness in human beings that we need to improve from.
The saints in these different religions also testify of personal sins and their struggle to overcome the desires of their heart.

Human beings, according to proper theology, are under the influence of sin. This nature of sin that we have just observed, theologically and practically, are enslaving. A person cannot free himself by his own efforts.
In Calvinism, this theology that one is so caught up in the nature of sin is summarized by the phrase “Total Depravity.”
This doctrine explains how, by our human nature, we will never genuinely seek after God. There is a total rebellion against God, and there is no desire to glorify Him. There is no desire to delight in Him nor to submit to God.
In man’s total rebellion, all the things that he does is sin. This is not reject that those who do not believe in God cannot do any “good” things. Sure, he can do “good” things, but it is not good because it is done apart from dependence on God or for the reason to glorify Him.
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)
The sinful and rebellious flesh cannot reform himself, or save himself. He is not capable of any possible life with God. And because he is incapable of this life with God, he is to receive punishment. He that cannot live a life which he was created to live receives punishment from the Creator.

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)
This is the very state of mankind. The good works that we might even do are, to God, “filthy rags” or “polluted garment.” We cannot possibly save ourselves with good deeds because, to God, we are so filthy.
“Who then can be saved? (Matthew 19:25)
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:4-6)
By human standards, it is impossible for a man to be saved through his good works. Good works mean nothing to God apart from Him. The only way that a man can be saved is through the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
Though the world and the people in it are totally depraved, living their lives apart from the goodness of God, it is God who makes the great invasion in our lives.
In our own effort, we would have never sought Him. In His grace, He meets us where we can finally understand Him as the great Immanuel. Oh how precious is God’s love for us that He meets us even when we are so depraved a people!

New City Catechism #12

Q: What does God require in the ninth and tenth commandments?
A: Ninth, that we do not lie or deceive, but speak the truth in love. Tenth, that we are content, not envying anyone or resenting what God has given them or us.

James 2:8

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

New City Catechism 12

The ninth commandment is that one shall not bear false witness against one’s neighbor. This show how important truth is to God. Why? Because God is the God of truth and He cannot lie. It is who He is. What He is not, He detests.
“So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.” (Isaiah 65:16)
God is the God of truth, and this means that He speaks and acts only in truthful way. Whatever God has to say will always come true and there is no deception in God’s actions. He is not like men who are prone to lying.
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19)
Unlike our truthful God, we are so full of this sin of lying. The writers of the Scripture were sure of this problem in mankind.
“I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”” (Psalm 116:11)
Is there anyone who has not told lies? We all have told lies. Some of the ways that we have told lies are through flattery, deception, slander, false teaching, and lying. We do it because we don’t want to face consequences for telling the truth. We do it because we want something that we think will benefit us.
What is the real consequence for lying? The real consequence is that there may be temporal benefits of lying, but it ultimately hurts the other person.
“A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.” (Proverbs 25:18)
The New Testament writer, James, tells us how powerful the tongue is. He compares it to the rudder of a ship and horseshoe. He compares it to a fire that can set a forest ablaze.
The real Christian must be able to control his tongue as he desires to love his neighbor. Why should he love his neighbor? Because God loves His people, and we are to “be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1).
This is, of course, very impossibly hard to do. We really need the grace of God if we desire to be truth bearers. How can we begin to speak more truth? Speak about Jesus, who is the truth! (John 14:6)
The answer to solving the problem of the impossibility of man to keep the ninth commandment is Jesus Christ! It is all about Jesus. He speaks the truth; he does the truth; and he is the truth. Don’t be a false witness, but be a truthful witness whose life revolves around Jesus Christ.
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)
Be so ever joyful like Paul was that the truth is proclaimed! We, as Christians, should delight in proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. You can never share any false testimony when you are preaching the gospel!

The tenth commandment is that one shall not covet. The tenth commandment makes it clear to us that God is not only concerned with crimes and sinful actions, but that He is actually concerned more so with our hearts and our minds.
Being concerned with having right intentions and having right motivations for holy living did not start with Jesus and how he interpreted the Law in the Sermon on the Mount. However, it started from the Old Testament when God gave the Law to Moses. This is why the tenth commandment is so important.
What then is coveting? It is desire that is ungodly and not content with what God has given to you in your life. It is when you do not want what God desires you to have in your life.
How difficult is it to control this urge? However, God really wants of us to keep our hearts in check. Though we might think that we are good people, in keeping the Law externally, we definitely have a work to do with keeping the Law internally.
Paul writes about how we should properly view what God has given to us. He reminds us that we are just stewards of what God has to freely given to us out of his goodwill.
“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17)
What is the proper view on what God has given to us? We are supposed to enjoy it! Enjoy it because God has richly provided for us. And set the view on God, being thankful to Him for His wonderful gifts and enjoy it!
Jesus also warns us against the dangers of covetousness and tells a parable about those who are not satisfied by what God has richly given them.
“And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”” (Luke 12:15)
Jesus’s words show clearly that we must guard against this desire for us to want more. It is so easy to get caught up in material possessions and the consumerism mentality to want more. Jesus wants us, however, to live with the eternal perspective.
Why does Jesus teach us to guard against all covetousness? Because it is harmful for ourselves and for others.
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” (James 4:1-2)
We know that coveting is bad and that coveting does not honor God because we are saying that what God has given to us is not enough. Furthermore, when we covet, we are not asking God and creating conflict with other people. We definitely do not glorify God when we covet.
Then how do we put an end to covetousness? You can do it by living a life of contentment by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)
What then is contentment? It is the opposite of covetousness. It is wanting what God wants for me. It is godly and enjoying what God has given richly.
Do you desire what God wants for you to desire? Replace the unholy desire of material things with holy desires of eternal things.
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
God has graciously given us His Son! Remember that and how God is a generous Father. He will, according to His foreknowledge and goodwill, give us what we need and deny us what we do not need. Trust in this awesome God and replace the unholy desires with holy desires by the power of the Spirit.

New City Catechism #11

Q: What does God require in the sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments?
A: Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate, or be hostile to our neighbor, but be patient and peaceful, pursuing even our enemies with love. Seventh, that we abstain from sexual immorality and live purely and faithfully, whether in marriage or in single life, avoiding all impure actions, looks, words, thoughts, or desires, and whatever might lead to them. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else, nor withhold any good from someone we might benefit.

Romans 13:9

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Catechism 11

The sixth commandment commands not to murder. Throughout the Scripture, it is clear that God does not delight in murder. People are the image-bearers of God, and murder is a sin against God and what He has created to be special.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:6)
To God, murder is not a mere social or civic problem. God takes it personally because it has to do with what He created and what He enjoys fellowshipping with. Therefore, when murder is committed, murderer does not only kill a person, but he wrongs God.
Now, we are all responsible for the problem of murder and, as the result, have wronged God. The Bible does not fail to show us that we all have murderous hearts and we miserably break the sixth commandment that God has given to us.
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
One of the devil’s trait is that he wants to bring death – spiritual and eternal death – to all of us. Indeed, the deception against Adam and Eve was made in the Garden of Eden so that physical death befell on all mankind.
Ever since, it was not uncommon to see murder happen in the Bible. Cain and Abel, the very first sons of Adam and Eve, is a story of the older brother murdering his younger brother. Then, there is the story of Lamech in Genesis 4:23-24 where a man, Lamech, is prideful of having murdered another man.
Eventually, this leads up to the story of the Israelites wanting the death of Jesus. We, who are not exempt from being evil, would have done the same! We would have crucified Jesus had we been the Israelites. Indeed, we have murderous intents and the sixth commandment shows us that.
Jesus clarifies this intent that we have in our hearts when he discusses the problem of anger in the Sermon on the Mount.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)
The intent of murder is seen in not the actual deed of murdering, but in the hearts of man. The hatred of a fellow man, a man created in the image of God, is the cause of murder. God looks at the hearts of the man rather than outward actions.
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
How is the state of your heart today? Are you perhaps not murdering someone in the intentions of your heart? Are you not hurting God by the intentions that you have?
Thanks be to God for we do not only murder others with our hateful intentions but, in our sin, we all have crucified and murdered Jesus Christ. Yet, God is still gracious and still forgives. Amazing Grace, indeed!

The seventh commandment commands not to commit adultery. Adultery is breaking of the marriage promises, or the marital covenant. This covenant is not mere social or civic promise. However, it is a covenant that God had created.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:24-25)
Marriage is meant to be between one man and one woman. It is given to men by the divine authority of God to establish human relationship. Therefore, when one commits adultery, one commits it against God who has divinely appointed this covenantal relationship to exist between a man and a woman.
God has sanctified this covenantal relationship as He always likens the relationship between Himself and Church in this marital manner. God is the groom and the Church is the bride.
“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)
When a man commits adultery, he is violating and disgracing this relationship that God intends to have with His people. Thus, the punishment for the violation of marriage is grievous and fatal.
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10)
Death is a proper punishment to appease the wrath of God for those who have violated the covenantal relationship that God has created.
And, as we all know, from the Sermon on the Mount, adultery does not only have to do with actions but also the intentions of our heart, just like murder.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)
With a lustful intent or look, a man already has committed adultery. That means that those who have had lustful intent or looked at a woman lustfully all deserve death!
Praise God in giving us His Son, Jesus that we are not deserving of this punishment by death. We, who have not only broken the seventh commandment by lusting, have also violated our covenantal relationship that we ought to have with God – God as our groom.
How many times have we desired other things apart from God? We definitely deserve death because we have many times cheated on God – our true husband! Praise God sincerely for Jesus!

The eighth commandment commands not to steal. When the Bible commands not to steal, this suggests that God wanted there to be private property rights and ownership. God is the ultimate owner of all things and He has graciously granted us with stewardship for the things that He owns.
Perhaps, you might consider yourself as a good keeper of this commandment. You have not really stolen from other people. However, we all have stolen from God.
“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you? In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.’” (Malachi 3:8-9)
How have we robbed from God? We have robbed from Him when we began to see ourselves as the rightful owners of many great things that God has placed in our lives. How am I viewing money? Is it tending to my need or for the ministry of God?
Now, even if we think we are good stewards of what God has given to us, we need to realize that we are in debt because of sin. When we sin, we disobey what God created us to do (to glorify Him). When we disobey what God has created us to do, we are in debt because we have failed to live in accord to His purpose of creating us.
Now, the whole world sins and the entire world is in debt to God. Everyone has failed to pay back God what He deserves, His glory. We need a radical redemption because we are under such a huge debt because we have failed him innumerably.
Thank God for His Son, Jesus the Great Redeemer. He has paid back all the debt for us. We are debt-free and this is the freedom that the Scripture is talking about!
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)
Praise God for Jesus who has paid the debt of our sins! Rejoice now because though we have robbed aplenty from God, God is willing to still forgive us because Jesus died to set us free of debt!

The Ten Commandments point us to see that we are unable to keep the Law at all. However, Jesus Christ is the ultimate answer to the Law that we cannot keep. It points to Jesus. Look to Jesus.

New City Catechism #10

Q: What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?
A: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother, submitting to their godly discipline and direction.

Leviticus 19:3

Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

The fourth commandment deals with the Day of Rest or the Sabbath. For the Jews, this meant they take off the seventh day every week (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) and refrain from any sort of work – ranging from not doing occupational work to not even pressing a button on an elevator.
Thankfully, Christians are not bound by this commandment. We do not have the same Sabbath day as the Jews. We take our rest on Sunday, or the first day of the week for the Jews. As Christians, we do not take rest on the Sabbath because the Law demands us, too.
However, we take rest on the Sabbath because Jesus is the Lord of Sabbath. The Christian Sabbath is instated so that we remember and celebrate all that Jesus was and all that he came to do.
“And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”” (Mark 2:27-28)
Jesus Christ is such a monumental figure in Christian history. It is impossible for the Christians to imagine Sabbath or the day of rest without referencing to what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. As a result, Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays for Christ was resurrected on that day to justify us from our sins.
The Israelites receive the command to observe the Sabbath day as a reminder of God delivering them from the land of Egypt.
“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)
How much more, having been saved, should the believer celebrate Christ’s saving work on a Sunday? The Israelites kept and still keeps to this day the Day of Sabbath to the strictest details, remembering how the LORD God has delivered them. Christians who also have received deliverance should observe our Sabbath for Christ has delivered us from our worst enemy, sin and death.
Sabbath Day has wonderful theological purposes – to help us remind of what Christ has done for us. However, the day also is given to us by God for practical reasons. God wants this Sabbath Day for our own good. Praise God for He knows what is best for us.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
The Sabbath Day give us, the believers, a chance to come meet the Lord and spend time with our fellow brothers and sisters. The Day enforces us to meet each other and be an encouragement for one another.
And as we meet together, we remember the Day drawing near – The Day of eternal rest. The Sabbath is a stark reminder for us to learn to rest and remember that God is sovereign.
“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:8-10)
If even God Almighty has taken rest and commands us to take a rest, we ought to do it. God has biologically created our body to desire rest and, without break, we will be the ones who are breaking. And this rest is of spirituality – the rest in order to meet God and have communion with God.
Praise God for the gift that He has given us in Sabbath that we may remember to take breaks and observe the greatest gift that God has given us in Christ.

The fifth commandment begins dealing with our relationship with other people. The first group of people mentioned by the Ten Commandments is the unit of family. In the time that we are living, honoring and respecting do not go too far. This culture is all about rebellion.
On the other hand, the Scripture teaches that one’s old age is a gift from God and elders are to be obeyed. The Scripture often praises an older man for his old age. Compared to our culture where youth is often glorified, the Jewish culture praises the old age!
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:32)
“The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.” (Proverbs 20:29)
“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” (Proverbs 16:31)
When the Scripture talks about honoring an older man, it is suggesting honoring the authority that God has placed in our lives. According to the fifth commandment, this honor must be given to one’s parents whether one likes to or not.
Honoring one’s parents, according to the Bible, comes with benefits for the children as well. It is a good thing for the child to honor one’s parents.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)
Paul quotes this specific passage in Ephesians 6. He adds on a little commentary that this is the first commandment with a promise – the promise that it will benefit us if we keep this commandment.
How do we honor our parents? We honor them by obeying them in our youth and giving them proper respect they deserve as our parents as we get older.
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:26-27)
Jesus, at the point of his death, shows the proper honoring of his mother by entrusting her to John the disciple. Jesus shows us that he took his earthly family to utmost importance. Who are we to dishonor and disrespect our parents if Jesus was careful to abide by the fifth commandment even at the point of his death?
“And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:50-52)
Jesus, from his youth to his death, honored his parents. Not only did he honor his earthly parents, but he honored his heavenly Father.
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
Jesus portrays a clear picture of what it means to completely obey the fifth commandment in honoring one’s parents. Not only was he finished there, but he honored his heavenly Father. The fifth commandment, then, is to lead us to see the greater picture of obeying the one true authority – God.

Our obedience to the commandments is, ultimately, for our own good. God has established these commandments that we might benefit from obeying them. By obeying the commandments, we also understand how God desires for us to live – in a relationship with Him and loving fellow believers.
The commandments also remind us of Jesus Christ. The fourth commandment is a reminder of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and the fifth commandment is a reminder of how Christ honored God the Father even to the point of death.

New City Catechism #9

Q: What does God require in the first, second, and third commandments?
A: First, that we know and trust God as the only true and living God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry and do not worship God improperly. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence, honoring also his Word and works.

Deuteronomy 6:13–14

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you.

The first three commandments in the Ten Commandments can be said to deal with our relationship and duty to God. The concern over these first three commandments is that we worship God alone and give glory unto God alone.
The first commandment teaches us that the main principle of piety is to give God what is His own. The first commandment can be said to be the summation of the entire Law: adore God alone, serve Him alone, and give Him total affection.
As John Calvin says: “Since God has prescribed to us how He would be worshiped by us, whenever we turn away in the very smallest degree from this rule, we make to ourselves other gods, and degrade Him from His right place.”
In ancient world, nations that abandoned an earthly king who had done much for them and entered into league with an outside ruler were considered guilty of high treason. How much worse, then, is it to turn one’s back on the great King who paid such a high price to rescue His people?
May God’s people never elevate someone or something above God Himself for they are committing the greatest betrayal possible.
Also, in our elevating other being or thing, we make ourselves slaves to that being or thing. As Peter tells us: “For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19)
Are we not slaves to so many different things that the world has to offer us? Or perhaps, better put, are we not so “addicted” to all these different things in the world?
Though we may no longer worship figures of wood or stone, we still worship other subtle things – money, sex, drugs, alcohol, body image, work, entertainment, and the list goes on forever. When we place anything before the pursuit of God, to that we become enslaved to.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
Praise God that, although we easily can become enslaved to so many different things in the world, God has set us free in Christ so that we can worship and glorify the only one true God. And now, being free, God calls us to live our lives coram Deo. Live in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

The second commandment shows us the folly of men to easily fall a victim to sin of idolatry. Human beings are more prone to idolatry than are prone to atheism.
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:21-23)
Apart from grace, we remain alienated and hateful of the God who has made Himself know to us through the nature and through the Word. As it is the case, it becomes frighteningly easy for us to fashion deities in our own image.
For some, it is the building of the statues – especially in other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. However, in many other cases, it becomes creating mental picture of what God is like. “God is so loving that He would never condemn anyone to hell.”
As John Calvin says: “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” We would endlessly produce idols without even putting a conscious effort to do so. Because of our inclination to idolatry and possible images of God, God calls us against it.
Furthermore, we lack the understanding of the form or the image of God. “Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:12) Throughout the Bible, God speaks rather than shows His form. He is invisible and incomprehensible God.
As Christians, however, we do have this form or the image of God that was made visible to us and who is to be worshiped. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creations” (Colossians 1:15) – it is Jesus Christ.
“Jesus said to him [Philip], “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”” (John 14:9)
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3)
God has made known to us the image of Him that is to be worshiped – Jesus Christ. Don’t look any longer to the created things, to nature, to animals, to other people, to things that bring you satisfaction. Look to Christ – the image, the icon of the invisible God!

The third commandment teaches the importance of God’s name. Throughout the Scripture, the names reflect the character of the person.
“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)
All that God is can be summed up in His name and to misuse the name of God is to hold God disgraceful to His character. When we misuse the name of God, we disgrace His character and who He is. The third commandment is a stark reminder that setting His name as holy is giving Him reverence as our true Maker and Lord.
Therefore, the third commandment deals with the matter of how we should worship God. In His revealing of His name, God tells us precisely that our Creator depends on nothing outside of Himself for His existence and His character. When we take God lightly, that is when we take God in vain.
There are many ways in which we take the name of God very lightly. It happens when we swear (make a vow and cursing) using the name of God, when we falsely prophesy in the name of God, when we worship God wrongly (not according to the proper doctrine), and when we take God’s name lightly in our advertising.
Furthermore, we dishonor God’s name when we mistreat other men and women. James warns us to not do so. “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9-10)
When we mistreat those around us, we mistreat God who has created them. Westminster Catechism Q 113 states this clearly: “The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the not using of God’s name as is required; and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, or wicked mentioning or otherwise using his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works, by blasphemy, perjury; all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots; violating of our oaths and vows, if lawful; and fulfilling them, if of things unlawful; murmuring and quarreling at, curious prying into, and misapplying of God’s decrees and providences; misinterpreting, misapplying, or any way perverting the word, or any part of it, to profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines; abusing it, the creatures, or anything contained under the name of God, to charms, or sinful lusts and practices; the maligning, scorning, reviling, or any wise opposing of God’s truth, grace, and ways; making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for sinister ends; being ashamed of it, or a shame to it, by unconformable, unwise, unfruitful, and offensive walking, or backsliding from it.”
May we not take the name of the Lord lightly. As John Calvin says: “We ought to be so disposed in mind and speech that we neither think nor say anything concerning God and his mysteries, without reverence and much soberness; that in estimating his works we conceive nothing but what is honorable to him.”

In the end of it all, God is meant to be glorified. However, as we glorify Him, we must also know that this is for ourselves as well. For God desires to share in His glory with us. When all is complete, God will give us His glory.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17)
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30)
Praise God for giving us the laws to glorify Him because God knows what is the best for us. He knows that, in our glorifying of Him, we also are meant to share in His glory and receive His glory.

New City Catechism #8

Q: What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments?
A: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below—you shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7

You shall have no other gods before me.

The Ten Commandments were the laws that God gave to the people of Israel through Moses after leading them out of Egypt. At Mount Sinai, God appears before Moses and the Israelites. The recording of this Ten Commandments is listed in Exodus 20.
The Ten Commandments are a crucial part of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law is the summation of hundreds of various laws including the Ten Commandments and more obscure laws throughout the Pentateuch – the first five books of the Bible.
The Mosaic Law consists of 365 negative commands and 248 positive commands for a sum of 613 total commands to be obeyed. It covered all the various aspects of life – the moral, the social, and the ceremonial.
The Ten Commandments mainly dealt with the moral aspect of the Mosaic Law – giving guidance to Israel in principles of right and wrong in relation to God and man.

The Ten Commandments are also considered a symbolic part of the Mosaic covenant. It is a conditional covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. It follows the pattern of the covenants of the time because it was between the Sovereign King, God, and his subjects, the people.
The Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant in that God was going to bless the Israelites, as long as the Israelites followed God’s commandments. However, if the Israelites disobeyed the Law, there would be serious consequences.
By the nature of the Law, however, the Law was not to be, could not be obeyed to the letter. But the spirit of the Law established certain moral principles which were applicable and would bring blessing to those who would obey.

The word that is often translated as “law” from the Hebrew text is the word : תּוֹרָה or torah. The huge connotation we have for the word “law” is often negative. However, it wouldn’t have seemed so negative for the Israelites because this word also carried the meaning of instructions and directions.
Instead, the law would have appeared as great for the Israelites.
“And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:8)
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heat; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.” (Psalm 19:7-9)

The Law was intended to distinguish the Israelites from other nations (Leviticus 20:26), to restrain the Israelites to some degrees, and to diagnose the problems that we have as human beings of the impossibility of fully obeying the Law.
Even to this day, the Law does the same thing for us. It shows us that we are meant to be distinct as the chosen people of God, to set us a guideline for how we must live as Christians, and show us that there is a huge problem.
For us now, though, we are free from the demands of the Law because the Scripture clearly tells us that we are saved by faith, not by strict observance of the Law. However, this does not mean that we disregard or ignore the Law. The Bible makes it clear that those who are saved are saved for the purpose of doing good works.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

As a matter of fact, New Testament is filled with Jesus and the various writers always talking about how we ought to live holy lives to please God.
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
As the new chosen people – those of faith — we are always called to sanctify themselves.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:9-12)

Thank God that we are not under the old Mosaic Law that has ridiculous details to the point that is impossible for us to keep and obey. Thank God that we are, instead, under the new Law of Christ.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
And this Law of Christ puts into perspective what the Law of Moses was supposed to do: to teach us to have a proper relationship with God and proper relationship with others.
“And 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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:37-40)
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but though love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” (Galatians 5:13-14)
The Ten Commandments are, then, to help us realize that we ought to love God utmost and love the fellow brothers and sisters. It lays down the clear picture of what God desired from the Israelites: the obedience to love Him and love others.
Knowing that the entire point of the Law was for us to love God and love our neighbors, we understand that this is what the Law of Christ call us to do. And as we try to understand the Law under the gospel, it becomes desirable to obey the Law because Christ has died so that we may do good works.
With the clear picture of the gospel, the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments are a thing of beauty because we are no longer compelled by the demands, but we desire to obey the Law because of the beauty of the gospel.
“A rigid matter was the law/ demanding brick, denying straw/ But when with gospel tongue it sings/ it bids me fly and gives me wings.” Ralph Erskine
This is frighteningly similar to what the Psalmist declares regarding the Law of God in Psalm 19! May the gospel redefine what Law means for you and may it create a desire in your heart for you to obey the Law of Christ.

New City Catechism #7

Q: What does the Law of God require?

A: Personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.

 

Matthew 22:37–40

And Jesus 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 first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

Anyone who goes to church have heard this commandment before: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all our mind.

This is the commandment that Jesus himself gives in Matthew 22:37. Jesus quotes it from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. If this has been stated in the Old Testament and Jesus quotes it again in the New Testament, the commandment must be important. This also means that God’s requirement has always been the same and will be the same into eternity.

This commandment makes clear that our hearts are central in loving God. In loving God with all our hearts, it is necessary to remember that the heart is very significant part of life – literally and figuratively.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

As the spring of life, God wants us to purify and keep a close watch of our hearts. Throughout the Scripture, God makes it known that only those with a purified and cleansed heart can come to know Him.

“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.” (Psalm 24:3-4)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Loving God with all our hearts means that we must keep our hearts pure. We must keep our hearts holy for God. How can we know that our hearts are pure and good?

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

We can know our hearts are pure and good by looking at the actions. This means that our hearts have the control of the faculty of will. Our hearts must cause us to act and do good in our love for God. It is impossible to do good when our heart does not truly love God.

 

The commandment also makes it clear that our souls are crucial in loving God. The soul is the center of our affections and emotions. The soul is an important part of the Christian worship.

In Jesus’s suffering at the Garden of Gethsemane, we see the sorrow of the soul in Christ. It is at the point of the despair of the soul that one’s faith is often tested. Christ’s obedience is glorified because he was going to glorify God despite this sorrowfulness of the moment.

“Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38)

In our sorrows, we can still worship God and this is an act of love. Also, in the moments of joy, we must worship God. David, throughout Psalm 103 and 104, praises God for what he has done. It is the utterance of joy from his soul that he shows love to God.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5)

David rejoices in what God has done and commands his soul to bless God. The soul, which directs our emotions, is the center of worship. We ought to direct all our emotions, whether sorrow or joy, to worship God. This is how we love God with our soul.

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

 

Finally, the commandment makes it clear that our minds must be important in loving God. Our mind is the center of the intellectual activity. This means that we must submit our intellect in strict subordination to God.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:5-6)

Not only do we capture all our thoughts for the glory of God, but this means that we submit dispositions and attitudes to God. This means that we obey God as we change our perspective and our thinking.

For a human mind, it is impossible to fully know God as He is the incomprehensible God. However, this gives us more reason to truly love God with all our minds by constantly thinking about God.

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.” (Isaiah 50:4)

This is in reference to Jesus. If the Son of God, himself, had to be taught regarding God so that he can show us what it means to love God with all of our minds, we are without any excuse to love God with all of our minds as well.

 

The second greatest commandment that Christ gives is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Within this commandment is the idea that there is love of oneself. This is a part of human trait – your love for yourself. There is no command to love yourself, but you do it.

However, the powerful commandment by Christ is this: that our self-seeking and self-loving must be the measure of our self-giving.

As much as you want good food and nice clothes for yourself, you must long for good food and nice clothes for your neighbors. As much as you want safety and security, you must long for safety and security for your neighbors. As much as you seek for friends, be the friend to your neighbors. As much as you seek for significance of your life, you must desire for significance in others’ lives.

Not only do you seek the same, good things, but you must seek them in the same way. As much as you persevere in seeking good things for yourself, you must persevere in seeking good things for others. As much as you are energetic about seeking good things for yourself, you must be energetic about seeking good things for others.

The second commandment is an overflow of the first commandment for we know that it is impossible to properly love one’s neighbor without loving God. And it is impossible that those who claim to love God not love their neighbors.

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” (1 John 2:9-10)

If we realize that loving God is for our own good (Deuteronomy 10:12-13) and that loving God is better than our self-love, we will begin to love God more and, as a result, love others more. As much as we have been shown love from God, it is for us to show the love of God to others.

This is what John Piper says:

“If you are longing to see more of God’s bounty and liberality through the supply of food and rent and clothing, then seek to show others the greatness of this divine bounty by the generosity you have found in him. Let the fulfillment of your own self-love in God-love overflow into neighbor love. Or better: seek that God, who is the fulfillment of your self-love overflow through your neighbor-love and become the fulfillment of your neighbor’s self-love.

If you want to enjoy more of God’s compassion through the consolations he gives you in sorrow, then seek to show others more of God’s compassion through the consolations you extend to them in sorrow.

If you long to savor more of God’s wisdom through the counsel he gives in stressful relationships, then seek to extend more of God’s wisdom to others in their stressful relationships.

If you delight in seeing God’s goodness in relaxed times of leisure, then extend that goodness to others by helping them have relaxed, healthy time of leisure.

If you want to see more of God’s saving grace powerfully manifested in your life, then stretch out that grace into the lives of others who need that saving grace.

If you want to enjoy more of the riches of God’s personal friendship through thick and thin, then extend that friendship to the lonely through thick and thin.”

Are you abiding by the second commandment by loving God and allowing that love of God overflow to the love of your neighbors?

 

Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind because it is for your own good. Love your neighbors for they are designed to receive and enlarge your joy in God. To love our neighbors, show them what you have found yourself in God. Thank God for his commandments because it is ultimately for our good!

New City Catechism #6

Q: How can we glorify God?

A: We glorify God by enjoying Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and by obeying His will, commands, and laws.

 

Deuteronomy 11:1

You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.

 

The basis of the Christian living comes from the understanding that men have been created for the glory of God. And because we have been created for the glory of God, all our words and our actions must reflect of how glorious our God is.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

In order to glorify God, it is to our utmost importance to know God. Knowing God will drive us to extol and worship Him. To glorify God is to extol His attributes as God and telling of how only God is worthy of saving such depraved people like us. This is not really possible if we do not know who God is.

To glorify God, we must come to full understanding that this requires us to enjoy Him, love Him, trust Him, and obey Him.

 

First, glorifying God is about how we enjoy Him. Even in ordinary life, we can give certain value or glory to objects or people when we enjoy them and delight in what they do.

Take for example, when we watch a good movie, we glorify the movie as we enjoy the quality of the movie and tell others about how awesome the movie was. Or when you are served delicious food, you glorify the cook by enjoying the food itself. It is the pleasure that indicates how much you appreciate and treasure the object that gives you pleasure.

In the same way, we glorify God by delighting in Him and treasuring Him above all things because He is greater than any movie, any food, or any act of kindness from our earthly parents. We show gratitude to God by enjoying Him. We show how much we value God by our joy in spending time with Him. As John Piper says, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Being in the presence of God, we will be filled with joy and pleasure for God is able to fill our deepest longings and desires. C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory says: “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We’re half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition. When infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

If what the Psalmist said was true, our deepest longings for joy and pleasure of this world can only be satisfied by God because God provides full and forever joy.  And it is impossible to not glorify God when we come into His presence. If this is all true, our glorifying of God comes as we enter into His presence that results in us enjoying Him in our constant communion with Him.

 

Second, glorifying God is about how we love Him. We must “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

The saints of the Old Testament had one thing in common, and it was that they made this command the utmost priority of life. They would see that there was nothing in comparison to loving God. There was no other sensible option than to love God because loving God was for their “own good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

When we love God, it is not some sort of non-reciprocated love because God loves us even greater. It is a love which pours out abundant and profuse blessings on those who choose to love God for God is a good God.

Throughout the Bible, those who have chosen to give whole souled, hearted love to God were the ones who knew the mercies of God and were blessed out of God’s covenantal promises. “I love those who love me,” (Proverb 8:17) God says.

Even throughout the New Testament, the command to love God is frequently shown.

“If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.” (1 Corinthians 16:22)

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37)

Loving God is to prefer Him above all other things. If you are going to give glory to God, you must love and prefer him above money, fame, honor, success, friends, family, and all other possible idols that the world offers.

The love that we have for God glorifies Him because it shows clear understanding on our part that there is no other better option but to love and prefer God. It demonstrates our understanding that we are willing to follow the command of God to love Him with all heart, all soul, and all might.

 

Third, glorifying God is evident by how much we trust Him. Our faith brings glory unto God. It is just as simple as that. God is glorified when we trust Him.

“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” (Romans 4:20)

The world must see through us that we glorify God. Many times, we talk about how God is so wonderful and we post online some verses about how we ought to trust in God. Then, some crisis hits and we completely ignore all our talk about the glorious God. If people see that, they will not give glory to God. God is glorified when we rest in the assurance of God’s promises and His trustworthiness.

“Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar.” (1 John 5:10)

“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:17-18)

By lacking faith, we say that God is a liar. We greatly dishonor the nature of God as a trustworthy and immutable Being when we do not trust Him. Again, your trust in Him glorifies Him. God honors the faith of His beloved because faith honors Him.

Just imagine Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before King Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace. In their deep faith of God, they declare: “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” (Daniel 3:17)

Imagine, after they declare this, they fall to the ground in panic and refuse all the force leading them to the furnace, this would have been a disgraceful sight and the LORD God would not have been glorified. Why? Because it shows that the three young men had trouble in really having faith in God.

It is the same with the believers. God is most glorified when we live as if God does keep ALL of His Word and as if we believe that God is unchanging in His promises. Our failure to trust God only makes the world doubt of God’s existence and the glory that belongs to Him.

 

Fourth, glorifying God is about obeying Him. Throughout the Bible, God reminds the people that He is delighted in the obedience of His people. He would rather have obedience of the people rather than the ceremonies or the procession of empty worship.

“And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

The obedience to God is powerful tool to glorify Him because it reminds us that God is worthy of praise through the obedience that we show to Him. Also, our obedience shows that God is committed to bringing Himself glory because God hates disobedience and empty acts. If God hates these things, we have the certainty that obeying God is what ultimately shows that we love Him.

The obedience also shows the power of God’s grace and, in turn, glorifies Him. The fact, that a depraved sinner can be transformed and that God overlooks the sins of the repentant in His grace to eventually mortify those sins, reveals that God is at the source of even our obedience. When we obey Him, we proclaim this power of God to transform our lives from a wickedly depraved sinner to obedient saints.

We also know from the Word of God that the obedience is ultimately for our own good. “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, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?”

For our good and for the glory of God, we must obey God and His commandments. Praise God that obeying God is not too hard and that we are shown much grace even at the point of our fall.

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.” (Deuteronomy 30:11)

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)

How is the obedience to God not too burdensome? Because God is so gracious and so good to us that, through Christ’s perfect obedience, we are already seen perfect in our obedience if we trust in Christ. This must lead us to joy in our acts of obedience for we already know that God delights in our heart of obedience.

Glorifying God is certainly not an easy task if we think in human terms, but it is definitely possible. It is a Biblical command given to us that we glorify God. Therefore, enjoy Him, love Him, trust Him, and obey Him. The sum of Christian life is exactly at that: have we enjoyed God enough? Have we loved God enough? Have we trusted God enough? Have we obeyed God enough?

And the beautiful thing about Christian life is that when we fully enjoy God, we can abandon all other things and prefer God over all things, thus loving God. When we love God and we prefer Him over all, we can trust Him because He is the best option in our life (for His promises tells us so and God does not lie). When we trust God, it is impossible not to obey Him because obedience stems from trusting God’s existence and His goodness. As we obey Him, we enjoy Him for we find obedience to God is so satisfying and so fulfilling in our lives.

I pray and hope that we will be able to glorify God – enjoying Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and obeying Him. Praise God that He is worthy of the glory – the glory of God is our true joy and our good.

New City Catechism #5

What else did God create?

God created all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule.

 

Genesis 1:31

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

 

“The highest good, than which there is no higher, is God, and consequently He is unchangeable good, hence truly eternal and truly immortal. All other good things are only from Him,” said Augustine of Hippo.

The goodness of God extended from Himself to His creation at the beginning of creation. Despite the fact that sin entered the world and it no longer seems so good to us, everything that God created was good and was created to proclaim the goodness of God.

At the day of restoration and consummation, we will perhaps understand Genesis 1:31 better and see how everything that God created was good before sin entered the world. This also will be the moment when we will fully realize the goodness of God through all the creations proclaiming the goodness of God.

 

What is meant by the “goodness” of God to which all of God’s creation reflect and express this trait of Him?

In their understanding of the “good,” the Hebrews used the word  טוֹב (tove) throughout the Old Testament. The goodness of God is His moral attractiveness that is satisfying, pleasing, and praiseworthy. God’s goodness is not holiness because goodness has to do with appreciating the moral excellence of God: the holiness and the righteousness of God.

Even in human terms, we call someone “good” when he has a morally excellent standing and when he does right things. We call God “good” because He is always morally excellent and He always does the right things that push us to worship and praise Him.

God’s goodness, attractive moral excellence, is observed by us and we appreciate His righteousness which any man spiritual especially delights to acknowledge. God’s love is the communication of His goodness. God manifests His goodness in four distinct ways: benevolence, patience, mercy, and grace.

 

God’s benevolence deals with God’s concern to promote happiness and the general welfare over all of His creation. He does not distinguish between sinners and saints in showing them the common benevolence.

“In the past generations he [God] allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17)

The idea of benevolence establishes the relationship of a King and His subjects. We are God’s subjects and servants who dwell in His benevolent goodness.

The good news is that God is full of good will toward men. By His nature, God desires to bestow blessings and God is pleased to see the people delighting in His blessings. However, the sinful man rejects the relational blessings (which comes from the relationship man has with God) and does not desire to delight in the goodness of God. This leads us to the next communication of God’s goodness.

 

God’s patience deals with His long-suffering nature. Over and over, throughout the Scripture, the Israelites commit grievous sins against God and, yet, He withholds the punishment against the Israelites for their sake. It is the great attribute of God to exercise power of His will upon His actions to punish.

A.W. Pink puts it this way: “How wondrous is God’s patience with the world today. On every side people are sinning with a high hand. The Divine law is trampled under foot and God Himself openly despised. It is truly amazing that He does not instantly strike dead those who so brazenly defy Him. Why does He not suddenly cut off the haughty, infidel and blatant blasphemer, as He did Ananias and Sapphira? Why does He not cause the earth to open its mouth and devour the persecutors of his people, so that, like Dathan and Abiram, they shall go down alive into the Pit? And what of apostate Christendom, where every possible form of sin is now tolerated and practiced under cover of the holy name of Christ? Why does not the righteous wrath of Heaven make an end of such abominations? Only one answer is possible: because God bears with “much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.”” (Romans 9:22)

God waits patiently on such sinful people for: “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4) When we turn from our wickedness and realize the miserable depravity of our lives, we understand that God’s mercies are good.

 

God’s mercy deals with the relieving love that God shows to men who cannot otherwise save themselves from the distress and the agony of life. God pities us in our miserably depraved and weak state. Mercy presupposes that the recipient of mercy has sinned and wronged the giver.

Mercy of God is reserved for those who know and fear God: “Oh how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalm 31:19)

God has all the rights to show mercy to whomever He desires. “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy.” (Romans 9:15)

And it is to the repentant and the fearer of God that God will show mercy. It makes perfect sense that this would be the case even with human logic. Those who truly understand their wrong and desire to change from their wrong will receive mercy and forgiveness. But, even arriving to understand their wrong, is solely by the grace of God.

 

God’s grace deals with the love exercised to the unworthy. It is bestowing of God’s immense blessings upon those who have no merit and there is no compensation necessary. It is the favor of God to those who are well deserving of ill and hell.

This is from G.S. Bishop: “Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.”

Grace is given to those as pure act of God’s loving chastity as it often comes unasked and undesired. It is an act of freely giving so that the unworthy can be made worthy.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

 

These are some ways that God clearly manifests His goodness to us throughout the Scripture. Because God’s goodness is one of His attributes, it means that His goodness is self-caused, infinite, perfect, eternal, and immutable.

God will not be more good or less good because He is immutable. God’s goodness will last forever for He is infinite. Because the cause of God’s goodness is Himself, all recipients of God’s goodness benefit from it regardless of one’s merit.

A.W. Tozer mentions why God must be good: “That God is good is taught or implied on every page of the Bible and must be received as an article of faith as impregnable as the throne of God. It is a foundation stone for all sound thought about God and is necessary to moral sanity. To allow that God could be other than good is to deny the validity of all thought and end ill the negation of every moral judgment. If God is not good, then there can be no distinction between kindness and cruelty, and heaven can be hell and hell, heaven.”

The goodness of God must be the solid foundation of our faith. Without faith and trust in the goodness of God, our faith will shake. Trust in the goodness of God and that He will reward the righteous – the righteous in Christ! Trust in the goodness of God to preserve us through all times – whether good or evil.

 

“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous woks to the children of man!” (Psalm 107:8)

Our response to God’s goodness ought to be that of gratitude. That is all that is required of us from God – that we be thankful to him. The goodness of God should appeal to our hearts and we should never be discouraged because His goodness is the very thing that Christians must trust.

“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7)

Whatever the situation and circumstance may be, we ought to give thanks to God and take refuge in His goodness. When there are troubles in life, we need to give thanks because God is good. When we feel that we are so far from being good and are at the brink of crisis, we ought to bless and remember the Lord’s goodness.

Just like the Prodigal Son, we must come before God remembering His goodness. As we come to remember and trust God’s goodness, all fear is wiped away and there is a joy unceasing.

Our greatest joy as a believer is when we express how good our God is and praise Him! Remember those moments of answered prayers and God’s gracious blessing of provision in our lives – those were truly delightful moments because God was so good. Cherish those moments and praise His goodness throughout our lives!

Praise God for He is good in all circumstances for all eternity, for He created us to enjoy in His goodness, and for He has created for the very good purpose of proclaiming His own goodness.