Hebrews 8:10-12 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind… I. In the first place, WHAT IS INTENDED IN THE TEXT BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. "All shall know Me." It cannot be a mere knowledge of the existence of God, for the devils believe that God is. It cannot be a mere partial acquaintance with the character of God; because we cannot for a moment doubt that the Jews were partially acquainted with God's character, and yet our Lord said to them, "Ye neither know Me nor My Father." Neither can it be a dry, uninfluential, notional knowledge of God, however accurate (2 Peter 2:20, 21). To know God includes far more than this. It implies a real, personal, experimental, sanctifying acquaintance with God. 1. It especially regards Him as a reconciled God in Christ. 2. But more than this; the knowledge of God implies a knowledge of Him as our God in covenant; a God who has pledged His very perfections to bring His people safe to glory; who will not have them to judge Him by their feelings, nor by their providences. Who can unfold the knowledge of God which springs from the consideration of Him as a pitying Father? "He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." To know God implies a knowledge of Him as a God all-sufficient; My brethren, how long you and I have been learning this lesson, and how little we know of it after all! II. Observe, in the second place, here is a positive word of certainty THAT ALL GOD'S PEOPLE SHALL KNOW HIM, "from the least to the greatest." This was no small part of the work of our adorable Immanuel. It is sweet and pleasant to look at Him as bearing the very name of the Word of God, because He is the revealer of God. He does indeed tell us the secrets of God's heart; He brings to light those perfections in Deity which we could never conceive to have existed but for His work. The work of Jesus is glorious throughout, and there is no part of His work which ought more to endear Him to our hearts than this, inasmuch as He disclosed more of the Father, and brings us into more intimate acquaintance with the character of God, than could have been devised by any other means. But it is not this that secures the infallible teaching of all God's Israel; it was the covenant "ordered in all things and sure." But there is a point connected with this that I would not overlook, and that is, the way by which the Holy Spirit (for it is His especial work), brings the knowledge of God into the soul. "I will give them a heart that they may know Me, saith the Lord." It is not, "I will give them knowledge," but "I will give them a heart." Now this was communicated in regeneration. Oh the wonders of redeeming love, flowing out from the heart of God by Christ Jesus! Oh what a beam of light is that which the Holy Spirit brings into the conscience, developing God our Saviour in Christ Jesus! III. But observe, WHAT ARE THE BLESSINGS OF THIS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. I hardly know where to begin or where to end. It is true wisdom: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of Him is understanding." Here lies also the secret of peace, "They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee." Whence is it that the careworn brow marks thy countenance? If thou weft only conversant with the great secret, "Casting thy care upon Him that careth for thee," thou wouldst find out the blessed lesson, of living above the region of disappointment, and finding peace in believing, '' Acquaint thyself with Him, and be at peace." In a word, this true knowledge of God has in it the material of all holiness. Whatever there is of love, whatever there is of hope, whatever there is of obedience, whatever there is of careful walking, whatever there is of watchfulness unto prayer, whatever there is of making a conscience of one's deeds, whatever there is of walking secretly with God as in the sight of God — it is all involved in one truth, a true, real, personal, experimental knowledge of God in Christ. 1. Be thankful, then, for the least measure you have of the true knowledge of God. 2. Covet earnestly the most. The true secret for a heavenly walk with God is a real acquaintance with Him. 3. Do not quarrel with the way by which God makes Himself known to thee. I remember the expression of a child of God who, feeling her heart too much attached to some earthly object, prayed that God would take away the idol, whatever the idol might be. In the course of a week He took away her husband. (J. H. Evans, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: |
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