Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known. Sermons
It is not sufficient to say that the root of disobedience is "wilfulness." Fairly reading human nature, we can find other roots from which it springs. In the history of the people Israel we can see that they did not always sin from sheer wilfulness. Sometimes they had really lost their faith hold of Jehovah, and sometimes the burdens and trials of the way brought them into conditions of despondency; and unbelief and despondency became roots of disobedience. It is usual to treat the conduct of the Israelites without giving due consideration to their difficult, perilous, perplexing, and wearisome circumstances. Rightly viewed, it would have been the supreme human marvel if they had not failed in obedience and trust. Think what a mighty host it was, yet how imperfectly organized. Think of the strain of their manifest peril at the Red Sea, and the exceeding toil and weariness of their climb up the wadies to Sinai. Think of the difficulty, in that arid region, of providing food and water for so many creatures. Think kindly of them, and though the sense of their sin is not lightened, considerateness for the sinners is nourished. The disobedience that roots in unbelief, or in despondency, puts men into the pitifulness and mercy of their God. I. DISOBEDIENCE ROOTED IN UNBELIEF. Here a distinction is necessary. Here is an unbelief which is wilful, which a man chooses, and for which he seeks reasons, and this is wholly sinful, and needs humbling punishment. And there is an unbelief which is the natural human response to difficult and trying circumstances, which seem to force doubts upon us. All are liable to this kind of unbelief in sharing the trials of human life. But there is a Divine gentleness in the dealing with the disobedience which has its root in this unbelief. II. DISOBEDIENCE ROOTED IN DESPONDENCY. This reminds us how differently things affect different dispositions. Some are naturally despondent. They always see the dark sides, are ever ready to give up in despair. And this spirit often leads to failing obedience. Men have not spirit enough to do what they ought. But God "knoweth our frame." - R.T. Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake. I. A GLORIOUS SAVIOUR — "He saved them." Who is to be understood by that pronoun "he"? Possibly many may answer, "Why, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of men." Right; but not all the truth. Jesus Christ is the Saviour; but not more so than God the Father, or God the Holy Ghost. Thou canst not be saved by the Son without the Father, nor by the Father without the Son, nor by Father and Son without the Spirit. But as they are one in creation, so are they one in salvation. But, note here, how this Divine being claims salvation wholly to Himself. "Nevertheless He saved them." But, Moses, where art thou? Didst not thou save them, Moses? Thou didst stretch the rod over the sea, and it clave in halves. And thou, Aaron, thou didst offer the bullocks which God accepted; thou didst lead them, with Moses, through the wilderness. Wast not thou their Saviour? They answer, "Nay, we were the instruments, but He saved them. God made use of us, but unto His name be all the glory, and none unto ourselves." But, Israel, thou wast a strong and mighty people; didst not thou save thyself? Perhaps it was by thine own holiness that the Red Sea was dried up; perhaps the parted floods were frighted at the piety of the saints that stood upon their margin; perhaps it was Israel that delivered itself. Nay, nay, saith God's Word; He saved them; they did not save themselves, nor did their fellow-men redeem them. II. THE FAVOURED PERSONS. "He saved THEM."Who are they? In the first place, they were a stupid people — "Our fathers understood not Thy wonders in Egypt." In the next place, they were an ungrateful people — "they remembered not the multitude of Thy mercies." In the third place, they were a provoking people — "they provoked Him at the sea, even at the Red Sea." Ah, these are the people whom free grace saves, these are the men and these the women whom the God of all grace condescends to take to His bosom and to make anew. III. THE REASON OF SALVATION. "For His name's sake." 1. He saved them, first, that He might manifest His nature. God was all love, and He wanted to manifest it; He did show it when He made the sun, the moon, and the stars, and scattered flowers o'er the green and laughing earth. He did show His love when He gave the air balmy to the body, and the sunshine cheering be the eye. "How can I show them that, I love them with all My infinite heart? I will give My Son to die be save the very worst of them, and so will I manifest My nature." And God has done it; He has manifested His power, His justice, His love, His faithfulness, and His truth; He has manifested His whole self on the great platform of salvation. 2. He did it, again, to vindicate His name. Some say God is cruel; they wickedly call Him tyrant. "Ah!" says God, "but I will save the worst of sinners, and vindicate My name; I will blot out the stigma; they shall not be able to say that, unless they be liars, for I will be abundantly merciful. I will take away this stain, and they shall see that My great name is a name of love." And said He, again, "I will do this for My name's sake; that is, to make these people love My name. I know if I take the best of men, and save them, they will love My name; but if I take the worst of men, oh, how they will love me! If I go and take some of the offscouring of the earth, and make them My children, oh, how they will love Me! Then they will cleave to My name; they will think it more sweet than music; it will be more precious to them than the spikenard of the Eastern merchants; they will value it as gold, yea, as much fine gold. The man who loves Me best, is the man who has most sins forgiven; he owes much, therefore he will love much." This is the reason why God often selects the worst of men to make them His. () Essex Remembrancer. God is a sovereign and jealous of:His prerogative. Especially is He jealous of the undivided honour of redeeming man from the degradation and ruins of the fall. In the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ, He has taken, as it should seem, extraordinary pains to establish and illustrate this fact; for this reason; that therein He, or His name, is more deeply interested — that thereby His name is more highly magnified and more abundantly glorified, both in heaven and in earth, than by any other of His most stupendous works. I. THE NATURE OF THE SALVATION GRANTED TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. It is a spiritual and eternal salvation — a salvation of the sinner from the power, the love, the pollution, the practice, and the punishment of sin. II. UPON WHAT GROUNDS OR UPON WHAT TERMS THIS SALVATION IS VOUCHSAFED. "For His name's sake." By the name of God we may understand His person and attributes. For the sake, therefore, of illustrating His power, mercy, wisdom, truth and faithfulness, justice and holiness, He devised the great work of redemption. III. IN OPPOSITION TO WHAT IMPEDIMENTS THIS SALVATION IS VOUCHSAFED. "Nevertheless He saved them" — nevertheless what? In spite of what, according to the calculations of reason and of conscience, were utterly insuperable difficulties. But, blessed be God, His "thoughts are not as our thoughts." Notwithstanding therefore the sins of Israel were so numerous and so heinous He saved them; and to judge of their enormity you have only to consult this psalm — by which it appears they were guilty of the most abominable idolatries, of the blackest ingratitude, of the most determined rebellion. Notwithstanding all which God "saved them for His name's sake." Yes, and so likewise are we encouraged to hope that He will save us. () People Aaron, Abiram, Baalpeor, Dathan, Ham, Phinehas, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Mighty, Name's, Nevertheless, Power, Sake, Saved, Saveth, Saviour, YetOutline 1. The psalmist exhorts to praise God
4. He prays for pardon of sin, as God pardoned the fathers
7. The story of the people's rebellion, and God's mercy
47. He concludes with prayer and praise
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 106:8 1035 God, faithfulness
5909 motives, importance Psalm 106:7-11 4819 dryness Psalm 106:7-12 7223 exodus, significance Psalm 106:7-15 8763 forgetting Library June the Twelfth Waiting for the Spectacular
"The waves covered their enemies.... Then believed they His words." --PSALM cvi. 1-12. Their faith was born in a great emergency. A spectacular deliverance was needed to implant their trust in the Lord. They found no witness in the quiet daily providence; the unobtrusive miracle of daily mercy did not awake their song. They dwelt upon the "special" blessing, when all the time the really special blessing was to be found in the sleepless care which watched over them in their ordinary and commonplace …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling YearIsrael at the Red Sea
"A few more rolling years at most, Will land me on fair Canaan's coast.' And then I shall have no more warfare, no more fighting, no more disturbance; but I shall be at peace." "Not quite as thou desirest," says God. "Oh! thou little one; I have more to teach thee ere thou art prepared for my palace." Then he commences to lead us about, and bring us into straits and perils. The sins which we thought had utterly left us are hunting us behind, while impassible floods block up the way. Even trembling …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856 Why are Men Saved?
"The hand that made us is Divine." If we listen to the rippling of the freshet at the mountain side, to the tumbling of the avalanche, to the lowing of the cattle, to the singing of the birds, to every voice and sound of nature, we shall hear this answer to the question, "God is our maker; he hath made us, and not we ourselves." The next question, as to design--Why were these things made?--is not so easy to answer, apart from Scripture; but when we look at Scripture we discover this fact--that as …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857 Sin: Its Spring-Head, Stream, and Sea
It may help us to escape out of the meshes of our natural depravity, if we look back and see the causes of our fathers' sins. To confess our personal sin will tend to keep us humble; and in view of the Lord's mercy, which has spared and pardoned us, a sense of our guilt will make us grateful. The less we think of ourselves the more we shall think of him whose "mercy endureth for ever"; and if we see where our fathers' sins began, and how they grew, and what they came to, we may hope that the Spirit …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891 The Waters of Meribah
'Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2. And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4. And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Fourteenth Day. The Holy one of God.
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.'--Luke i. 35. 'We have believed and know that Thou art the Holy One of God.'--John vi. 69. 'The holy one of the Lord'--only once (Ps. cvi. 16) the expression is found in the Old Testament. It is spoken of Aaron, in whom holiness, as far as it could then be revealed, had found its most complete embodiment. The title waited for its fulfilment in Him who alone, in His own person, could perfectly show forth …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ Man's Misery by the Fall
Q-19: WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL? A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. 'And were by nature children of wrath.' Eph 2:2. Adam left an unhappy portion to his posterity, Sin and Misery. Having considered the first of these, original sin, we shall now advert to the misery of that state. In the first, we have seen mankind offending; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Our Status.
"And he believed in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousness." --Gen. xv. 6. The right touches a man's status. So long as the law has not proven him guilty, has not convicted and sentenced him, his legal status is that of a free and law-abiding citizen. But as soon as his guilt is proven in court and the jury has convicted him, he passes from that into the status of the bound and law-breaking citizen. The same applies to our relation to God. Our status before God is that either of the …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity Paul's Thanks and Prayers for Churches.
Text: Philippians 1, 3-11. 3 I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, 5 for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; 6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 even as it is right for me to be thus minded on behalf of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as, both in my bonds …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Elucidations.
I. (Deadly Sins, cap. ix., p. 356.) To maintain a modern and wholly uncatholic system of Penitence, the schoolmen invented a technical scheme of sins mortal and sins venial, which must not be read into the Fathers, who had no such technicalities in mind. By "deadly sins" they meant all such as St. John recognizes (1 John v. 16-17) and none other; that is to say sins of surprise and infirmity, sins having in them no malice or wilful disobedience, such as an impatient word, or a momentary neglect of …
Tertullian—The Five Books Against Marcion Rest for the Weary
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. W hich shall we admire most -- the majesty, or the grace, conspicuous in this invitation? How soon would the greatest earthly monarch be impoverished, and his treasures utterly exhausted, if all, that are poor and miserable, had encouragement to apply freely to him, with a promise of relief, fully answerable to their wants and wishes! But the riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible. If millions and millions …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST TO HIS POOR SERVANT, JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT LAY UPON HIM. Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Obedience
Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments.' Deut 27: 9, 10. What is the duty which God requireth of man? Obedience to his revealed will. It is not enough to hear God's voice, but we must obey. Obedience is a part of the honour we owe to God. If then I be a Father, where is my honour?' Mal 1: 6. Obedience carries in it the life-blood of religion. Obey the voice of the Lord …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 106:8 NIV
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