The Revelation of God, in His Word, solves a problem which, more or less, has occupied mankind in all ages; but in our times, peculiarly so. The necessity of authority and the supremacy of rule, has been intuitively admitted. The source of it has been disputed. To whom power ought to be confided is a vexed question; but that law or authority we must have-having its validity in the consent of the mass, or in the sanction of the few, or otherwise—is agreed upon by all. The world heaves with the struggling in men's minds, to arrive at conclusions; the Theories advanced are as diversified as the climate, and as variable as the seasons; the well- being of our country is assumed as positive data for conclusive judgment; the sorrows of another, in like manner; the world is inundated with speculations, and, far worse, is groaning under trials which man seeks to mitigate by attributing to one cause or other, the failure of everything; to have, in his turn, his theories canvassed, and his conclusions contradicted. Mankind has existed some six thousand years, to awaken the present generation to the fact, that if they had glimpses of good, they were impotent to follow it, lf, in the pages of history, the eye rests with pleasure upon the social condition of some favored portion of the globe-it is recalled to remembrance, along with the fact, of man's helplessness to retain it: if good, it degenerated; if bad, it grew worse. There is one lesson to learn from the experience of the past; and that is, to cease expectation from man in the future. The purposes of God, as revealed in His Word, with the revelation of His character, enable man to do so. Where God is known, He is to be confided in; He, who created man's nature, knows best what is suited to it; He, who endowed man with such excellent faculties, knows best how to respect them; He, who feeds the ravens and clothes the grass of the field, was not likely to be less mindful of man, who was created in His own image. When the Rights of God are respected; the well-being of man is secured.
The Bible is such a revelation of God, as is befitting God; and such a revelation of man, as answers to man. Men are represented in the Bible, as being what they are; mankind is found to be such as God's Word represents it. When God created the world, the world needed God to sustain it; when God had created man upright, man needed God to sustain him. Independence of God ruined man, separated him from his only strength; and as a vessel without rudder may still float upon the waters, yet her course is shapeless, and she is at the mercy of every contingency of wind or tide, so with man, when his 'heart no longer responded to God; when God bad no longer authority over man's heart, then man failed in his conduct to man. When Cain failed to acknowledge the rights of God, the con-sequences were fatal to Abel. He slew his brother. Disrespect of man to God, led to the murder of man by his fellow. God had a property in Abel; he was made for His pleasure. Cain not only did violence to fraternal relationship, but he disregarded the right of God upon Abel.
Man is instructed of God to have regard to man. The judgments of God-as, for instance, in the Deluge-fell upon man, because of the violence which was upon the face of the earth. The whole earth was filled with violence; the Deluge swept away an intolerable generation, whose existence was misery prolonged, and who had turned the earth-which God gave man to dwell in-into a nursery for crime and oppression. After the Deluge, in His regard for man, God committed judgment into the hands of man. Whosoever shed man's blood, by man should his blood be shed; and the reason is given, for in the image of God made He man. We are taught by God, who made us, to have respect to one another. God has a property in man. For His pleasure we are created; and God's title respected, is a safeguard for man's life being respected. Government was committed to the hands of man for protection of man; disregard of God entailed sad consequences. The whole earth was of one speech, and they united together against God. Had they succeeded for a time, so much the worse for man. But God interfered, and. confounded their language and strength. for evil. Still, idolatry had crept in; as in Josh. 24:1515And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15). The knowledge of the true God was lost, and man disregarded. God reveals Himself to Abraham and the knowledge of God separated Abraham from idolatry around. Was Abraham a worse man for acknowledging Jehovah? Did man suffer the more, now that God was revealed? When Lot was taken captive, how speedily Abram sought his deliverance! When, again, Lot was in Sodom, how, by intercession, Abram succored him. When God was about to destroy Sodom and its inhabitants, how careful was Abraham on their behalf! And when he acknowledged the claim of God on the life of his son his only son Isaac, was Abraham a sufferer? God probed, to the quick, the heart of His servant; and when it was found true to his Maker, God did the more clearly show how the parental instincts which He had bestowed, were by Himself respected. He provided a Lamb for an offering. God would make Himself known to the seed of His servant, and make them His people; it should be proved in the earth which rejected its Creator, that they were foolish in doing so; it should be found truest wisdom to acknowledge and own Him. They went down into Egypt seventy in number, and came forth a mighty people. They were delivered from bondage in a manner worthy of Him who delivered them. The Egyptians had gods of their own, and they held men in bondage. They gloried in the achievements of science, yet their minds were enslaved. They raised mighty monuments to honor the dead, and goaded to exertion by tortures, the living who built them. They had demons of cruelty for gods, and they treated men cruelly. Man's truest liberty is secured, where the claims of God are honored and regarded.
For illustration of this more closely, let us glance at that revelation of God to man in one aspect of the law of the Ten Commandments, as given to Moses. The revelation of His rights contains the declaration of His character. The creature never could have supported the honor due to God his Creator. Revelation from God could alone be the basis of true knowledge of God. Man, as man, might judge of the nature and claims of man; God, as God, only could understand His nature and claims as God.
What passed before man was created, is given to us in the account of Creation, and could only be given to us by One who had being before man. The first chapter of Genesis, of necessity, antedates the existence of man, and is a record given by God, the Holy Ghost, of His works before man was fashioned. Hence, the value of Scripture, the wonderful importance of revelation. God Himself condescending to instruct man in His ways, and give him the history of His creation. We possess, in the first chapter of Genesis, the manifestation of the being of God, who created us; and, in the majesty of His communication, we instinctively recognize our Creator. The heavens and earth are not more harmoniously combined, than is the succinct narration of it; and no wonder, for the Spirit of God originated both. The fall of man; the wickedness of man before the flood; the daring impiety after it, on the plains of Shinar; the call of Abraham out of an evil, corrupted world, to the knowledge of God who made heaven and earth. The preservation of his posterity in Egypt, and their deliverance out of it by the hand of Moses; their passage through the Red Sea in safety, whilst their enemies were overwhelmed in its waters, were but necessary preliminaries to their meeting with God at Mount Sinai, where He would reveal Himself further, and proclaim His sovereign rights as Creator, as the best safeguard for the well-being of His creatures. The invisible things of Him that created them, manifest,. clearly, His eternal power and Godhead. " The. God of Glory appeared unto Israel;" from Him Moses received the lively oracles to give unto them. The Laws He gave unto Moses manifest, clearly, His moral perfections. As Creator He cared for the moral well-being of man created. Yet we must remember when and how this revelation of Himself occurs. It is not made to man as standing in his primeval integrity. In other words, not on the ground of Creation. God made man upright! Sin entered: man is separated from God. Now, God reveals Himself to man on the ground of Redemption. Ex. 20:11And God spake all these words, saying, (Exodus 20:1), "And God spake these words, saying: I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." The creature having lost its relationship by disobedience to his Creator, is taken up on the ground of a redemption. The price of that redemption is found in the grace of God Himself. He would have mercy on whom He would have mercy. Creation-standing, of necessity, was in the perfection of Him that created. Redemption, out of an evil condition, necessarily presumes that such had existed. Absence from God led to ignorance of God. Redemption to God (even of Israel, as a nation) needed instruction; and this instruction is vouchsafed in the revelation of God as placed before us in the law of the Ten Commandments given to Moses, in one aspect of it. For the first table of the law brings before us the sovereign rights of God; and these respected, involve the wellbeing of man. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me:" is the majestic annunciation of His sovereignty. God would share His glory with none other.
"Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, or any likeness that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." God is God, and made all things for His glory. No figure could represent Him; no likeness could be made of Him. What He is in Himself-almighty, omniscient, omnipresent-no creature can adequately portray. In His revealed character is man's confidence. To compare God to any created thing, is to rob ourselves. "I am what I am." The heavens declare God's glory; the firmament showeth His handywork. "The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. 1:2020For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20)). Life, breath, and being, are but the expressions of what He is-proofs of what He can do. To set up the creature for God-idols made of stocks and stones-to give to God the properties ascribed to idols-which have their original in a corrupted imagination-and then to bow down to them and worship them-what is this but to make the creature the foundation of Deity, instead of the Deity the foundation of the creature! What unheard-of miseries have sprung from this source! What are the annals of pagan idolatry, but annals of evil incarnate? Man investing his idol with the evil character of his own heart in personal embodiment, and then shaping his ways in the light of this evil. What fearful results! the degradation of Deity, the degradation of man.
" Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, that taketh His name in vain." Again, we have God jealous of His glory. The heart that owned Him, must learn to honor Him. As Omnipresent, nothing escapes His eye; as Omniscient, He understandeth our thoughts afar off. When we speak of Him He hears; when we act for Him, He sees. Reverence for His majesty, forbids alike the frivolous use of His name, or the blasphemous taking of His name in vain. The glory of the Creator demands the reverence of His creature.
" Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God!" Yes, the Sabbath of God; and, because His, the rest-day of man. Not the working-man's day, but the day of God for the working-man, and the cattle too. Could anything more illustrate the fact, that in the sovereign rights of God respected- the well-being of man is secured.
Now follow rules for man's government. Obedience to parents: "Honor thy father and thy mother." Regard to human life: "Thou shalt not kill." Prohibition on the one hand, protection on the other. Man may not kill; man may not be killed. Regard to the holiest of ties: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
Regard to property: "Thou shalt not steal." Regard to character: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." "A good name, is better than precious ointment." And, lastly: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's."
How manifestly we have to do with the living God who made us, in. this declaration of the glory due to Himself, and the regard for His creature man! How well our nature is apprehended, our sympathies and affections, bow thoroughly understood; and in these statutes, how paternally cared for! God, the Creator, understands the wants and feelings of man, His creature.—The Lord Jesus illustrates His Father's care when teaching His disciples: " Consider the ravens, for they neither -sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them." How much more are ye better than the sparrows!"-" Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall under-stand the loving-kindness of the Lord."-Psa. 107:4343Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. (Psalm 107:43).