32<\/strong>. The verse is closely connected with the preceding: ye shall remember your former evil, for not for your sakes do I this not because of your good deserving ( Eze 36:22<\/em><\/span>); on the contrary their own ways when thought upon could only cause them shame. In Lev 26:45<\/span> “for their sakes” means “to their benefit,” on their behalf.<\/p>\n Eze 36:32<\/span><\/p>\n Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Free grace<\/strong><\/p>\n There are two sins of man that are bred in the bone, and that continually come out in the flesh. One is self-dependence and the other is self-exaltation. It is very hard, even for the best of men, to keep themselves from the first error. Instead of looking to grace alone to sanctify us, we find ourselves adopting philosophic rules and principles which we think will effect the Divine work. We shall but mar it; we shall bring grief into our own spirits. But if, instead thereof, we in every word look up to the God of our salvation for help, and strength, and grace, and succour, then our work will proceed to our own joy and comfort, and to Gods glory. The other error to which man is very prone, is that of relying upon his own merit. Though there is no righteousness in any man, yet in every man there is a proneness to trust in some fancied merit. Human nature with regard to its own merit, is like the spider, it bears its support in its own bowels, and it seems as if it would keep spinning on to all eternity.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>First, since this doctrine is true, how humble a Christian man ought to be. I remember visiting a house of refuge. There was a poor girl there who had fallen into sin long, and when she found herself kindly addressed and recognised by society, and saw a Christian minister longing after her souls good, it broke her heart. What should a man of God care about her? she was so vile. How could it be that a Christian should speak to her? Ah! but how much more should that feeling rise in our hearts? My God! I have rebelled against Thee, and yet Thou hast loved me, unworthy me! How can it be?<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>This doctrine is true, and therefore it should be a subject of the greatest gratitude. (C. H. Spurgeon.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The true redemption of man<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Takes away all ground for human pride.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Should inspire us with adoring gratitude.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Come out, as a protest against iniquity.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Come out as an example to others.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>Come out to qualify yourself for usefulness. Every man must morally be like Christ, separate from sinners, to be able to save them.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The nature of this renovation.<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> Cleansing.<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> Exchange of hearts.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The consequences of this renovation.<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> A new mode of life. Turn the rudder, and you turn the ship.<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> A new relationship, The real meaning of this promise is, You shall be Mine–My loyal subjects, My willing servants, My loving children. And I will be yours. You shall have Me for your King, Father, Everlasting Portion.<\/p>\n (3)<\/strong> New circumstances. He that seeks first the kingdom of God, will have all necessary things added to him, This is fulfilled in the temperance, industry, and economy of truly redeemed lives.<\/p>\n (4)<\/strong> A new view of past life. It rises up as a huge and a hideous enormity, before which they quail and tremble; and ever after are humble in themselves, lowly before God, charitable towards men. (Urijah R. Thomas.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Not for your sakes:<\/B> to a self-exalting people, who have too high thoughts of themselves, this is a necessary monition; we are all like the Jews, proud of somewhat we have not; see ver. 22<\/span>; an old disease, and we are long since warned of it, as well as they, Deu 9:5<\/span>,6<\/span>. <\/P> Be ashamed and confounded:<\/B> shame and confusion, self-abhorrence and deepest humiliation, will become you, for you have walked stubbornly in your own ways, though I would have reclaimed you, and did call you back from them by my prophets. <\/P> <\/p>\n Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord<\/strong>,…. Not for any worth or worthiness in them; for any merit or desert of theirs; for any goodness in them, or works of righteousness done by them; no, it purely flowed from his own unmerited grace and goodness; for his own sake, and for his own glory, will he do it; see De 9:4<\/span>:<\/p>\n be it known unto you<\/strong>; this the Lord would have this people take notice of, who were very fond of their own righteousness and merits, and to trust therein, and ascribe much thereunto, as most men are too apt to do; and therefore, to take down their pride, and take them off of their boastings and vain opinions of themselves, he would have them know and acknowledge this; and be so far from placing any of the favours bestowed on them to the account of the merit of their good works, that they ought to take shame for their evil ones, as follows:<\/p>\n be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel<\/strong>; as men are when they are brought to a true sight and sense of them, and reflect upon the evil of them, and are brought to true repentance for them; see Eze 16:61<\/span>.<\/p>\n (32) Not for your sakes.<\/strong>See Eze. 36:22<\/span>.<\/p>\n DISCOURSE: 1119 Eze 36:32<\/span>. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel<\/em>.<\/p>\n THERE is not any gift, whether of nature or of grace, from which the pride of man will not take occasion to exalt itself. But the design of God in his Gospel is, to counteract this propensity, and to make his creatures sensible of their obligations to him, and their entire dependence upon him. Hence, having declared, in the preceding context, what he intended to do for his Church and people, he particularly cautions them not to imagine, that he was influenced by any goodness which he saw in them; or that, after having received his blessings, they would have any thing to boast of: for to their latest hour they would have in themselves cause for nothing but shame and confusion. I.<\/p>\n God, in imparting his blessings to us, has not respect to any good in us<\/p>\n There is not in us any thing meritorious, to which he can have respect Nor would it consist with his honour to make our goodness the ground of dispensing his favours Experience alone sufficiently shews that God is influenced by no such motive The text goes yet further, and shews that,<\/p>\n II.<\/p>\n There is in us nothing which is not a ground rather for shame and confusion<\/p>\n Doubtless the Jews were a peculiarly stiff-necked people: yet, if we have not the same sins to deplore, we have enough to justify the application of this passage to ourselves. But let us take the best actions of our lives, and the holiest dispositions of our hearts: what are our prayers and our praises, when compared with the importance of the blessings we have received, or that we desire at Gods hands? What is our repentance, when compared with the number and heinousness of our transgressions? What is our trust in God? What our love to the blessed Saviour? What our zeal in his service? Do they bear any proportion to the occasions that call for them? We know that a godly person would be utterly ashamed of such services as a mere formalist makes the ground of his boast and confidence: and would not a perfect Being, if sent down to serve his God on earth, lothe himself, if he were to render no better services than ours? Surely then we ought to blush and be confounded before God, not only for the remains of evil that are within us, but for the very best actions we have ever performed.] III.<\/p>\n The importance of being reminded of these things, and of having them deeply fixed in our hearts<\/p>\n We are apt to take credit to ourselves, and to think ourselves as high in Gods estimation as we are in our own. But God would have us know, that there is no just ground for our vain conceit: it is even with considerable indignation that he reminds us of it in the words before us. We need to be well instructed in this matter,<\/p>\n 1.<\/p>\n That we may be led to humility<\/p>\n [The knowledge of ourselves is indispensably necessary to the attainment of humility: but we must be ignorant indeed of ourselves, if we imagine that there either is, or can be, any thing in us to merit the Divine favour. The truth is, that no words can adequately express the unparalleled deceitfulness, and desperate wickedness, of our hearts [Note: Jer 17:9<\/span>.]. If we know any thing of ourselves, we cannot but lothe and abhor ourselves, as Job did, in dust and ashes [Note: Job 42:6<\/span>.]. And we need to have our extreme vileness and baseness frequently set before us, in order that we may know what we are, and not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think [Note: Rom 12:3<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n That we may be excited to thankfulness<\/p>\n [While we entertain the idea of having purchased, as it were, or merited, the blessings we enjoy, we cannot possibly feel any lively gratitude for them in our hearts: instead of admiring the goodness of our God, we shall be ready to think hardly of him, if at any time his bounties are withdrawn from us. But let us once be convinced of our deep depravity, and we shall wonder that we have not long since been made monuments of divine vengeance. It will then appear no small mercy that we are on praying ground; that we have a covenant-God to flee unto; and that there is a Mediator, through whom we may approach him with an assurance of acceptance. Yes; these things, which are so little regarded by the generality, will make our hearts to overflow with gratitude, and our tongues to sing aloud for joy.]<\/p>\n Application Let us concede to God the liberty of dispensing his favours according to his own sovereign will<\/p>\n [To dispute this is needless;<\/em> for he will not ask our permission [Note: Job 33:13<\/span>.], nor consult our inclination; but will have mercy on whom he will have mercy [Note: Rom 9:18<\/span>.] Moreover, it is ruinous;<\/em> for we cannot hope to participate his blessings, if we will not condescend to accept them as they are offered. We must buy them indeed, as the Scripture speaks; but it must be without money and without price [Note: Isa 55:1<\/span>.]. Let us then acknowledge Gods right to do what he will with his own [Note: Mat 20:15<\/span>.]; and abase ourselves before him, as less than the least of all his mercies [Note: Gen 32:10<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n Let us be thankful that, however unworthy we are, there is a Saviour whose worthiness we may plead before him<\/p>\n [Though God will not do any thing for our<\/em> sake, yet he will for his dear Sons sake. There is nothing that he will refuse us, if we go to him in the name of Jesus Christ [Note: Joh 14:13-14<\/span>. See a pattern for prayer; Dan 9:17-19<\/span>.]. Nor will our unworthiness be any bar to our acceptance with him. On the contrary, the more we humble and abase ourselves, the more ready will he be to accept and bless us.]<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Eze 36:32 Not for your sakes do I [this], saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Ver. 32. Not for your sakes.<\/strong> ] See on Eze 36:22<\/span> . <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Be ashamed.<\/strong> ] Abashed and abased, as was Ezra, Ezr 9:6 Ephraim, Jer 31:19 the publican. Luk 18:13 <\/p>\n be ashamed. Compare Eze 16:63. <\/p>\n Eze 36:32-38<\/p>\n Eze 36:32-38<\/p>\n “Not for your sake do I this, saith the Lord Jehovah, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day that I cleanse you from your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, Jehovah, have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate: I, Jehovah, have spoken, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock. As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of. Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with the flocks of men: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.”<\/p>\n THE GREAT OBJECTIVE IS GOD’S GLORY <\/p>\n (Eze 36:32-38)<\/p>\n “In the day that I cleanse you from your iniquities …” (Eze 36:33). This means that all of the great temporal blessings promised for Israel will come after the New Covenant has been established, and after Israel has accepted it, that at that time God will pour out all of these rich blessings upon Israel. Of course, that is not the way it turned out; but it is the way that it would have turned out if Israel had only accepted the Lord when he came.<\/p>\n What really happened was that Israel not only rejected the Saviour, they contrived his crucifixion by a cunning combination of suborned testimony, political pressure, and mob violence. They manufactured lies about his resurrection, they opposed with the bitterest hatred the work of the holy apostles and successfully enlisted the power of Rome itself against the Church. In that last sin, they also accomplished their own destruction. For Rome learned that the Church of Christ was a legitimate offspring of Judaism; and having been set against the Church through Judaistic efforts, Rome decided to destroy Judaism also. This resulted in the war against Jerusalem itself, the destruction of the Temple and the City, the murder of 1,100,000 of the Jewish people, the sending of 30,000 of them back into Egypt as captives, and a bitter campaign against Jews throughout the ancient Roman empire.<\/p>\n The contrast between this tragic record of what really happened and what God had intended emphasizes the awful consequences of Israel’s refusal to accept Christ, not merely for Israel, but for the Church and for all mankind.<\/p>\n Despite this dismal tragedy which is verified not only by the New Testament but by the full history of the first century of this era, there are still people on earth who suppose that all of the wonderful things God promised to Israel in this chapter with reference to the vast population, the great cities, and the abundant prosperity are still going to happen. Feinberg caught the spirit of this expectation in these words: “The words of this chapter should fill us with joy. Is there not something the Lord wants you to do to work toward the day of Israel’s deliverance and glory.<\/p>\n Our Saviour wept aloud over the failure of Israel to receive the glory God intended, saying:<\/p>\n “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, but ye would not (Mat 24:37). <\/p>\n If thou hadst known in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast a bank about thee, and compass thee round and keep thee in on every side, and they shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation (Luk 19:42-44).”<\/p>\n This is exactly what happened to the old Israel and it affords a dramatic contrast with what Ezekiel prophesied and what could have happened except for Israel’s apostasy and judicial hardening.<\/p>\n Now should we pray for the day to come when the old racial Israel is going to be restored to glory? No! All of the glorious promises that once belonged to racial Israel now pertain exclusively to the New Israel. There is no revealed formula by which ancient peoples who missed their opportunities shall be able to find them again. The Saviour wept over their loss, but he could do nothing about it, and neither can we.<\/p>\n Prophecies to Edom and the Mountains of Israel<\/p>\n Eze 35:1 to Eze 36:38<\/p>\n Open It<\/p>\n 1. What examples do you know of people who took advantage of someone elses misfortune? <\/p>\n 2. With what kinds of suffering do you find it difficult to empathize? <\/p>\n Explore It<\/p>\n 3. What did God promise to do to Mount Seir (Edom)? (Eze 35:1-4) <\/p>\n 4. What had the Edomites done to anger God? (Eze 35:5-6) <\/p>\n 5. What unrighteous attitudes formed the basis for Gods judgment of Edom? (Eze 35:11) <\/p>\n 6. How did God intend to vindicate His name by turning the tables on Edom? (Eze 35:14-15) <\/p>\n 7. How did God, through Ezekiel, show that He understood all that had happened to Israel at the hands of their enemies? (Eze 36:1-5) <\/p>\n 8. What did God promise to do to Israels enemies in answer to their scorn? (Eze 36:6-7) <\/p>\n 9. What changes did Ezekiel predict in the land of Israel? (Eze 36:8-12) <\/p>\n 10. What did Gods people do while they were dwelling in the land to defile it and reap Gods judgment? (Eze 36:16-19) <\/p>\n 11. How was Gods name slandered by the very judgment He visited on His people? (Eze 36:20-21) <\/p>\n 12. For whose sake did God act to restore Israel and punish her enemies? (Eze 36:22-23) <\/p>\n 13. What did God intend to prove to the other nations who had witnessed Israels punishment? (Eze 36:23) <\/p>\n 14. Once God had gathered His people, what internal changes did He promise them? (Eze 36:24-28) <\/p>\n 15. What calamities did God intend to reverse for Israel? (Eze 36:29-30) <\/p>\n 16. How would Gods people feel about their past rebellion after He restored them? (Eze 36:31) <\/p>\n 17. What message would the surrounding nations get from Gods restoration of Israel? (Eze 36:33-36) <\/p>\n Get It<\/p>\n 18. What is good and bad about being “opportunistic”? <\/p>\n 19. Why is it wrong to scorn those who suffer, even if they suffer for their own sins? <\/p>\n 20. Why might the pagan nations have assumed that God didnt hear their slander? <\/p>\n 21. By scattering the people of Israel in exile in other countries, how did God jeopardize His good name? <\/p>\n 22. What was Gods biggest reason for the dramatic reversal between the mountains (strength) of Israel and of Seir? <\/p>\n 23. What does God know that we need (in addition to His material blessings) in order to serve Him faithfully? <\/p>\n Apply It<\/p>\n 24. What group of suffering people can you ask God to help you view from His perspective? <\/p>\n 25. The next time you become aware of some conflict or disarray among Gods people that damages Gods name, what can you do to be Gods instrument of healing and wholeness? <\/p>\n for your: Eze 36:22, Deu 9:5, Dan 9:18, Dan 9:19, 2Ti 1:9, Tit 3:3-6 <\/p>\n be ashamed: Eze 16:63, Ezr 9:6, Rom 6:21, 1Pe 4:2, 1Pe 4:3 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 19:29 – that God Deu 9:4 – Speak not 2Sa 7:22 – Wherefore 1Ki 20:28 – therefore will Psa 115:1 – unto us Isa 43:25 – for mine Jer 3:25 – for we have sinned Jer 17:13 – all that Jer 32:36 – now Eze 6:9 – they shall Eze 14:6 – turn Eze 16:52 – bear thine Eze 16:54 – thou mayest Eze 16:61 – remember Eze 18:3 – General Luk 22:61 – And Peter Act 13:38 – it Act 28:28 – it known Rom 3:27 – Where 2Th 3:14 – that he 1Ti 1:15 – of whom<\/p>\n Eze 36:32. This verse takes the same comments as verse 22.<\/p>\n Not for your sakes do I [this], saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. 32. The verse is closely connected with the preceding: ye shall remember your former evil, for not for your sakes do I this not because of your … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 36:32”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>I shall endeavour to expound this text. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God. The motive for the salvation of the human race is to be found in the breast of God, and not in the character or condition of man. God, who doeth as He wills with His own, and giveth no account of His matters, but who deals with His creatures as the potter deals with his clay, took not upon Him the nature of angels, but took upon Him the seed of Abraham, and chose men to be the vessels of His mercy. This fact we know, but where is its reason? certainly not in man. Here, very few object. If we talk about the election of men and the non-election of fallen angels, there is not a cavil for a moment. Come, then, we must go further. The only reason why one man is saved, and not another, lies not, in any sense, in the man saved, but in Gods bosom. The reason why this day the Gospel is preached to you and not to the heathen far away, is not because, as a race, we are superior to the heathen; it is not because we deserve more at Gods hands; His choice of Britain, in the election of outward privilege, is not caused by the excellency of the British nation, but entirely because of His own mercy and His own love. We are taught in Holy Scripture that, long before this world was made, God foreknew and foresaw all the creatures He intended to fashion; and there and then foreseeing that the human race would fall into sin, and deserve His anger, determined, in His own sovereign mind, that an immense portion of the human race should be His children and should be brought to heaven. As to the rest He left them to their own deserts, to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, to scatter crime and inherit punishment. Now in the great decree of election, the only reason why God selected the vessels of mercy must have been because He would do it. As the fruit of our election, in due time Christ came into this world, and purchased with His blood all those whom the Father hath chosen. Now come ye to the Cross of Christ; bring this doctrine with you, and remember that the only reason why Christ gave up His life to be a ransom for His sheep was because He loved His people, but there was nothing in His people that made Him die for them. After Christs death, there comes, in the next place, the work of the Holy Spirit. Those whom the Father hath chosen, and whom the Son in us. To go a little further: this truth, which holds good so far, holds good all the way. Gods people, after they are called by grace, are preserved in Christ Jesus; they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation; they are not suffered to sin away their eternal inheritance, but as temptations arise they have strength given with which to encounter them, and as sin blackens them they are washed afresh, and again cleansed. But mark, the reason why God keeps His people is the same as that which made them His people–His own free sovereign grace. And to conclude my exposition of this text. This shall hold good in heaven itself. The day is coming when every blood-bought, blood-washed child of God shall walk the golden streets arrayed in white. Our hands shall soon bear the palm; our ears shall be delighted with celestial melodies, and our eyes filled with the transporting visions of Gods glory. But mark, the only reason why God shall bring us to heaven shall be His own love, and not because we deserved it. We must fight the fight, but we do not win the victory because we fight it; we must labour, but the wage at the days end shall be a wage of grace, and not a debt.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>I have to illustrate and enforce this text, Suppose that some great criminal is at last overtaken in his sin, and shut up in Newgate, He has committed high treason, murder, rebellion, and every possible iniquity. He has broken all the laws of the realm–every one of them. The public cry is everywhere–This man must die; the laws cannot be maintained unless he shall be made an example of their rigour. He who beareth not the sword in vain must this time let the sword taste blood. The man must die; he richly deserves it. You look through his character: you cannot see one solitary redeeming trait. He is an old offender, he has so long persevered in his iniquity that you are compelled to say, The case is hopeless with this man; his crimes have such aggravation we cannot make an apology for him, even should we try. Not jesuitical cunning itself could devise any pretence of excuse, or any hope of a plea for thin abandoned wretch; let him die! Now, if the Queen, having in her hands the sovereign power of life and death, chooses that this man shall not die, but that he shall be spared, do you not see as plain as daylight, that the only reason that can move her to spare that man, must be her own love, her own compassion? For, as I have supposed already that there is nothing in that mans character that can be a plea for mercy, but that, contrariwise, his whole character cries aloud for vengeance against his sin. Whether we like it or not, this is just the truth concerning ourselves. This is just our character and position before God.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>I come to a very solemn practical application.<\/p>\n
I.<\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>Has its origin in God and God only. I do this for My Holy Names sake. All that God does is self-originated. He alone is spontaneous in action. This fact–<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>Serves to reveal the glory of Gods character to the world. The moral redemption of man, which involves the marvellous history and work of Christ, reveals more of the glory of God than all the material universe in its vastness and variety.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>Involves separation from all unholy associations.<\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>Comprises a thorough renovation of human life.<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
GODS MERCIES NOT GIVEN FOR OUR MERITS<\/strong><\/p>\n
From this caution the following observations naturally arise:<\/p>\n
[Let our actions be weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and every one of them will be found wanting. If we had done all that is required of us, we should still be only unprofitable servants [Note: Luk 17:10<\/span>.]. But we have not done all; nor have we done any part as we ought: and therefore instead of having any merit whereon to found a claim of blessings from God, we have need of mercy and forgiveness for our very best actions [Note: Isa 64:6<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n
[Whatever the measure of our goodness were, if it were considered in any degree as founding a claim for the Divine blessing, or as inducing God to impart his benefits to us, it would instantly become a ground of glorying before God. The possessor of that goodness might ascribe to himself some portion of the honour, instead of giving the glory of his salvation to God alone. But this would be to subvert the whole design of the Gospel, which is, to exclude boasting [Note: Rom 3:27<\/span>. See also Eze 36:21-23<\/span>.], and not to give Gods glory to another.]<\/p>\n
[If God had respect to any thing that is good in us, the most moral people would always be stirred up to embrace the Gospel, and the most profligate be left to reject it. But this is by no means the case: yea, the very reverse is more generally true, namely, that publicans and harlots enter into the kingdom, before the more decent Scribes, or self-righteous Pharisees [Note: Mat 21:31<\/span>.]. God is indeed sometimes said to do things for the sake of Abraham, David, and others: but it was not for their righteousness sake, considered as meritorious<\/em>, that God vouchsafed blessings to them or their posterity; but either to testify his love to obedience, or to manifest the immutability of his counsel [Note: Deu 7:6-8<\/span>; Deu 9:4-6<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n
The sins of our unregenerate state may well fill us with confusion
[Time may efface many things from our remembrance; but it cannot alter the nature of them, or blot them out of the book of God. Our sins are all in his sight, as if they were transacted but yesterday: and whatever degree of malignity they had formerly, that they retain at this moment: and consequently we should feel on their account all the shame, and sorrow, and confusion that they either did occasion, or ought to have occasioned, at the time they were committed. Yea, the whole mass of evil that ever passed through our minds ought to lie with a weight upon our consciences, so far at least as to produce an abiding sense of our extreme sinfulness.]
The infirmities of our regenerate state also should humble us in the dust before God
[Who is not conscious of innumerable evils working in his heart? Who does not at some time feel the workings of pride, anger, worldliness, impurity, and various other corruptions? Who does not feel that these are properly<\/em> his own ways<\/em>, and that the exercise of contrary dispositions is the fruit of divine grace?<\/p>\n
The emphatic manner in which these things are delivered, leads us to notice,<\/p>\n
1.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"