375. DEU 30:15. THE OFFER OF LIFE AND DEATH

Deu_30:15. The Offer of Life and Death

"I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil."’97Deu_30:15.

Of all offices that man can fill, none is so deeply momentous as that of the Christian minister. The watchman who guards the city, and the physician who has the care of the body, both fill responsible stations; but the Christian minister’97he is set to watch over immortal souls; he is sent to administer the balsam of life to the deathless spirits of his fellow-men. This great responsibility has been deeply felt by holy men in every age of the world. None seemed more deeply concerned to discharge it rightly than Moses. Hence, before he died, he was anxious to give the Israelites a complete rehearsal of the conduct of God towards them, and then he follows it up by the most affecting yet faithful exhortations he could possibly deliver. Thus in the text he says, "See, I have set before thee," &c. Notice,

I. The two Courses specified.

"Life and good, and death and evil."

We shall take the latter first; that is, "death and evil." Now we observe,

1. That this is the course in which all men are involved by nature and practice.

"By one man sin entered into the world," &c. "All have gone astray," &c. "God looked, but behold there was none righteous," &c. "God has concluded all men in unbelief," &c. "Judgment hath come upon all men," &c.

2. This state is one of extreme wretchedness and misery.

A variety of figures are employed to set it forth. It is poverty, disease, slavery, blindness, &c.

3. It is only the shadow of the woes which await the sinner in the eternal world.

Great difference between the shadow and the substance; yet one is the emblem of the other. Now death and evil, which are before the sinner, in eternity must be viewed in the following light.

(1) All the favorable and joyous scenes in this life must be extracted. Hours of repose; hours of gratification; pleasures of friendship; scenes of hope, &c. Take all that is pleasing out, then,

(2) Allow all his misery to remain unmixed and incessant, and last of all, eternal. Incessant and eternal anxiety; incessant and eternal remorse; incessant and eternal agony; incessant and eternal despair; never-dying death, and unmixed and eternal evil.

Now that is the dark side of the text. Let us look at the other course specified, "life and good."

1. Life is presented to us.

For we are already dead, and life is the first essential blessing we need. Now the life offered to us is,

(1) Freedom from the sentence of death. We are condemned already; God offers to repeal the sentence, to blot out our crimes, with the penalty incurred.

(2) Regeneration of spirit. He offers to raise the soul, to quicken it, to put the breath of the new life into it, to take away one heart of stone, &c. Then,

2. Good is also presented to us.

The favor of God the chief good; the love of God in the soul; the peace of God in the heart; the grace and Spirit of God; the good providence of God; the good promises of God; the good enjoyments of God; and last of all, in eternity, pure unmixed good forever and ever’97rivers of felicity, fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. Observe,

II. These Things are set before us.

1. Where are they set before us?

(1) In the word of God. In the law, in the prophets, the gospels, epistles, &c.

(2) In the ministry of the gospel. See the great commission: it is to publish these great truths. "Whom we preach," &c. Paul said, "I have not shunned," &c.

(3) In the influence of God’s truth on the conscience. Do you not feel an internal something speaking to you, &c. warning, &c.

2. For what are they set before us?

(1) For our solemn consideration. God has given us faculties to weigh, reflect, &c. God says, "Consider," &c. "O! that they were wise," &c. He complains, "My people will not know," &c.

(2) For our determination and choice. God throws the whole responsibility upon ourselves; he leaves it to our own decision; both are within our reach; he sets them for our decision "this day."

Application

1. The way of life and good is easy and free to you all. Repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is the willing Saviour of all men.

2. None can perish but those who willingly choose death and evil. Every lost soul has destroyed itself.

3. The necessity of now choosing life and good. Did you ever know the diseased man to choose death; the condemned man the shipwrecked man, &c.

Autor: JABEZ BURNS