Reading Reflection:
November 20, 2011
The True Believer, Jonathan Edwards, Edited by Dr. Don Kistler (Soli Deo Gloria, 2001)
This book is a collection of sermons by Jonathan Edwards. The sermon I am quoting from is titled, Christians a Chosen Generation, preached on verse 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Here is one of the points on how we are a peculiar people:
They are God’s peculiar people with respect to the complacence which He has in them. God takes delight in His saints. Psalm 11:7: “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness. His countenance doth behold the upright.” God rejoices, as it were, over a convert. He delights in beholding that beauty, and those ornaments of mind which He has given him. God takes delight in the graces of a Godly man’s heart, and He delights in the good works and religion of the Christian. Psalm 37:23: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in his way.” God takes delight in the godly man’s prayers. Proverbs 15:8: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” He takes more delight in the sincere, humble devotion of one true saint than in all the moral virtue and outward religion of all the natural men in the world. If the wicked who are rich should offer God ten thousand sacrifices, or if they should devote ever so much of their substance to religious uses, if they should give all their goods to feed the poor, it would not be so acceptable to God as one cup of cold water given by a saint with a spirit of true charity (157-158).
He goes on to talk about the changed life of a believer and how true godliness should show forth a difference in living. But this sermon really reminded me of the special love God has for his people. How often do we think about it in this way? We rightly talk much about God’s love displayed to us in Christ’s work on our behalf. But, it is so amazing to think about what Christ’s work does in our relationship with God. He actually delights in me! I always think of my delight in the Lord but I really needed to be reminded that he delights in me as well. So often when I go to him in prayer, I’m thinking of how frustrated he must be with me. But thanks to Jesus Christ, my God has a loving affection for me. I never think that I have done enough to love others with the love of Christ, but I’m forgetting that Christ has already done it all. Because of this, my motives can be pure as I love my neighbor. Reading this sermon just brought back that wonderful feeling when you learn that the one you think about before you fall asleep and as soon as you wake up feels the same way. But we know that God’s love and affection is so much more than we can even fathom. I am just so blessed to be one of those peculiar people!
