Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. It is quite common for natural
men to compare themselves among themselves and conclude that
there are some among them who live more uprightly than do others.
In this comparison, it is easy for them to conclude that the
good works and kindnesses of some men far exceed that of the
majority. We would not dispute this comparison
in the least. There are indeed many who are
comparatively innocent. If one should compare the deeds
of any infant with those of Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer, he could
not help but conclude that these infants are indeed pure. Yet
the scripture is plain when it declares, there is none that
doeth good, no, not one. The Lord Jesus clearly nixed
the thinking that true and pure goodness could be found in men
when he said, why callest thou me good? There is none good but
one, that is God. This came from the lips of him
who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. It is sheer
folly for mortal men to consider that any who are born of the
seed of a man and woman could be considered good. for all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. By nature man is
false and full of sin. The marriage of Leah to Jacob
was absolutely necessary for the redemption of God's people
to occur, according to the predestined purpose of God, because it was
from this very union that the lion of the tribe of Judah sprang,
since Judah was Leah's son which she bore to Jacob. In this union
were all the nations of the earth blessed. Yet in a perfect world,
as men would have it, this marriage would never have occurred, because
we see this union as the result of deception and trickery, and
view Jacob as one who was taken advantage of by his uncle and
father-in-law. It all seems wrong to our sense
of propriety. There are many observations which
we can draw from this situation. Number one, the Lord will often
lead his people by a path which they would never choose if those
choices were left up to them. And I will bring the blind by
way that they knew not. I will lead them in paths that
they have not known. I will make darkness light before
them and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them
and not forsake them. The majority of Jacob's sons
were born to him by Leah, most especially Judah, from which
Jesus Christ, after the flesh, was born, even though he could
not have known that ahead of time. God blesses his people
in spite of their own carnal wanderings and choices. Secondly,
the immediacy of our desires often cause us to complain at
the lot which has befallen to us. Even as Jacob was unhappy
when he discovered that his bride was not Rachel, Yet all that
the Lord gives to his people is for their benefit. Behold,
I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth, shall
ye not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness and rivers and the desert. Paul was given a thorn
in the flesh to teach him that the grace of God is sufficient
in all things which may befall the children of God. Thirdly,
the Lord will often humble his children by causing them to experience
the fruits of the sins that they are most secretly fond of or
disposed to. Jacob was a conniver of the first
order. In fact, his name literally means
supplanter. Is it not appropriate that he
got a taste of his own medicine, and perhaps each time he thought
of how wronged he had been by Laman, the Spirit of God pricked
his conscience to remind him of his own deceivings? Be sure
your sin will find you out. The greatest sadness of the children
of God is a contemplation of their own corruption. Yet it
is this contemplation that the Lord uses to drive them to Christ,
that they might in humility before him cry out, I abhor myself and
repent in dust and ashes. Lord save, we perish. The redemption
of the Lord's people is the grand purpose that is seen in the whole
design of the world. And every activity that has taken
place in the world is meant to bring that to fruition. It was
necessary in that design that Christ should be born of the
tribe of Judah, whose name literally means the praise of the Lord.
And finally, the world in all of its glory belongs to Him who
directs all events, from the flight of a sparrow to the number
of hairs upon a man's head. Christ came into the world to
do the will of His Father, who sent Him as the deliverer of
His own elect bride. even as all glory belongs to
Him in the accomplishment of that salvation. So we preach
the gospel for this sole reason as well. He shall indeed call
His own from the four corners of the earth and cause them to
hear the sweet story of the Redeemer and His bride. Come hither, I
will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. Christ loved the
church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present
it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
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