In his sermon 'But Showing Mercy to Thousands,' Mike Davenport examines the Second Commandment from Exodus 20:4-6, focusing on its prohibitions and the implications of God's jealousy. The sermon highlights the commandment's prohibitions against the worship of images, will worship, and hypocrisy in religious practice. Davenport introduces the regulative principle of worship, which limits worship to what is explicitly commanded by Scripture, contrasted with the normative principle. God's jealousy is explained as His intolerance of unfaithfulness and rivalry, grounded in His holiness and desire to protect His covenant, worship, name, and word. The sermon also addresses the consequences of disobedience, including the visitation of iniquity upon future generations, while emphasizing the promise of mercy to those who love God and keep His commandments. Evangelical obedience, defined as a heartfelt, albeit imperfect, adherence to God's will, is presented as a means to receive God's mercy, underscoring the importance of worship choices on future generations.

Exodus, chapter 20. Exodus, chapter 20. So we find ourselves in the middle of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20, verses 4 through 6. Hear the word of the Lord.

You shall not make for yourselves a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. Let us pray. Oh gracious God, we know that promise in Isaiah that you draw near to those who are of a contrite heart and who tremble at your words.

Lord, you spoke these very words in the hearing of this people. And there were thunderings, lightnings, flashes of fire, thickness, darkness of smoke, the earth trembling even as you spoke these words. Oh God, we come not to that mount today, but we do come to Mount Zion, And we come to a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Therefore, O God, may we learn to serve you with fear and with trembling, and may we do it as you have prescribed, knowing that you our God are a consuming fire. So help us today.

Help us to understand and help us to worship you right. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. Amen. You may be seated.

Well in the taking up of this command two weeks ago, We considered first the restrictions stated in the commandment. We considered what this commandment forbids. First, this commandment forbids the worship of images. Second, it forbids the making physical representations of God, even in our minds. This includes the forbidding of any image of Jesus in books and Bibles, or even playing his character in plays or movies.

It forbids the worshiping with a non-religious disposition of heart, with no impression of God, no fear of God, and with no love for God, worshipping with no effort to either know Him, to seek to know Him, or to do His will. This command forbids will worship. This consists in serving God in a manner of our own devising, or in a manner which has been suggested to us by men, doing so without concern and without investigation as to the manner in which God said He wants to be served will worship. It forbids, fifthly, the laxity and listlessness in the performance of religious duty. Six, we saw it forbids the resting in such a routine performance.

And then, seventhly, this command forbids hypocrisy in religious practice. And then coming out of those stated restrictions, we considered the requirements implied, The requirements implied by the commandment. We considered that this commandment requires, first, the full surrender of one's self to the service of God in all things, with all things, and at all times. Second, it requires the serving of God according to His will. That is, Our entire conduct is to be governed, restricted by the will of God as revealed to us in His Word.

This engenders purity in our religious practice. Third, it requires the serving of God with the soul, that is, with the Spirit in a spiritual manner and with the intellect, the will, and affections. This command, fourthly, requires the serving of God with a perfect heart, that is, without a divided heart, having and seeking something in addition to God. Fifth, it requires the serving of God with a joyful zeal. That is, worship must not be burdensome, but a delight rejoicing in the fact that God as yet wishes to be served by us.

And then lastly, it requires the opposing of false religion and the eradication of idols and images. Chapter 22 of our Church Confession, the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith on religious worship and the Sabbath day states this in paragraph 1, the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself and so limited by His own revealed will that He may not be worshiped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. And so here at Hope Baptist Church we embrace and seek to follow what is known as the regulative principle. And the following comes from our church Constitution. We will regulate church life by Scripture alone, recognizing that God has instituted in the Scriptures everything He requires for worship in the church and that everything else is prohibited.

Therefore, the only permissible elements of worship are those that are instituted by command, precept, example, or by good and necessary consequence, and that whatever else is not warranted by Scripture is forbidden. Whatever else is not warranted by Scripture is forbidden. You see, the regulative principle rests on three main truths, three main points. First, if God forbids it, don't do it. Simple enough.

If God forbids it, don't do it. But second, if God commands it, do it. If he commands it, do it. Simple. Third, if God is silent about it, he has neither forbidden it nor commanded it, he's silent about it, don't do it.

Don't do it. It is this third main point that differentiates the regulative principle from what is called the normative principle, which operates simply on the first two points and thinks that if God has neither forbidden nor commanded it, it's wide open. So before we leave these points, I would like to look at two texts that highlight this third point, because I think we know Scripture teaches us the first and second point. But consider with me Leviticus chapter 10. Leviticus chapter 10.

Think about it in light of what's being done in Leviticus. God is setting up the priesthood. He's establishing it. They have been anointed. And we read beginning in verse 1 in Leviticus 10, then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, listen, which he had not commanded them, which he had not commanded them.

So what happened? So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord and Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy and before all the people I must be glorified. So Aaron held his peace. So Aaron held his peace. God commanded Aaron and his family not to even mourn over the death of these sons.

It was serious business with God and they offered something that he had not commanded. He hadn't forbidden it, but he hadn't commanded it. They brought something of their own making. Consider with me Jeremiah 32, verses 33 and 35, where we find God telling his prophet of the punishment he will bring upon Jerusalem for her defiling of his worship." Jeremiah 32, 33 to 35. God says, "'And they have turned to me the back and not the face, though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction, but they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to defile it.

And they built the high places of Baal which are in the valley of the Son of Hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into my mind that they should do this abomination to cause Judah to sin. It had not entered into the mind of God. He had not commanded it. It was their own invention, forbidden by God. Well that's somewhat of a refresher on what we studied last week.

And now in the time that remains before us, I would like for us to consider the third point, the third point under this commandment, and that is the reasons provided. It's the third point carried over from last week. The reasons provided. The second commandment is the first one that comes to us with a reason for our keeping it. And there are actually three reasons that are given.

These three reasons come to us as a reminder, a threat, and a promise. And that will be our three points this morning. It comes to us as a reminder, a threat, and a promise. And so we want to spend the remainder of our time considering each of these reasons laid out before us. So consider with me first a reminder.

A reminder. You children, when it comes to your parents giving you commands like God here is giving, do you ever need a reminder? I think if I asked your parents, I know what they would say. What do you say? I think you need reminders sometimes.

God is kind to give us reminders. And what is the reminder? We are to have a biblically regulated worship because as God reminds us, I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. Now, That may confuse you this morning, maybe some of you children, if you're not familiar with the Word of God.

After all, isn't jealousy a sin? Doesn't Scripture teach us to not be jealous? Well, the very first definition of the word in most dictionaries is often something like the following. Feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages, often proceeding from suspicious fears or envy. It comes from suspicious fears or from envy.

Well, this form of jealousy that we're often very familiar with in our own hearts is sinful. But here are some other meanings of this word jealous, meanings that do not convey any sinfulness in their action. Solicit us to defend the honor of or concerned for the character of or intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry as we see in the case of God. And we use the word jealousy in the conjunction with the relationship of a husband and a wife. The man concerning his marriage should be solicitous to defend the honor of his wife in that marriage, to be concerned for the character of them both in that marriage, to be intolerant of unfaithfulness or a rival to Him.

And so it's these last meanings of jealousy that we turn to for understanding this self-proclamation of God. I am a jealous God. It's not envy. It's not sin. Now, we can say of God that in terms of Himself, He is solicitous to defend His own honor.

He is concerned for His character. We can also say of God that in terms of His people, He is intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry. So in these ways, God can be said to be jealous. Here God uses the word as an adjective to describe Himself, a predicate adjective, I am jealous. I am jealous.

I am a jealous God." An adjective saying what he is. I am a jealous God. Later in Exodus 34, 14, God even goes further saying, saying, You shall worship no other God for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God." Not only do we have here another adjective, is a jealous God, We also have God Himself saying, my proper name is Jealous. That's my name. Now, what we have discovered here in this place through recent studies in the attributes of God, what do we know about a name?

The name of God? What is meant by the term name of God? The names of God are who He is in His essence. They are his attributes. They are his declarations of who he is.

He is jealous. Now, the Scriptures teach us what God is jealous of. First, God is jealous of His covenant and of His covenant people. God is jealous of His covenant and his covenant people. Deuteronomy 4, 23 and 24 say, take heed to yourselves lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you.

And make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you for the Lord your God is a consuming fire a jealous God don't forget the covenant. God's jealous of it. Second, God is jealous of his worship. God is jealous of his worship. The breaking of the covenant of God leads to the making of a covenant with idols and idolaters and worshiping their gods.

Exodus 34 12 through 16, take heed to yourself lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, for you shall worship no other God, for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifices to their gods, and one of them invites you, and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods." You shall not worship another God in this way because we are to worship Him. God is jealous of His worship. Thirdly, God is jealous of His holiness. God is jealous of His holiness.

Joshua warns the people in his farewell address in Joshua 24, verses 19 and 20, that God cannot be served while holding on to sin. But Joshua said to the people, you cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done you good.

You turn away from God, you cling to your sins. God's a holy God, and He's a jealous God. He's jealous for His holiness. You can't have God and hold on to your idols. Fourth, God is jealous of His name.

God is jealous of His name. In Jeremiah, God states the reason for bringing His people back. It was for the honor of His name among the nations. Then in Ezekiel 39, 25, and 27 we read, "'Therefore thus says the Lord God, now I will bring back the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies lands and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations." God is jealous of his name. And then fifthly, God is jealous of his Word.

God is jealous of his Word. Children, do you remember who it was that Jonah was sent to? What people was Jonah sent to? The city of Nineveh, right? Well, Nahum 1, the book of Nahum begins this way, the burden against Nineveh, the burden again...

This is coming after Jonah's time. The burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkishite. God is jealous and the Lord avenges. The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserves wrath for his enemies.

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked." You see, the people of Nineveh had in time turned away from the Word of God and the mercy and grace of God that had come to them through the preaching of Jonah. God here is vindicating his word. Why? Because he is jealous of it. With John Calvin in writing about the second commandment in the Institute, so the Christian Religion wrote the following, showing how the jealousy of our God is reason enough to cause us to keep this commandment.

Quote, the more holy and chaste a husband is, the more wrathful he becomes if he sees his wife inclining her heart to a rival. In like manner, the Lord who has wedded us to himself in truth manifests the most burning jealousy whenever we, neglecting the purity of his holy marriage, become polluted with wicked lusts. But he especially feels this when we transfer to another or stay in with some superstition the worship of His Divine Majesty, which deserves to be utterly uncorrupted. Deserves to be utterly uncorrupted in this way. We not only violate the pledge given in marriage, but also defile the very marriage bed by bringing adulterers to it." End quote.

God is a jealous God. He's a jealous God. If you are his, he has wed you to his son. He will have no rival, no rival. We must worship Him as those who have been called out of the world we must obey.

Well, not only does God give us a reminder of who He is, jealous God, as a reason to keep this commandment, but secondly, he gives us in our text a threat, a threat. I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me." The threat here stated flows out of the fact that he is a jealous God. Because he is a jealous God, because his very name is jealous, he will come to punish all who run headlong against this commandment or who show no regard for it whatsoever. Note my friend that those who will purposefully transgress this commandment and those who choose to ignore it are described as those who hate God. Those who will ignore it And those who will run headlong against it are described as those who hate God.

God recognizes two responses to Him and to His commandments, And they are both set before us right here in these verses. Those who love Him and keep His commandments and those who hate Him. There's no neutral ground. You are either for Him or you are against Him. You are either a child of the king or you are an avowed enemy.

You either hate Him or you love Him. Which group do you fall in? Which group? Really think about it, my friend. In your heart of hearts, deep down inside where no one else sees, do you love Him or not?

To such as hate Him and to hate him, my friend, is not to love him." Okay? If you say, yeah, I don't love God, but I don't hate him, If you don't love him, you hate him. And to such as hate him, he declares that he will visit the iniquities of the Father upon the children. Now, what is this visitation? A visitation?

I mean, we often look forward to visitations, right? Visitation is a family. We have a wedding coming up. We have people coming into town. We're looking forward to those visitations.

What's meant by this visitation? Well, in Exodus 32, 33, and 34, we actually find God's charges against the very people to whom this command was first given. This is just 12 chapters from here where we are today. In the extended absence of Moses upon Mount Sinai, this same people break this very commandment, making a golden calf and calling it their God, their God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. And we read, and the Lord said to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.

Now therefore go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day, " listen, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin." So I would argue that there is warrant both in the meaning of the original Hebrew word here in Exodus 20 for visitation as well as what we read in Exodus 32, 12 chapters from here to conclude that this visitation God is speaking of in our text is for the purpose of punishing sin. Punishing the sin of the Father, punishing that Father, it's implied, but not always It's implied, but not always or only punishing him, but also, as we see here, punishing the children as well. Punishing the children as well?

That flies in the face of our culture in modern America. Someone receiving punishment for something they didn't do? That doesn't sound fair. Well, the tool of biblical Hermeneutics requires that we use the Bible to interpret the Bible. And so in defense of this interpretation, I would ask you to consider the following.

First, the receiving of punishment does not automatically carry with it the pronouncement of guilt. The receiving of punishment does not automatically carry with it the pronouncement of guilt. In Ezekiel 18, God is declaring that each person must stand before God to give account of his own deeds. He's not saying the son will never suffer on account of the Father. We'll see more of that in point two, so hang on to that idea, okay?

He is saying in Ezekiel that the Son will not give account for the deeds of the Father. We must understand that context. God clearly is talking about guilt, for he declares in verse 20 of Ezekiel 18, the son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the Son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." So the receiving of punishment does not automatically carry with it the pronouncement of guilt. It's possible to be punished even though you're not the guilty one.

Second, consider the fact that the Bible gives us numerous examples of God punishing children for the sins of a father. Here are two examples. Isaiah 39. King Hezekiah has foolishly invited this Babylonian envoy, takes them all throughout the kingdom, shows them everything, all the treasures, all the treasures that are there even in the temple. He shows it all to them.

Because of this sin, the Word of God was sent to him. And we read, then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, The days are coming when all that is in your house and what your fathers have accumulated until this day shall be carried to Babylon. Future, the days are coming when all shall be carried. Nothing shall be left, " says the Lord, and they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget, and they shall be eunuchs in the place or the palace of the king of Babylon.

So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, the word of the Lord which you have spoken is good. For Hezekiah said, at least there will be peace and truth in my days." Second, 1 Kings 21, 1 Kings 21, Ahab has received from the prophet Elijah the pronouncement of God's judgment. That's to come upon him. And we read in verses 27 to 29 of 1 Kings 21, so it was when Ahab heard these words that God was going to punish him, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about mourning. Yes, this is Ahab.

And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the calamity in his days, in the days of his son. I will bring the calamity on his house." Ahab had done wickedly. We read of the wickedness that exceeded everybody before him. And yet, because there was a humbling at the Word of God, God said, I'm going to bring the judgment in later days.

Your sons will pay for this, but I won't bring it on you this very day." The Puritan writer Thomas Watson in his commentary on the Ten Commandments states, Quote, though the son be not damned, yet he may be severely punished for his father's sin. Job 21 19, God layeth up his iniquity for his children. That is, God lays up the punishment of His iniquity, the iniquity of the Father for His children. The child smarts for the Father's sin. Proverbs 27, that's chapter 20 verse 7, the just man walketh in his integrity.

His children are blessed after him. A religious parent does not procure wrath, but helps to keep off wrath from his child. He seasons his child with religious principles. He prays down a blessing on it. He is a lodestone to draw his child to Christ by good counsel and example." End quote.

This threat of God, the impact that our worship has not only upon us but also upon our posterity, is a serious and sobering matter. But lest we should despair, God places here limits upon His own punishment. I would suggest to you that even here in this threat we see a glimpse of the mercy God is getting ready to point to. God declares that He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations. Our minds automatically think, why does it carry on?

I propose to you that we should say, why does it stop? Why does it stop? I submit to you that in declaring to the third and fourth generation, God sets before us the hope of future grace to break in upon a family. You see, there are some first-generation Christians here in our midst today. Praise God that grace broke in where patterns of sin and punishment were established.

Even in God's punishment, He remembers mercy. Praise God! Praise God! But not only does God give us reasons by way of reminder of who He is and a threat He will bring upon those who hate Him, but thirdly and finally, He gives us a reason to obey this commandment by virtue of a promise, a promise. Verse 6, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.

Bless God for the wonderful little conjunction, but it so often appears in the Bible and it changes the whole scene. And I would have you to consider that there is no greater encouragement than finding mercy right here in the middle of the commandments. Finding mercy right here in the middle of the commandments. Dear ones, this is the gospel. This is the gospel.

The fact that God is declaring himself as one who shows mercy proves the fact that the commandments were not intended as a covenant of works. The gospel of good news, mercy, right here in the midst of the giving of the law, Christ is to be found right here, right here. I love the explanation of Thomas Watson about finding Christ here in this display of mercy. Quote, if we would have mercy, it must be through Christ. Out of Christ, no mercy is to be had.

We read in the Old Law that none might come unto the Holy of Holies where the mercy seat stood but the high priest to signify that we have nothing to do with mercy but through Christ our high priest that the high priest might not come near the mercy seat without blood to show that we have no right to mercy, but through the expiatory sacrifice of Christ's blood that the high priest might not, upon pain of death, come near the mercy seat without incense to show that there is no mercy from God without the incense of Christ's intercession. If we would have mercy, we must get apart in Christ. Mercy swims to us through Christ's blood." End quote. And so God declares here the showing of mercy to thousands. Showing mercy to thousands.

Who are these thousands? Are these a thousand individuals? You start counting around the room, one, two, three, a thousand individuals? What are we to make of this word, thousands? He shows mercy to thousands.

I believe we can safely conclude that it's referring to a thousand generations. A thousand generations. Consider how Moses, who wrote these words down here in Exodus 20 after hearing God's command, right? Consider what Moses understood this declaration of God to be as he reminds Israel of what God had declared to them. Deuteronomy 7, 9 through 11.

Therefore know that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations." And that word's there in the original Hebrew. It's not italicized. A thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments. And He repays those who hate Him to their face to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates him.

He will repay him to his face. Therefore, you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments, which I command you today to observe them." You know, I said earlier we have here in our midst some first-generation Christians. We also have many families that can point to the generational mercies of God that he has shown to our family. Just last week we had three young men enter the waters of baptism, a very tangible demonstration that our God delights to show mercy to families, to rising generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. As we think of God's mercy, consider these precious words from the pen of Watson.

Quote, the Lord has treasures of mercy in store and therefore is said to be plenteous in mercy and rich in mercy. The vile of God's wrath drops only, but the fountain of His mercy runs. The sun is not so full of light as God is of love. God has mercy, mercies of all dimensions. He has depth of mercy.

It reaches as low as sinners and height of mercy. It reaches above the clouds. God has mercies for all seasons. Mercies at night, He gives sleep. Nay, sometimes He gives a song in the night.

He also has mercies for the morning. His compassions are new every morning. God has mercies for all sorts. Mercies for the poor. He raises the poor from the dust.

Mercies for the prisoner. He despises not his prisoners. Mercy is for the dejected. With a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you. He has old mercies.

Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old, new mercies." He has put a new song in my mouth. Every time we draw our breath. We suck in mercy. God has mercies under heaven and those we taste and mercies in heaven and those we hope for, thus his mercies are superabundant." Now this display of mercy does not come arbitrarily. It doesn't come arbitrarily.

We must grapple, and we must grapple rightly with the stipulations, to those who love me and keep my commandments. The first stipulation is that we are to be lovers of God. We are to be lovers of God. He shows mercy to those who love Him. Now, this comes first in our text.

It is the primary thing, but hear me, it's not the only or alone thing. It is for those who love God and whose love is demonstrated in the ways God has prescribed. To say that one loves God presupposes that he himself is loved by God. The scriptures teach us that if we love Him, that teaches us that we love Him only because He first loved us. First John 4 19.

Love to God says Watson must be with all of our heart. We must not love God a little, give him a drop or two of our love, but the mainstream must flow to him. The mind must think of God, the will choose him, the affections pant after him. We must love him with our whole heart. Though we may love the creature, yet it must be a subordinate love.

Love to God must be highest as oil swims above the water. Love to God must be flaming. To love coolly is the same as not to love. The seraphim are so called from their burning Love. Love turns saints into seraphims.

It makes them burn in holy love to God. Many waters cannot quench this love." End quote. He then goes on to show what it means to truly love God with all our heart. What does it mean to truly love God with all our heart? Well, he who loves God desires his presence.

Desires His presence. He who loves God does not love sin. It doesn't say He won't sin. He does not love sin. Third, He who loves God is not so much in love with anything else.

His love is very cool to worldly things. He's not so much in love with anything else. His love is very cool to worldly things. He's not so much in love with anything else. Fourth, he who loves God cannot live without Him.

Just can't live without Him. He who loves God will be at any pains to get Him. Can't hold Him back. He will be at any pains to get to his God. He who loves God prefers him before estate and before life.

He prefers him above all this world could offer. Next, he who loves God loves his favorites, the saints. Don't say you love God, but don't love the church. Then you don't love God. And then he who loves God is fearful of dishonoring Him, fearful of dishonoring Him.

The more a child loves his father, the more he is afraid to displease Him. And we, Christians, Weep and mourn when we have offended God." But not only must we be lovers of God, the second stipulation is the keeping of His commandments, the keeping of His commandments. Now The text does not say that God shows mercy to thousands that know or remember His commandments, but that actually keep them. Knowing His commandments without keeping them does not entitle anyone to the mercy He has promised. God gives us His commandments not only as a landscape to look upon, but as His will and testament, which we are to perform.

A good Christian says, Watson is like the sun, not only sending forth light but makes a circuit around the world. He has not only the light of knowledge but the Christian moves in a sphere of obedience. Now which of these commandments must we keep in order to express this love? Which of these must we keep in order to express this love? Well, the psalmist in 119.6 declares, then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

Every commandment listed here in Exodus 20, every single one has the same stamp of divine authority upon it. God spoke these words, and he did so in the hearing of all the people. If I obey just one of these commandments because God has commanded it, you pick it, if you obey just one of these commandments and you obey it because God commanded it, then by that very same reasoning you must obey all the commandments. He gave all of them. Not just obedience to the first table of the law and how we treat God, but second table of the law, how we treat our neighbor, not doing one and neglecting the other.

This is not a buffet line where we get to go and pick which ones we would like to obey and which ones we would not like to obey. We are not free to pick and choose, not even if it means choosing nine instead of ten. Brothers and sisters, we're not free to choose how we love God. Oh, I love Him! You keep His commandments.

We have seen that from the first part of this commandment. God alone has the authority and the right to dictate how love to Him will be expressed. We show our love by the keeping of His commandments, not our own. Now, when we consider the keeping of His commandments, we cannot forget what Paul tells us in Galatians 3.11, that it is evident that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God. Okay?

We're not earning mercy that justifies. By the doing of the law, no flesh shall be justified in the sight of God. So we must note that it is impossible to earn favor with God by means of the law. We all fall short of the standard. Both Christian and non-Christian fall short.

But wait. The mercy of God is only shown to those that love and keep His commandments. The Bible teaches us that mercy is needed by those who transgress the law. So how can it be that mercy is shown for those who keep God's commandments? How are we to understand this keeping of the law if we know first that we can't do it perfectly and that second we still stand in mercy even after whatever is meant here by the keeping of that law?

Well, it's what the old writers described as evangelical obedience. It's evangelical obedience. It's not perfect obedience that earns favor. It's not obedience that finds its roots in us. Remember the rich young ruler?

I've kept all of those from my youth up. I have. And I want eternal life. How do I get it? The roots were in Him.

We understand that it doesn't come from us. Evangelical obedience is obedience that flows out of that loving attachment to Jesus, that finds its root in attachment to Him. That's why it's termed evangelical obedience. That is why this mercy is for those who both love Him and as the outworking of that love, demonstrate it by an evangelical obedience to those things that please Him. Listen to Watson's description of what it means to keep the commandments evangelicaly.

And you have to pay attention to the words He's chosen. He's chosen them for a reason. First, when we make conscience of every command, when though we come short in every duty, we dare not neglect any. We make conscience of every duty. Secondly, when our desire, when our desire is to keep every commandment, Oh, that my eyes were directed to keep thy statutes.

What we lack in strength, we make up in will. Third, when we grieve that we can do no better, weep when we fail and judge ourselves for our failings. We grieve. Fourth, when we endeavor to keep and obey every commandment. Paul said, I press toward the mark.

We strive as in agony, and if it lay in our power, we would fully comport with every command. We'd obey it completely if we could. Paul talks about that in Romans 7, the good that I would to do, that I will to do. And it grieved Paul, but he still endeavored to keep each and every one. And then, fifthly, when falling short, and that doesn't mean if, but when, it's going to happen, when falling short and unable to come up to the full latitude of the law, we look to Christ's blood to sprinkle our imperfect obedience and with the grains of his merits cast into the scales to make it pass the righteous demands.

This, " says Watson, is an evangelical sense, or in an evangelical sense is to keep all the commandments. To keep all the commandments. And though it be not to satisfaction, yet it is to acceptation, God accepts it. Because at the last, when we fall short, it's covered in the blood of Christ. And that's why, my friend, we still need mercy, even in the midst of evangelicaly keeping all of these commandments and loving our God.

Now, please hear what I'm about to say. As we look at this commandment, where you choose to worship, Where you choose to worship, how you choose to worship God, both in your church and in your family will have everlasting implications upon your children, upon your grandchildren, upon your great-grandchildren. Where you choose to worship God, How you choose to worship God will have great implications upon all, your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. What you choose today will still be having an effect in your family long after you're gone. That's what we see here.

Go back and look at the things we discussed two weeks ago, the things mentioned earlier from the first portion of this text, and consider these things in light of what you desire for future generations. No man is an island to himself. Dear ones, we've considered this morning three God-given reasons to spur us on to evangelical obedience of this command and all the others. How has your heart responded this morning? How has it?

Do you recognize God as the jealous God? Jealous of His covenant, His covenant people, jealous of His worship, jealous of His name, jealous of His holiness and of His Word? Have you taken seriously his threat to those who would ignore or even defy his will in the way he wants to be viewed and in the way he wants to be worshipped? Have you fully realized that the exaltation of your will above his will in these areas is indeed to hate him? Have you considered the price of your own sins upon your children and upon their children?

And have you been moved by God's readiness to show mercy and to show it abundantly to you and to those who come after you. Is not the coming of Jesus into the world to be the propitiation of divine justice? Is it not a demonstration of God's readiness to show mercy. He sent His Son while we were yet enemies. He sent Jesus to be the Savior, and it was a demonstration of a love that's rich with mercy.

Have you embraced that Savior? Have you? He bids you come. He shows mercy to a thousand generations. Moms and dads, we have a precious view of our God that gives us great hope.

There are no guarantees here, okay? There are no guarantees. But, brothers and sisters, this is our God. This is our God. He proclaims himself one who delights to show mercy and declares that he will show it to a thousand generations.

Let us call on this merciful God to have mercy upon our lost sons and daughters and let us hope in Him who delights to show mercy. Mercy drops round us or falling. We saw it last week. Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers, the showers we plead. May this promise of mercy stir us to a greater love for our God and a greater obedience to His Word.

May God grant us all the heart of the psalmist in Psalm 119, 166. Lord, I hope for your salvation and I do your commandments. Not I hope for your salvation in the doing of the commandments, but I hope for your salvation And I do Your commandments. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your goodness and Your mercy that are evident even here this morning.

Lord, that there should be a people gathered here in this place who desire to worship You. Oh, God, purify our desires. Purify our minds. Sanctify us by your truth. Your Word is truth.

And make us a people who love you more and who endeavor to keep every one of your commandments, and when we fall, when we fall, to go to Jesus afresh again. Lord May none leave this place seeking to do these things in the flesh. But may we do them in the Spirit, seeking Christ in all. To Him be all the glory. Amen.