The Mischief of Sin by Thomas Watson

Author:Thomas Watson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2010-12-10T12:48:02+00:00

The Desperateness of Sinners

"In spite of all this—they kept on sinning!" Psalm 78:32

The people of Israel were called by God's name. They were chosen from all the people of the earth. "The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people—His treasured possession!" Deuteronomy 7:6. The other part of the world was but rubbish; these were God's jewels! The other was a wilderness; these are God's special garden. Exodus 19:6, "You shall be unto me a Kingdom of priests." But even Israel had a blot on their name-plate. The text draws up a black charge against them, "In spite of all this—they kept on sinning!"

Why was this? God had been very good to Israel. He had bestowed many favors on them. "They forgot what He had done—the wonderful miracles He had shown them, the miracles He did for their ancestors in Egypt, on the plain of Zoan. For He divided the sea before them and led them through! The water stood up like walls beside them! In the daytime He led them by a cloud, and at night by a pillar of fire. He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them plenty of water, as from a gushing spring. He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!" Psalms 78:11-16. All this was a special figure of God's protection. The pillar of cloud was to conduct them and keep off the scorching heat of the sin. The pillar of fire was to be their torch to light them by night. "He commanded the skies to open—He opened the doors of heaven—and rained down manna for them to eat. He gave them bread from heaven. They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold. The people ate their fill. He gave them what they wanted." It was called angel's food for the excellence of it, such as the angels might have eaten if they ate food. Israel had the cream of God's blessings—but "in spite of all this—they kept on sinning!"

Then, God inflicted punishment on them. After the sunshine of mercy came the thunder of punishment. Verse 31, "The fire of his wrath burned against them." What this wrath was is specified in verse 49, "He loosed on them his fierce anger—all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels." These destroying angels smote the people with pestilence. Yet, in spite of all this—they kept on sinning!"

This showed the evil hearts of this people. They were worse for all the medicines God had used for their healing. "In spite of all this—they kept on sinning!"

The text divides itself into three parts:

1. Israel's crime—they sinned.

2. The aggravation of their sin—in spite of all this.

3. Their continuance in sin—they kept on sinning.

Doctrine: "None of God's dealings with the wicked, will prevail with them to break off their sins." "In spite of all

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