required by God: and in this view of our duty, we ask again, ' Has not God the same ground of complaint against us, as he had against his people of old, that however observant we may have been of the commands of men, we have not hearkened unto him ? ']
But let us consider the complaint more minutely,
II. With its attendant aggravations —
In our text, there is an evident contrast formed between the obedience of the Rechabites and the disobedience of the Jews. We notice more particu- larly,
1. The authority from which the different com- mands proceeded —
[That which the Rechabites obeyed was human; that which the Jews disobeyed was divine. Yes: it is the God of heaven and earth, whom we also have set at nought. He created us for himself; yet have we considered ourselves as independent of him. He has preserved us every moment, yet have we lived in continued rebellion against him. He has redeemed us with the blood of his only dear Son ; yet have we poured contempt on all the wonders of his love, as well as on the terrors of his offended Majesty. Let us only reflect on what we must all have observed, times without number : We tell a person, that such or such a line of conduct is contrary to God's revealed will; and we produce little, if any effect upon him : but if we tell him that such a conduct will destroy his prospects in the world, or expose him to shame and contempt among his fellow-creatures, we at least excite very strong emotions in his mind, even if we do not prevail to change his deportment. The truth is, we are all very sensibly alive to the displeasure of men, but lamentably indifferent to the dis- pleasure of God; and man's authority weighs abundantly more with us than the authority of the Most High.]
2. The commands themselves —
[Whatever propriety there might be in the commands of Jonadab, they were certainly not necessary for the salvation of his descendants. But the commands of God are absolutely ne- cessary, both to our present and eternal welfare. Which of them is there that can be dispensed with ? Which of them is there that can be lowered or relaxed, without dishonour to God, and injury to man? Consider more particularly the commands relating to the Gospel : they are like commands to the blind, to see ; to the deaf, to hear ; to the lame, to walk ; to the leprous, to be clean; to the dead, to arise and live for ever.
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