Deuteronomy 5:7 You shall have none other gods before me. The truth of the existence of the Supreme is always assumed in the Scriptures; it is not proved. For proof the Bible says, "See previous volumes." The universe and man's moral nature attest His existence. Sometimes "the wish has been father to the thought"; and men who "do not like to retain God in their knowledge" have said in their heart, "There is no God." The idea of God is universal. It has been said that some of the tribes of Africa are so degraded as apparently to have no idea of a Supreme Power; but if this were correct it would be the exception and not the rule. Some men are born blind, but the rule is that men should see. "If," says Professor Blackie, "there be races of reasonable beings who have no idea of a cause, it is just the same thing as if we were to find in any Alpine valley whole races of cretins, or anywhere in the world whole races of idiots; they are defective creatures such as no naturalist would receive into his normal description of one of nature's types; such as roses, for instance, without fragrance, horses without hoofs, and birds without wings. Any type of things, indeed, as well as man, may, by a combination of untoward influences, be curtailed and stunted into any sort of degradation." And Livingstone affirmed that among the most ignorant tribes in the interior of Africa may be found the idea of a Supreme Being. "There is no necessity for beginning to tell the most degraded of these people of the existence of a God, or of the future state, the facts being universally admitted. Everything that cannot be accounted for by common causes is ascribed to the Deity, as creation, sudden death, etc. 'How curiously God made these things!' is a common expression, as is, 'He was not killed by disease, he was killed by God!'" The Israelites believed in the Eternal God; but they had just been delivered from a land where there were "gods many and lords many"; and this was the commandment that fell on their ears, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." It has been said that the existence of other gods is not denied in these words; but they mean that, while every nation had its own god, Jehovah was to be the God of the Israelites. Nothing is said of the existence or non-existence of other divinities; but "Thou shalt have no other gods." The prohibition addressed to them, "Thou shalt have no other gods," was tantamount to a declaration through the universe, "I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning." There can be but one God. This truth may be contrasted with the dualism that was prominent in some of the heathen systems of religion. According to the old Persian belief, there were two co-eternal beings who divided the government of the world between them. One of them was regarded as the principle of light, the source of all good; and the other was the principle of darkness, the source of all evil. This was an attempt to solve the problem of the existence of evil in the universe. "To us there is but one God." When this word was spoken on Mount Sinai, polytheism was common among all nations. Among the heathen there were numberless divinities. The different parts of nature were presided over by different deities; different events in history were under the control of different rulers; different nations and tribes had their friends and enemies among the conclave of the gods. There was a god of the hills, a god of the valleys, a god of the rivers, a god of the seas. There was a god inflicting disease, and a god removing it; a god sending pestilence, and famine, and war, and a god arresting them; a god bestowing bountiful harvests and commercial prosperity, and another inflicting judgments and calamities. But we learn that there is one God of all the earth, of all its forces, and elements, and laws; one God in all events, in the fury of the storm, in the march of the pestilence, in the desolations of war; one God for all nations and realms. And this truth may be also placed in contrast with the pantheism found in ancient systems, and revived in some modern philosophical speculations. The idolater deifies parts of the universe, the pantheist deifies it all. The universe is God; there is nothing but the universe; everything is a part or modification of God. The distant star is a part of God; the flower at your feet is a part of God. You are a little drop from the ocean of the Godhead, and your highest bliss, your most glorious destiny, is to cease individually to be, and to be absorbed in the All, which is God. He is "before all things." When there was no material universe, when not a stone of the temple had been laid, when not a star had been kindled, He was "inhabiting eternity"; the worlds might be blotted out, the stars might be quenched, yet He would remain, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. It may be alleged that this truth of the unity of the Godhead also uproots the orthodox evangelical belief that acknowledges Christ as the incarnate God, and the Holy Spirit, not as a mere influence, but as a Divine Person. But the revelation of the unity of God is not more clear than that of God as Father, Son, and Spirit. "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." We may say that the unity of the Divine existence is reflected in the unity of nature. There may be discords, and yet there is harmony underlying and pervading all, thus teaching that the universe in all its forms and changes is the product of one mind. "I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well." The style and expression and colours and characteristics of some of the great paintings have been studied so thoroughly by some artists, that they will immediately say of a picture, This is Rubens, or, This is Raphael. And the spirit and style of the writings of great poets are so well known to some enthusiastic students, that they will say of a new poem, This is Tennyson, or, This is Browning. So the works of God testify of Him; we see His hand, His signature; there is only One who could do it, the One God. And here let me say, accustom yourselves to associate the name and presence of God with nature around you. A flower is doubly precious when it is presented by a lover's hand. And the flowers would be to us more beautiful, and the bread we eat more sweet, if we felt that they came from an Infinite Father's hand. The unity of design in nature serves to emphasise the words spoken on Sinai, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." Now, this revelation of the Divine existence suggests to us many thoughts which I shall not enlarge upon. 1. It suggests to us the blessedness of the Divine nature. There is no contrariety, no strife, no division of counsel. 2. Again, this truth invests with authority the demands made upon our service as intelligent and responsible beings. If there were more than one God, the question might be asked, What God are we to obey? 3. Also, we may learn that He demands the homage and affection of our whole nature. The one God requires the whole heart, united in itself in one love. The unity of our nature is secured only by our love to God. There is no other power that can do it. Self-interest may try, pleasure may try, ambition may try, but the nature is still divided; and conscience, instead of expressing its approval, is like Mordecai at the gate, refusing to bow the knee. The unity of Germany was a dream, until the enthusiasm of the different states was aroused by the menaces of a common enemy; and in the fire of that enthusiasm they were welded together into one empire. The unity of man's nature is a dream until, by the fire of God's love, all his powers and faculties and emotions are fused into one. The whole man is to be given to God. There are many who are ready to unite in the confession, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth," who are only uttering words, as a child first lisping his A B C, without attaching any definite meaning to the words, and without the heart's emphasis on the words. Is our belief in God a tradition, or a real living faith? Is He our God? Do we acknowledge His presence? Do we worship Him in truth? (James Owen.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thou shalt have none other gods before me. |
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