What about us? Here we are in life before God gets hold of us, ready to slander him, disagree with his standards, ready to pit ourselves against God, and even fume against him, insulting him. God sends this petition to repent and yet we carry on walking far from him. The counsel of Solomon is, ‘Be careful. You are a human being not an animal. You have been given the power of reason.’ We are personal and conscious. We have great privileges and owe them to God. This is wisdom. Do not turn your back on him, or stalk out of his presence in a huff; do not disagree with him. He is infinite in power and wisdom. This is the meaning of the first piece of reasoning in the tract. Hold back your tongue and your hostility. Humble yourself and listen.
Do not be misled by the gentle approach of the gospel. God pleads with us and urges us to come to him for life. Is that a sign that he will never do anything to enforce his government over us if we refuse to listen? Not at all. The courtier says, ‘When he told me to defend that frontier, he said it in such a kind way, I didn’t pay attention.’ Because God comes across as a kind King with a gentle approach, don’t think you can sin with your body and mind and not have to give account. If we neglect his pleas then we face his severe judgments for there is no other way of salvation. You won’t be able to say, ‘Your command was unreasonable.’ Living in democratic times, maybe we feel we can live as we like and get away with it, to explain your way out of anything. No, that is impossible. He has commanded us not to break his commandments; he has made it possible to obey. He had a kindly voice, but he is full of power. Don’t get involved in rebellion. He will find out and you will have no defence against him. The ancient kings did not even have to trump up a charge. He did whatever he wished, and so does God. There is no appeal from him. The last thing you do is defend yourself. You don’t walk out on God.
As we come to God, we must hold in check any complaints we have about his government or objections to his justice. We must conclude that if we see things as unfair, it is due to our own misunderstanding, our own limited perspective. If we storm out of God’s presence, it is not just our career that we put in jeopardy but our eternal salvation. The one that we come to is God himself. He has our eternal souls in his hands and he assigns us to heaven or hell on the basis of his will alone. Don’t go out of his sight, turn your back on him, lose your temper.