Stop Confronting Us With the Holy One of Israel!
The sermon emphasizes the terror of God's holiness for sinners and the delight of God's holiness for the righteous.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes the dread that unholy people feel in the presence of God's holiness, as expressed in Isaiah 30:11. He notes that many prefer messages of mercy over the challenging truth of God's holiness, which can terrify the unrepentant sinner. However, for those who are holy, the revelation of God's holiness brings joy and satisfaction, as it aligns with their love for God. Brooks asserts that true love for God's holiness leads to a shared experience of His holiness in the believer's life.
Text
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty!" Isaiah 6:3
Certainly there is nothing which renders God so formidable
and dreadful to unholy people--as His holiness does. "Leave
this way, get off this path--and stop confronting us with
the Holy One of Israel!" Isaiah 30:11.
"Oh that you would not preach so much, nor talk so much
to us--of the Holy One of Israel! Oh that you would cease
from molesting and vexing us with message upon message
from the Holy One! Why can't you talk and preach to us of
the merciful One, the compassionate One, the affectionate
One, the pitiful One, etc., and not be still a-talking to us of
the Holy One, the Holy One! Oh, we do not like to hear it!
Oh, we cannot bear it!"
Nothing strikes the sinner into such a terror as a discourse
on the holiness of God; it is as the handwriting upon the wall,
Dan. 5:4-6. Nothing makes the head and heart of a sinner to
ache like a sermon upon the Holy One. Nothing galls and gripes,
nothing stings and terrifies unsanctified ones--like a lively setting
forth of the holiness of God, Hab. 1:13.
But to holy souls, there are no discourses which more suit them
and satisfy them, which more delight and content them, which
more please and profit them--than those do, which most fully
and powerfully reveal God to be glorious in holiness. Well, this
is an everlasting truth--he who truly loves the holiness of God,
and loves God for His holiness--is certainly made partaker of
His holiness.
Sermon Outline
- The Fear of God's Holiness
- The Reaction of Sinners to God's Holiness
- The Joy of God's Holiness for the Righteous
- The Delight of God's Holiness
- The Profit of God's Holiness
Key Quotes
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty!” — Thomas Brooks
“Oh that you would not preach so much, nor talk so much to us--of the Holy One of Israel!” — Thomas Brooks
“He who truly loves the holiness of God, and loves God for His holiness--is certainly made partaker of His holiness.” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- Recognize the terror of God's holiness and repent of your sins.
- Delight in God's holiness and seek to be made partaker of it.
- Love God for His holiness and be transformed by it.