Open our eyes, O God, that we may behold wonderful things in Your law. Teach us Your decrees, and help us to understand Your precepts. Incline our hearts to walk in Your ways and to keep Yo commandments. Direct us in the path of Your commands, and therein shall we find our true delight; through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE SERMON

Everyone in this sanctuary today ... wants to be happy. And there is nothing wrong with that. We were created to be happy. Indeed, the old puritan preachers would tell us that it is our duty to be happy. But how are we to pursue true happiness? The world would have us think that we have the right and the ability and the wisdom to define our happiness, to decide what makes us happy, and so we often hear it said, "Whatever makes you happy" — as though "whatever" really could make me happy, as though my happiness were merely a matter of my personal preference, a whim of my personality, as though my happiness were really of my own making and as though I get to decide how I am going to make myself happy, as though I were the author of my own happiness. "Whatever ... ."

But it doesn’t work that way. Well, of course you might be "happier" with blue paint rather than green on your living-room wall, but that’s not the kind of happiness which satisfies the heart, and I hope that that’s not the only kind of happiness which you are pursuing. Happiness is not merely a passing emotion or a momentary pleasure. No, real happiness is the abiding sense that "it is well with my soul," the abiding sense that it is good to be alive, that life is good, and that my life has a good purpose and that it is headed for a good goal. That happiness for which we were created is that blessedness of soul, that richness of life, that joy of heart which flows only from a relationship of deep communion with our Creator. The happiness for which we have been created is that happiness of knowing God and being known by Him, of loving God and of being loved by Him. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!" ---- "to enjoy Him" who is Himself the eternal wellspring, the eternal Being, of all life, goodness, love, joy, righteousness, and peace.

You cannot be happy without God. You will never be happy without God. And the reason for that is that God Himself, in His own eternal being, is the divine Author of all true and real happiness. There is no other source, there is no other origin, of real and true happiness than God.. As St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, "You have created us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." And we could paraphrase that by saying, "You have created us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are not happy until they are happy in You."

The trouble is, though, that because of our sinful nature, we pursue happiness in all the wrong ways and in all the wrong places. And that is really the essence of idolatry, false worship: pursuing happiness in, and looking for and expecting happiness from, someone or something which cannot give you the happiness you seek. Idolatry is always a dead-end street. False gods can never give you what they promise. And that brings us to the first commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me."

This first commandment, like all the commandments, is for our good, for our happiness, for our well-being. Of course, this commandment is for the honor and glory of God, to command us to give Him the honor due His name because He is the true and living God and there is no other. And, as Thomas Watson wrote, "He who gives men their lives has most right to give them their laws." But here is the wonderful thing about God: God is good, and whatever is for His honor and His glory is always for the good of His people. God’s glory and our happiness are wedded together. And the reason that God commands that we "shall have no other gods" is not only that He rightfully demands our complete allegiance — and, after all, He is our Creator and He can rightfully demand our complete allegiance — but also, He commands that we "shall have no other gods" because He loves us, and He knows that our highest happiness is found in Him alone, and that the false gods of this world will destroy us.

Last Lord’s Day, we began this sermon series by emphasizing the fact that God’s law is good and is for our good, our blessing. The first commandment demands that we do away with any thought, any notion, that anything or anyone is able to bless us, do good to us, or bring us happiness more than God Himself. The first commandment focuses our attention solely and completely on God. It teaches us that He alone is the source of all happiness. It teaches us that He alone is the One who is to rule over us, and under whose rule we are blessed. It teaches us that He alone is all-sufficient for us. He doesn’t need any help from any little false gods. It teaches us that God has a complete claim on our life — a claim of love and grace, a claim of holiness and truth — and that His claim on our lives is over every aspect of our life. "You shall have not other gods before me" means, "You shall have no other gods before My face, in my Presence." And we are always before the face of God, we are always, at all times and in all places, in His presence. Therefore, In all that we do, in every aspect of our life, at all times in our life, He alone is to be regarded and obeyed as our God and King. And He tolerates no other gods in our lives because He alone is worthy of our worship and He alone is the God who blesses us with life and happiness.

The Ten Commandments were given on two tablets of stone [Exodus 34:1], and it is generally assumed that the first four commandments, which concern our relationship with God, were written on the first tablet; and the last six commandments, which concern our relationship with our neighbor, were written on the second tablet: the first tablet having to do with God, the second tablet having to do with our neighbor. And so, Jesus summed-up the Ten Commandments by saying, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength" (the first tablet), and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (the second tablet). Of course, the two tablets cannot be separated from one another. It is no good saying that we love God if, in fact, we do not love our neighbor. Yet, as a matter of necessary priority, as a matter of "first things first", we have the first tablet first, because unless we love God we cannot truly love our neighbor. As John Calvin wrote, "The first foundation of righteousness is the worship of God. ...And apart from the fear of God, men do not preserve equity and love among themselves."

The first commandment is "first", then, because it is logically and necessarily first in terms of spiritual priority. It is most basic and fundamental to our faith: there is only one true and living God, and Him only shall we worship and serve. In Isaiah 46:9, we hear the LORD declare: "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me." And so if we do not get this first commandment first — first in our lives, first in our hearts, our minds, our souls — then we will never really heed and obey the other commandments. All of the other commandments, in a sense, are built upon and depend on this one. If we don’t get this one right in our life, we won’t get the other ones right, either, because the false gods of this world are constantly trying to undermine the authority of God’s law in our lives.

Think about it: for every commandment, there is a false god trying to undermine it. So, at the very beginning, God makes it perfectly clear — no other gods are to have a place in your life; no other gods are to have the least bit of influence upon you; no other gods are to be trusted in or looked to for your happiness and well-being. The first commandment keeps "first things first."

The first commandment also makes it clear that the Ten Commandments are more than an ethical code or a list of moral standards. We, as Christians, really need to understand this today. The Ten Commandments are not simply moral rules. Yes, they express and uphold a standard of morality and ethics. But, first of all, the first commandment calls us into an uncompromising relationship of devotion to the one and only true and living God. The first commandment focuses completely on our relationship with God. The first commandment calls us to place our complete trust in Him, and to devote our highest allegiance to Him, and to pledge our undivided loyalty to Him, and to offer our grateful obedience to Him. And then all the other commandments flow out of this one, so that all the other commandments ultimately have their basis in this one — this first commandment which calls us into an uncompromising relationship of devotion to the one and only true and living God.

And what happens when we violate this first commandment? It has been said that "when man dethrones God, he deifies and worships himself." Surely, the worship of self is at the very root of our sinful nature. And this self-worship manifests itself in many ways, and in various forms of idolatry. Think of the ancient pagan religions which surrounded the people of Israel. There was Baalism, a nature and fertility religion, involving immorality, and in which sexual behavior supposedly linked one to the spiritual world. There was the pagan god Molech, the god of sheer power and brutality and cruelty, to which the pagan peoples sacrificed their children. And there was the pagan god Mammon, the god of earthly possessions in which the people found great security. The god of sex, the god of power, the god of possessions: did I say that these were ancient gods? Well, we may not call them Baal and Molech and Mammon today, but they are very present in our world, aren’t they? And they make themselves look attractive and sophisticated. And, in fact, Baal and Molech and Mammon — the gods of sexual immorality, and sheer power, and ungodly wealth — promote themselves as being quite "normal," in fact as being what life is all about. They promise us happiness and freedom and security. But they are false gods which will only enslave us, and destroy us, and devour us.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we Americans are being tempted into gross idolatry — the worship of our economy, the worship of our technology, and the worship of the state, the government, as the provider and protector of our well-being. We ought to be thankful for the blessings of peace and prosperity which we are presently enjoying; and, therefore, we Christians ought all the more show forth our gratitude to God in faithful, fervent worship, and in happy obedience to His Word, and in compassionate ministry to others. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, and we must not trust in our wisdom or power or wealth, nor in the princes of men. We must not seek our happiness, our security, our identity in Baal, Molech, or Mammon, or anyone or anything other than the living God. We are called to worship Him with our whole being, as the Scripture says, we are to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" (Romans 12:1). We are called to trust in Him alone, to look to Him for every good thing, to love Him, and revere Him, and honor Him and adore Him with our whole hearts ...because He is our good and faithful Almighty Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself, you remember, was tempted to turn away from the first commandment. Jesus was tempted by the devil to live for His own glory. Jesus was tempted to receive worldly wealth, power, and praise, if only he would turn away from His Father and worship Satan. Jesus was tempted not to trust His Father, not to obey His Father. Jesus was tempted to turn away from the cross. But He was faithful. And He was obedient, obedient unto death, death on a cross. He obeyed the first commandment all the way to the cross. And He did that for you and me. And so you see, the first commandment calls us to Jesus Christ; the first commandment calls us to the cross; the first commandment calls us to receive the gospel.

It is the power of the cross — the power of Christ’s death and resurrection for us — that sets us free from the slavery of sin, and releases us from the curse and guilt of our sins. By the power of His Spirit, He gives us new birth, and a new heart to love God, a renewed mind to know God, a renewed soul to serve God. Under His grace and mercy, and by the power of His Spirit, we are called to love the LORD our God and keep His commandments. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and He delivers us from the dominion of darkness, He leads us out of superstition and idolatry, He sets us free from the tyranny of the devil, and He leads us in the path of abundant life. He, above all, shows us the love and grace and mercy of God. He is the One who gave up Himself for us, that we might receive the eternal happiness of His kingdom, the eternal happiness of deep personal communion with God. He is the One who came to seek and to save the lost, to heal the sick and to bind-up the broken-hearted, to redeem the guilty, and to set the captives free. He is the One who came to bring light and life to all who would receive Him; in a word, to bless with happiness, those who those who offer their hearts to Him.

There is no other god who could or would ever do that for us. There is no other god worthy of our praise, adoration, and obedience. There is no other god in whom there is life and peace and happiness. And, therefore, because He loves us, cares for us, wants the best for us, and has blessing upon blessing to bestow upon us, the true and living God revealed in Jesus Christ commands, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Let us take great delight in this commandment! Let us give thanks for it, repent of every transgression of it, and strive with all the power of the Spirit within us to keep it, because we love Him who first loved us.

To God be the glory. Amen.