by Arthur Pink
The CURSINGS of God
It is solemn to learn that these blessings and cursings proceed from the same mouth. Yet a little reflection will convince the reader that such must be the case. God is . . .
light as well as love,
holy as well as gracious,
righteous as well as merciful.Therefore He expresses His abhorrence of, and visits His judgments upon the wicked, as truly as He blesses and manifests His approval on those who are pleasing in His sight. An eternal Heaven and an eternal Hell are the inevitable and ultimate pair of opposites.
This solemn duality is displayed in the natural world.
On one hand our senses are charmed by the golden sunsets, the flowering gardens, the gentle showers and the fertile fields.
On the other hand, we are shocked and terrified by the fearful tornado, the devouring blights, the devastating flood, and the destructive earthquake.
"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22).
From Mount Ebal were announced the divine curses (Deuteronomy 27); and from Mount Gerizim the divine blessings (Deuteronomy 28). The one could not be without the other.
Thus too it will be in the last day, or while Christ will say unto His brethren, "Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world". Yet to those who despised and rejected Him shall He say "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:34, 41).
"Cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:17). That was one of the consequences which attended Adam's apostasy from God, a part of the divine vengeance which fell upon him.
Because the first man stood as the covenant head and legal representative of his race—the judgment which came upon him is shared by all his descendants. Adam was the vice-regent of God in this scene. He was given dominion over all things mundane, and when he fell, the effects of his awful sin were evident on every hand. His fair inheritance was blasted. The very ground on which he trod was cursed, so that henceforth it brought forth "thorns and thistles," compelling him to toil for his daily bread in the sweat of his face. Every time we cultivate a plot of land, the numerous weeds it produces hinder our efforts and supply very real proof of the divine sentence pronounced in Genesis 3, and evince that we belong to a fallen race.
"Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:5). A thorough acquaintance with ourselves ought to render the warning of this solemn passage unnecessary—yet sad experience proves otherwise. Have we not sufficient knowledge of ourselves—our changeableness and utter unreliability—to discover that "he who trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Proverbs 28:26)? Then why should we suppose that any of our fellows are more stable and dependable? The best of Adam's race, when left to themselves, are spectacles of fickleness and frailty. "Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath" (Psalm 62:9).
To seek either the patronage or protection of man is an affront to the Most High God, for it puts that confidence in the creature to which the Creator alone is entitled. The folly of such wickedness is emphasized in, "leaning upon that which is frail and helpless" (2 Chronicles 32:8; Matthew 26:41; Romans 8:3). The Christian needs to turn this awful malediction into prayer for deliverance from the temptation to look to man for help or relief! Indirectly, yet powerfully, this verse proves that Christ is far more than man; for if it calls down a divine curse for one to put his trust in man for any temporal advantage, how much more so if he trusts in a mere creature for eternal salvation!
"If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me" (Malachi 2:2). The Lord is very tender of His honor, and will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 48:11). Those who do not take that fact to heart, are certain to call down divine wrath upon themselves. Those words (Malachi 2:2) were addressed in the first instance to the priests of Israel. The prophet had reproved them for their sins. Now he declared that if they would not seriously attend to his warnings, and glorify God by repentance and reformation of conduct—then He would blight their temporal mercies. It is a signal favor for man to be called to minister publicly in the name of the Lord.
But infidelity entails the most dreadful consequences. Often they are given up to blindness of mind, hardness of heart, seared consciences. The principle of this malediction has a much wider bearing and applies both to those who hear the Gospel, and a nation blessed with its light.
"But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you—let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). God is very jealous of His Gospel, and this verse should also convince His servants and people of the solemn responsibility resting upon them to preserve it in its purity. The Gospel of God makes known the only true way of salvation, and therefore any corrupting of it is not only dishonoring to its Author, but also most dangerous and disastrous to the souls of men.
The apostle was censuring those who were repeating an impossible mixture of Law and Gospel, insisting that circumcision and compliance with the ceremonial rites of Judaism were as necessary as faith in Christ, for justification. His was not the language of intemperate zeal, for he repeats the same in the next verse—but a holy fidelity, which expressed his detestation of an error which not only insulted the Savior but also would prove fatal to those who embraced it. The single foundation of a sinner's hope is the merits of Christ, His finished work of redemption. Those who would add to the same by any doings of their own, are headed for eternal destruction. Therefore any who teach men to do so are cursed of God and should be abhorred by His people.
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). The first part of this verse means that all who count on being saved by their own performances, or rely upon their own obedience for acceptance by God, are under the curse of His Law and exposed to His wrath.
Justification by keeping the Law is an utter impossibility for any fallen creature. Why so? Because God's Law requires flawless and perpetual conformity, sinless perfection in thought and word and deed, and because it makes no provision for failure to comply with its holy and righteous terms. It is not sufficient to hear about or know the requirements of God's Law. They must be perfectly met. Thus it is obvious that a Law which already condemns, cannot justify; that any who hope to merit God's favor by their faulty attempts to obey it are badly deceived. "To expect to be warmed by the keen northern blast, or to have our thirst quenched by a draught of liquid fire—were not more, were not so, incongruous" (J. Brown). This statement (Galatians 3:10) was made by the apostle to show that every man is under divine condemnation until he flees to Christ for refuge.
"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). ere is the glorious Gospel summed up in a brief sentence. The curse has been borne for all those who believe—visited upon the Savior. A way has been opened where guilty sinners may not only escape from the curse of the Law, but actually be received into the favor of God. Amazing grace! Matchless mercy! All who put their trust in Christ are delivered from the Law's sentence of doom, so that they shall never fall under it. We are righteously delivered, because as the Surety of His people Christ was born under the Law, stood in their law place, had all their sins imputed to Him, and made Himself answerable for them. The Law, so finding Him, charged Him with the same—cursed Him, and demanded satisfaction. Accordingly He was dealt with by the supreme Judge, for "God spared not His own Son," but called upon the sword of justice to smite the shepherd (Zechariah 13:7). By His own consent the Lord Jesus was "made a curse" by God Himself. Because He paid the ransom price all believers are "redeemed"—delivered from God's wrath and inducted into His blessing.
"But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is near unto cursing; whose end is to be burned" (Hebrews 6:8). This is in sharp contrast with the previous verse. The good-ground hearer "brings forth"—the Greek signifying a production of what is normal and in due season. The graceless professor "bears thorns"—the Greek word connoting an unnatural and monstrous production. There, "herbs fit for them by whom it is dressed"; here, worthless "thorns and briers." The one "receives blessing from God", the other is "near unto cursing"—about to be visited with divine judgment.