God’s Titles for the Righteous By Thomas Watson
But God sets a high estimate upon the righteous, and that appears by bestowing more excellent titles on them than upon others.
1. God calls them His jewels…
2. God calls the righteous “hidden ones,” Psalm 83:3.
3. God calls the righteous “the excellent of the earth,” Psalm 16:2, or ‘the magnificent, ”
4. God calls them “vessels of honor, 2 Timothy 2:21.
5. God calls them the apple of His eye Zechariah 2:8.
6. God calls them “His portion, ” Deuteronomy 32:9.
7. God calls them His “plant of renown. “Ezekiel 34:19.
8. God calls them “joint heirs with Christ, “Romans 8:17.
9. God calls them the luminaries of the world.
10. God calls them a “peculiar people,” 1 Peter 2:9..
11. God calls them a kingdom of priests.
12. God calls them a crown of glory and a diadem in His hand, Isaiah 62:3
See the different esteem that God has of the righteous and that men have of them. The men of the world esteem the saints lightly; they disdain them and scarcely allow them half an eye. ‘Hey think, of all things, the people of God may be best ‘pared; they look upon them as the burden and refuse of the earth. “We are made as the filth of the world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day,” 1 Corinthians 4:13. The apostles were the eyes of the world, the breasts of the church, and earthly angels; yet they were counted by some like the dung cart that goes through the city into which everyone throws his filth. The saints are loaded with invectives and are not judged worthy to live in the world. “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live,” Acts 22:22.
But God has an entirely different way of evaluating the righteous. He thinks the world is not worth”, of them. “Of whom the world was not worthy, Hebrews 11:38. Hence it is that He takes his children so fast away by death and places them among the cherubim’s. God looks upon the righteous as His curious needle-work, wrought with the finger of the Holy Ghost and the glory of the creation. He would soon break up house in the world were it not for their sakes. This excellent esteem God has of them will be best seen when He shall separate between the precious and the vile and shall say to the wicked, Go ye cursed,” and to the godly,” Come ye blessed.”
See how dearly God loves the righteous and how near to His heart they lie.
See from hence what a venerable opinion we should have of the righteous.
If the righteous are more excellent than others, then how severe will God be against those who wrong them?
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