A JEALOUS GOD. God claims our highest love, and is grieved and offended if we turn our affections away from Him and disobey His law. He will punish or bless men according as they hate or love Him: [Rom. 2:6-10, Deut. 11:26-28, Gal. 6:7-8] "to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him," and "unto thousands of them that love Him and keep His commandments." I. PUNISHMENT. GOD THREATENS TO PUNISH 1. _Whom?_ ALL THOSE WHO TRANSGRESS THESE COMMANDMENTS [Rom: 1:18+, Lev 26:14-15, Isa 59:2, Ezek. 18:4+, Rom. 6:23+] by commission, (doing what is forbidden) or omission (not doing what is commanded), whether it be transgression by deed or word or thought. Every transgression, great or small, is sin, and makes men guilty and punishable. [Gal. 3:10] 2. _Why?_ Because justice demands it. [Gal. 6:7+] God cannot be unjust. He cannot overlook or excuse sin. [Eccl. 11:9] Earthly governments must and do punish offenders, or they would be unjust to those persons who obey the law. A law without a penalty would amount to nothing. God, who governs the universe, is and must be just. [Gen. 18:25+] 3. _How?_ _In this World_ God punishes sin by Pangs of Conscience; [Matt. 26:75, Matt. 27:3-4] Pains and Sufferings which are the results of wrong-doing, [Jer. 17:10] _e.g._, the results of drunkenness and licentiousness; Legal Penalties which the State, as God's servant to punish crime, inflicts by fines, imprisonment and hanging; [Rom. 13:4] Special Judgments upon individuals [1 Cor. 10:5] in the form of sickness, accidents and reverses, though we must remember that afflictions are not always a judgment, but are often sent upon the godly as a chastening; [Heb. 12:6+] General Judgments upon wicked communities, such as that which God sent upon Sodom and Gomorrah. [Gen. 19:24] Children are often obliged to suffer for the sins of their parents. [Jer. 31:29] If the children also are wicked, their sufferings are a punishment; [Ezek. 18:20, Prov. 3:12, Rom. 8:28] if they are godly, their sufferings are a chastening. _In the Next World_ God will punish by Exclusion from Heaven and from His Presence; [Matt. 22:13] and by Eternal Misery in Hell. [Rev. 21:8, Matt. 25:41] II. BLESSING. GOD PROMISES GRACE AND EVERY BLESSING. [Rom. 2:10+] 1. _To Whom?_ TO ALL WHO KEEP THESE COMMANDMENTS. It is true, all men are sinners, and no one keeps these commandments perfectly. [Rom. 3:23+] But the godly try earnestly to keep them, [I Cor. 9:27] and are truly sorry for every failure to do so. [Rom. 7:24] To them, therefore, God promises grace and every blessing. 2. _Why?_ God will bless them, not because they have earned a reward, but because He is merciful and gracious. [Ps. 103:11+, Joel 2:13] We cannot earn anything from God but punishment. His blessing is bestowed upon us solely as a gift of grace. 3. _How?_