Appendix to the First Commandment

Although these words apply to all the commandments, as we will see later, they are attached here to this chief commandment because nothing matters more than getting the foundation right. When the foundation is right, everything built on it will be right as well. Notice also what these words reveal: how deeply angry God is with those who place their trust in anything other than Him, and how good and gracious He is toward those who trust and believe in Him alone with their whole hearts. His anger does not fade until the fourth generation, while His blessings and lovingkindness extend to thousands. Take all of this seriously, and don't fall into the false sense of security that hardens reckless hearts into thinking it doesn't matter how they live. He is the God who brings judgment on all who turn away from Him, and His anger persists to the fourth generation until they are completely swept away. This is why He demands to be feared rather than dismissed.

God has confirmed this through all of history, as Scripture makes abundantly clear and as daily experience continues to demonstrate. In the beginning, He completely uprooted all idolatry, doing so for the sake of both the pagans and the Jews alike. In the same way, He overthrows all false worship in our own time, and those who persist in it will ultimately perish. Even today, there are proud, powerful, and wealthy individuals who arrogantly boast about their wealth, indifferent to whether they provoke God's anger or His contempt. They carry on as though they could easily withstand His wrath, yet they will not prevail. Before they even realize what is happening, they will be ruined along with everything they placed their trust in, just as all others have been destroyed who thought themselves even more secure and powerful.

And it is precisely because of such hardened people, who assume that since God has not yet moved against them He must be unaware of or indifferent to their wickedness, that God must strike and punish with such severity that He cannot let even their grandchildren escape without consequence. His purpose is that everyone will be shaken by His judgment and recognize that He is completely serious. He has this kind of person in mind when He says "those who hate me," meaning those who persist in their defiance and pride. They refuse to listen to what is preached or spoken to them. When they are rebuked in order to bring them to their senses and prompt their repentance before punishment arrives, they grow furious and reckless, and they justly earn the wrath that follows. We see this pattern playing out every day in the behavior of our bishops and princes.

As terrifying as these words of warning are, the promise of mercy that follows is even more powerful. It assures those who hold fast to God alone of pure goodness and blessing, not only for themselves but for their children to a thousand generations. If we want to possess every good thing in this life and the next, the fact that the Supreme Majesty so graciously offers, so tenderly urges, and so generously promises should move and compel us to fix our hearts on God with complete confidence.

Let everyone take seriously that this commandment did not come from any human voice. It carries with it either eternal blessing, happiness, and salvation, or eternal wrath, misery, and ruin. What more could you want than God's gracious promise that every blessing will be yours, and that He will protect and help you in every need? But here is the painful reality: the people of this world believe none of these words and don't treat them as the words of God at all. They see that those who trust in God rather than in wealth often suffer hardship and want, and are opposed and attacked by Satan. Such people seem to have no money, no favor, no honor, and barely a foothold in the world. Meanwhile, those who serve wealth appear to have power, favor, honor, and every comfort the world can offer. We must therefore hold firmly to these words even when the evidence around us seems to contradict them, and remember that they neither lie nor mislead. Their truth will yet be made plain.

Think it through yourself, or ask around, and tell me: what have those people ultimately gained who spent all their energy and effort scraping together great wealth and possessions? You'll find that their worry and labor came to nothing, or, if they did manage to pile up great treasures, those treasures rotted away and were scattered to the wind. You'll also find that they themselves never drew any real happiness from what they owned, and the wealth rarely survived to the third generation. History gives us plenty of examples, and so does the testimony of older people who have seen it firsthand. Take the time to think carefully about those examples and take them to heart. Saul was a great king, chosen by God and a genuinely devout man; but once he was secure on his throne, he let his heart drift away from God, placing his confidence in his crown and his power, and in the end he was destroyed along with everything he had. Not one of his children survived (1 Sam 10:1; 15:17-26; 16:14). David, by contrast, was a poor and despised man, driven into exile and hunted down, never safe anywhere he went, and yet he was the one God preferred over Saul and raised up to be king (1 Sam 16:13). These words had to stand and prove true, because God cannot lie or deceive (1 Sam 15:29). Just don't let Satan and the world fool you with their glittering display, which lasts for a season but in the end amounts to nothing.

So let's take the first commandment seriously and recognize two things clearly: God tolerates no empty self-confidence, no trust placed in anything other than Himself, and His central demand is simply that our hearts rely on Him for everything good. We should also learn to use God's blessings the way a shoemaker uses his needle, awl, and thread: as tools for the work at hand, then set aside when the job is done. Or think of how a traveler uses an inn, a meal, and a bed, taking only what he needs for the journey and moving on. Each of us should remain in the station God has placed us in, never turning any of His gifts into a master or an idol. That's enough on the first commandment. We had to cover it at length, because it is the most important of all. As I said earlier, when the heart is rightly oriented toward God and this commandment is truly kept, obedience to the rest will follow naturally.