Before the Holy Mountain

Israel comes to Sinai and learns that redemption from Egypt was not the end, but the beginning of obedience. The Lord brings a people to Himself so that they may be holy, set apart, ready to hear and to do. As it is written of them, “For the people were formerly called the people of God, Exodus 19:5-6 and an holy nation.” A people near to God must not live carelessly.

The psalm teaches how such holiness begins: with a bridled tongue, a measured life, and the sober remembrance that our days are short. Man heaps up what he cannot keep; his noise and striving pass like smoke. Therefore the heart must burn, not with envy or anger, but with meditation before God. Better to weigh our words than to multiply them. Better to confess our frailty than to boast in our strength.

Then Isaiah lifts our eyes higher. All flesh is grass: princes, laborers, merchants, and strong men alike wither. “But the word of the Lord endures for ever.” Therefore do not build your life on what fades—wealth, praise, youth, or human power—but on the enduring voice of God. The same Lord who descended on Sinai also sends good tidings to Jerusalem: warfare will end, iniquity can be pardoned, and the Shepherd will gather His flock. Yet the way for His coming must be prepared.

So let us prepare it plainly: put away loose speech, repent of vain pursuits, accept the discipline of God, and stand ready at His mountain. The enduring word is not given for admiration, but for obedience.