From a physical point of view, Young People, we divide the human race into different kinds of people. What are born are called baby boys or baby girls. They grow up to become, and be called, young men or young women. Then, later on, they are called adult men or adult women. What is more, all men or women are di­vided into different races, and their skin is white, yellow, red or black.

However, from a spiritual point of view, the human race is divided into only two kinds of people. They are believers, or they are unbelievers. They are called born again children of God, or children of Satan who are born spiritually dead. They are called elect or reprobate, and that they are called reprobate means that they are loathed, despised, unbelieving people, who are on the way to everlast­ing punishment in hell. Just look up what we find written in II Corinthians 13:5. There we read: “Ex­amine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves . . . how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates.”

What is more, in Ecclesiastes 11:9 we read: “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”

You Young People, and all of us, who were born again as children of God, have a calling to rejoice in spiritual matters. By the way, the words “O young man” refer to young women as well as to young men. The Hebrew word that Solomon uses here in this verse, does at times in Scripture refer to young women as well as to young men.

Take note, therefore, of the fact that our God, through Solomon, commands all of us to be concerned with, and sincerely to consider, that our God, through Solomon, presents a command in this verse that refers to all the elect, the young women as well as young men.

First of all, we do well to take note of the fact that you are called to let your hearts cheer you spiritually. What Satan has in mind, and tries to prevent you from doing, is rejoicing in holy, spiri­tual matters. In a sense, what Solomon here calls you to do is also presented to us in Psalter Number 261:1 and is based on Psalm 98. We are in this Psalter Number called to “Sing a new song to Jeho­vah; for the wonders He has wrought.” That is what Solomon does here call you young people to do; but also for all of us comes that calling. We live in the world of sin, and have the pleasure that the old man of sin wants and seeks. Satan does all in his power to get us to walk in sin; and he does have clever ways of striving to get all of us to do that. And we do have that calling of God that is pre­sented in Psalter Number 383:1, and is based on Psalm 139:14. We do sing, as based on that Psalm: “All that I am I owe to Thee, Thy wisdom Lord hath fashioned me; I give my Maker thankful praise, Whose wondrous works my soul amaze.”

In these Psalter Numbers, and in Scripture, upon which they are based, we have our calling presented by wise King Solomon, as he is used by our Covenant God. You Young People must not only receive this command to rejoice in holy, spiritual matters, and in the calling to thank God for salva­tion, and to praise His Name in joyful appreciation of His gift of salvation. You must live that way ev­ery day, and every hour, from the moment you wake up in the morning until, after you have also thanked God for His gift of salvation, you fall asleep. The Almighty, everywhere present God, presents this calling through Solomon. It is not simply Solomon’s wisdom that tells you to do this. It is God Who commands you through him.

What is more, we may not deny God in His work of salvation. He is going to reveal to every elect child of God how rich salvation is. What is sometimes questioned, but is taught elsewhere in Scripture, is the truth that God is going to have all His elect appear before Him, in a way that will make every one of His elect appreciate fully the salvation which is given him. Our God does that in order to fill our hearts with thankfulness for the salvation which He realizes through His Son.

We find that literally in II Corinthians 5:10 where we read: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Note then that when Paul wrote this, he included himself, using the pronoun “we.” The reason why God will have us appear before His judgment seat is to cause us to be thankful for our salvation, and to see from what God saved us, and how much punishment we really in ourselves deserve. Likewise, that we see how He caused us to do good works, He will cause us to be thankful, and appreciative of what He enabled us to do.

By all means, Young People, you must find, in the days of your youth, those works of love which God enabled you to perform. For in the days of your youth it will come much harder for you to walk in love toward God. Satan is then trying much more than in your childhood to stop your walk in love toward God. The temptations are more and more tempting. And in the days of our youth we do not fully understand our sins; and we often consider them to be good acts. There are so many tempta­tions today that were not there in ages gone by. By means of what was invented, and man is able to do, there are, for example, so many things we are tempted to do on Sunday; things that set it aside from the day in which we are called to worship and serve God. With automobiles, radio and television we are tempted to commit sins that our grandpar­ents never were tempted to do.

A truth for you to consider, and a call which you Young People must maintain is that God, through His grace, kept on maintaining what to­day is truly maintained as Reformed. We were cast out by a group of churches that insist on that error called “Common Grace.” That false doctrine teaches what Scripture clearly condemns. The Almighty God, Whose name is Jehovah, which means I AM, does not temporarily in this life deal graciously with those that He is going to cast into hell, when they die.

That doctrine of “Common Grace” presents God as One Who changes His attitude against those whom He did not eternally choose in Christ. He sends the reprobate into hell, when they die. But He does not in this life deal graciously with them.

Grace is an aspect of God’s love. In Genesis 6:8 we read that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” But at that time God showed His hatred, rather than His grace, upon the hundreds of wicked who hated Him. Them He destroyed by that flood. Jehovah, the I AM, did not change His mind or attitude against those that hated Him. Just look up Genesis 6:8 once again. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord; but His grace did not come down and deal with those whom He killed by the flood. God hated those sinners whom He destroyed by the flood. Nothing had come upon them in His grace. His grace is never common, but very, very particular, being only upon all those chosen in Christ, and redeemed by His cross.

In Psalm 146:20 we read: “The Lord preserveth all them that love Him: but all the wicked will He destroy.” And by God’s grace we love God because He loves us. The world, and every reprobate in that world, hates God, and is hated by God. As we read in Romans 9:13: “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Where is there any “Common Grace” then that was falling upon Esau? How could Jehovah, the I AM, be gracious to some people in their earthly lives, and stop it when they died? Why did He let them die?

Take hold, Young People, of the truth that Je­hovah, the I AM, loves those whom He eternally loved; and for whom He sent Christ to die and earn their salvation.

In no way, and not for one minute, does God deal in His grace upon those not chosen in Christ. As Jehovah, the I AM, He never becomes the I Was, or the I Will Be. He deals in His grace only upon those whom He eternally chose in Christ.

We are Protestant Reformed Churches, because in God’s grace we, for more than 70 years, have maintained that God is gracious only to those whom He eternally chose in Christ. There is NO “common grace” that falls on those not chosen in Christ. God does not for one split second deal graciously with those not chosen eternally in Christ. And Christ did not die for any but those eternally chosen as the members of His body. That “common grace” maintains that there is a grace of God upon the world of unbelievers, who were not eternally chosen by God to be saved, and never want the true salvation, which Christ earned only for the elect.

But the awesome truth is that God’s Name is Jehovah, which means I AM. Hold on tightly then, to the truth which God maintains in our Protes­tant Reformed Churches. God Himself gives us in Psalm 7:11 this truth: “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” Get that! He is angry every day with the wicked, that is, those whom He did not choose in Christ to be made righteous.

Do not deny God’s name Jehovah. As the I AM He is graciously unchangeable, only to those eter­nally chosen in Christ. Those not chosen in Christ will never receive that smallest part of God’s grace, which comes only upon those whom God chose eternally in Christ. Those not chosen in Christ will never, for a split second, receive the smallest part of God’s grace.

Be thankful, Young People, that although the Christian Reformed Churches cast us out, because we denied “common grace,” God in His grace en­ables us tightly and graciously to hold on to the truth that God’s grace falls only upon those He eter­nally chose in Christ; and that they believe in God; and love Him, because of what He did in them and for them in His unchangeable grace.

Rev. Heys is a retired minister of the Protestant Reformed Churches. He is a member of Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church.