9. Set Apart
Psalm 4.3
But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself:
The promise is that I will be set apart; the condition is that I would be godly. The godly is not a person who is holy and perfect, but he who wants to be holy and perfect, like God; and so he seeks God for forgiveness and new life daily. He has a heart for God and believes simply in Jesus. It is God Himself who makes a person godly, who by forgiveness of sins and granting of new life creates faith and instills a desire for God in the heart by His Word and Spirit through the Gospel.
God makes one godly and then sets that person apart for himself. I believe the Gospel and am thereby godly; therefore the promise is for me that I shall be ‘set apart for God.” What a special privilege this is: He makes it sound like I am the only one that’s special out of all the world, but he does the same for all believers, and He wants all to come to the knowledge of the truth; but God still makes it seems unique, like He wants me.
Something holy is something that is set apart for a holy use. “Sanctify” means to “set apart” for a holy use. God, through the Gospel, has set me apart for a holy use, that is, God wants to use me as a holy vessel, or instrument, for His purpose. He made me holy not just so I could qualify for heaven when I die, but that I might infect the earth with God’s love and gracious presence; to be used of God requires holiness. Therefore, I am drawn by love to confess sins and repent of them and receive forgiveness for them every day to maintain a holy usefulness for God. The promised blessing is that He has set me apart for Himself, for His use, and for His purpose.
This promise of being set apart makes me special to God, but the Lord has a way of making me feel special without making me proud. I am humbled through contrition and repentance and lifted up through forgiveness and grace. God uses the humbled, not the prideful. The Holy Spirit stands me up tall but not proud so I can be useful according to His kingdom purposes. He sets me apart; I cannot set myself apart for Him, for such a process always leads to pride and thus uselessness. God chose me; I did not, and I cannot, chose Him. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” John 15:16.
In humility and faith I take hold of this promise of “set-apartness,” and then I enjoy a relationship with God in His Presence and stand ready for service in the kingdom.