Prayer
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm 119:18). Father in heaven, truly your law is sweeter than honey and more precious than gold. How it stands before us this day as a mirror, reflecting our wicked hearts! May your law continue to draw us into the merciful hand of your precious Son.
Today’s Hymn
Words: Ernest W. Shurtleff, 1888. He wrote this hymn for the graduation ceremony at Andover Theological Seminary, where he was a member of the class of 1888.
LEAD ON, O KING ETERNAL
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Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.
Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.
Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.
Thought Provoker
Sometimes we find ourselves telling our children, don’t ask why; just do what you are told. But sometimes it is important to know the reason behind the rule. Ask your family if they know why the traffic light near your house turns red. That’s right, it means that a car may be crossing the intersection. Unless you STOP, you may be crushed! In other words, unless you know the reason behind the law, you can die in breaking it. This is why many Jews perished in their sins, because they didn’t stop to ask why the law of God was given. They mistakenly thought that the law was given to save them (Rom. 9:32). They slavishly pursued the law, trying to earn their salvation. This morning, Paul is going to show us why God gave His law, and how, if it is pursued in the way it was intended, it can lead to life!
Dad’s Study
Read together Galatians 3:19-22, and ask your family if they can find three reasons the law was given to Israel.
1. It was given to reveal sin (v. 19). In other words, it was given to make inward, invisible rebellion, visible (Rom. 4:15). A child may have a rebellious heart, but that heart cannot be seen until there is a law put in front of it. When Mom finishes baking her favorite chocolate cake and then gives the law by stating, thou shalt not touch the cake, an unseen heart of rebellion will soon be seen when the little toddler sneaks up and picks off a corner of the warm dessert.
2. It was given to arouse more sin (v. 19). This echoes Paul’s teaching in Romans 5:20, Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound.. Not only was the law designed to show sin, but it was also given to actually increase it! When the sinful nature within us confronts a law, the law actually stimulates the sinful heart to break it (Rom. 7:5). The sinful inclinations of the heart are not only exposed by the law, but are aroused by it!
3. It was given to hold people in sin until Christ came (v. 22). The law could not make people spiritually alive. God did not design the law to save. Instead, God has done what the law could not do, and that is to bring spiritual life to a lost sinner, through the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:3-4). The defect was not in the law, but the defect was in the heart of mankind. Man’s heart is sinful and will not submit to the law of God.
How tragic! The Jews used the law to do what it was not designed to do! They used it to try to save themselves, when it was given by God to show them their wickedness and to arouse more sin in their wicked hearts. This results in their spiritual death. It would be like taking a stop light and using it for the purpose of locating the middle of the street rather than warning you of impending danger. While you faithfully drove down the middle, you were smashed to death in the intersection.
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
Why couldn’t the law bring spiritual life? Life does not come from the law, but rather from the sovereign regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The law was given to show the Jews the sinfulness of sin, and to drive them to God for mercy through faith. When Jesus was asked by the rich young ruler, what must I do to inherit eternal life, Christ took him to the law. Not that he could be saved by keeping the law, rather so that he could see that he was a law breaker and humbly seek Christ for mercy (Matt. 19:16-22). Today, the law still serves the same purpose as it did for the Jews. You will not cry out for mercy until you have seen yourself as a guilty sinner. You will not see yourself as a sinner until God opens your eyes to see that you are a breaker of His holy law. As parents, bring the law regularly before the hearts of your family. When your children sin, show them how they have violated God’s law and the eternal consequence for being a lawbreaker. May God’s law accomplish His will in each of your hearts!
Catechism
Question 7
Q What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his own will, whereby for his own glory he has foreordained whatever comes to pass (Eph. 1:11, 12).
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Words: Joachim Neander, in A und Ω Glaub- und Liebes¸bung (Straslund: 1680); translated from German to English by Catherine Winkworth, 1863.