So I'm getting it done this afternoon. Hope nobody minds. If you do, tough. :-)
Unemployment Spikes Again. According to figures released by the Labor Department Friday, the unemployment rate rose in 26 states across the nation but declined in 17 states. Many American families are struggling in the current economic environment with hopes and prayers for signs of a recovery.
4-9 You made me so happy, God
I saw your work and I shouted for joy.
How magnificent your work, God!
How profound your thoughts!
Dullards never notice what you do;
fools never do get it.
When the wicked popped up like weeds
and all the evil men and women took over,
You mowed them down,
finished them off once and for all.
You, God, are High and Eternal.
Look at your enemies, God!
Look at your enemies�ruined!
Scattered to the winds, all those hirelings of evil!
10-14 But you've made me strong as a charging bison,
you've honored me with a festive parade.
The sight of my critics going down is still fresh,
the rout of my malicious detractors.
My ears are filled with the sounds of promise:
"Good people will prosper like palm trees,
Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;
transplanted to God's courtyard,
They'll grow tall in the presence of God,
lithe and green, virile still in old age."
15 Such witnesses to upright God!
My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain! (The Message)
"What produces joy in our hearts is the exhibition which God gives of himself as a Father, and of his deep and watchful anxiety for our welfare. As the universe proclaims throughout that God is faithful and good, it becomes us to be diligently observant of these tokens, and to be excited by a holy joy to the celebration of his praise."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"Christ Alone"
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)
We have seen over the past few days that justification comes to us through grace alone (sola gratia) and by faith alone (sola fide). But our declaration of righteousness is made possible by the work of Christ alone (solus Christus).
There have been two major covenants between God and man. The first was a covenant of works made with Adam, the representative of all people. "Adam was promised life or death depending on his obedience to the Lord's command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (we deduce that he would have earned eternal life if he had obeyed)." As we know, Adam failed, "plunging his descendants into sin." And God does not change his demands. All people remained under that covenant of works. He would have been perfectly just to leave all people in their condemnation.
But God (two of my very favorite words in all of the Bible), out of love and mercy, entered into a covenant of grace with his people. "In this covenant, God provides a way for us to be reckoned as those who have kept the covenant of works." We have not kept this covenant, but someone else has kept it for us.
That someone else is Jesus Christ. "On the cross, our guilt for failing to keep God's covenant was imputed to Jesus, that is, our sin was reckoned to Christ's account and condemned in the flesh." But that's not all that happened. That would have simply made us neutral. Before he hung on the cross, Jesus lived a perfect life, keeping all of the requirements of that works covenant. This record of him "who knew no sin" is imputed to us when we trust him alone. "God reckons Christ's righteousness to our account and, looking at us in Christ, sees a record of perfect obedience and declares us righteous in His sight."
Hallelujah!
"The Promises of God"
2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (ESV)
The Bible is full of God's promises. There are promises of protection, of his constant presence, of his provision, both spiritually and materially, promises of peace in difficult times. Guess what?
"Not one of those promises is dependent upon our performance."
Please read that last statement again. It's rather important.
In the above passage, Paul wrote, "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him." What's that mean?
"First of all, Christ in His messianic mission is the personal fulfillment of all the promises in the Old Testament regarding a Savior and coming King."
However, beyond this, "Christ is also the meritorious basis upon which all of God's other promises depend." John Calvin, in his commentary on our verse for today, said, "All God's promises depend upon Christ alone." Hey! There's that idea of solus Christus again!
In other words, the only condition that we must meet for God's promises to be effective for us is to be "in Christ." We need not be concerned about following any certain course of action or following any rules. Jesus Christ did all that for us. The "in him" in the verse above is Christ. All of God's promises find their "YES" in Jesus Christ.
Another hallelujah!
Father, your grace and mercy in our salvation is beyond description! The work that Christ did for us, in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection, is...is...simply amazing. And these words are so inadequate as I try to describe my feelings. Maybe there are words in heaven that work, but there aren't any on earth. "Awesome" is not enough to describe what Jesus has done for us. Nevertheless, I will praise you daily for the greatness of your love, mercy, and grace, and for the work of Christ for us. Thank you for making me one of your children! Thank you for giving me a heart to praise you; the desire to worship you.
I also praise you that your promises are all "YES" in Christ, since he has fulfilled the requirements of that works covenant. I praise you that none of your promises are contingent on my performance. If that were the case, I would have lost out long ago. But you are faithful, even when we are not, and we are not, so very often!
My Father, it certainly does produce joy in my heart when I see the evidence of your great power in the heavens. When I look up into the sky and see the work of your hands, I do, just like the Psalmist, frequently wonder, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" Praises to you, O God!
Grace and peace, friends.