Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Exodus 20:1–7
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
CONSIDER THIS
Finally, we come to the celebrated, world-famous Ten Commandments. They are themselves a summary of all 613 laws God gave to Moses.
Most fascinating is the way Jesus further boiled down the Ten Commandments (indeed the whole Law) into a singular command: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27).
We see how the Ten Commandments break into two groupings, with the first four dealing with our relationship with God and the final six dealing with our relationship with our neighbor.
There’s something we should be clear about here at the outset. The commandments are not about becoming a law-abiding citizen, as is commonly thought. They are about becoming a covenant-keeping worshiper.
In that light, it’s interesting how the most important words in the Ten Commandments, indeed in the whole of the Law, are most often excluded from the commandments when we see them inscribed in public places and even in Christian literature. They are these:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
The Ten Commandments do not begin with commandments. The Law does not begin with laws. It begins with relationship. “I am Yahweh,” he says. “I am the God who heard your cries and who brought you out of Egypt, out of the cruel slavery under which you suffered.”
I am God. I delivered you. This is the most primitive taproot of our entire faith. This cannot be overstated. If our faith does not come down to something as simple as “I am yours. You are mine,” we are missing the core essence of the Christian faith and likely lost in some form of a counterfeit religion.
Far from mere rules and regulations, these commandments are the very wisdom of God. Martin Luther once wrote, “This much is certain: those who know the Ten Commandments perfectly know the entire Scriptures and in all affairs and circumstances are able to counsel, help, comfort, judge, and make decisions in both spiritual and temporal matters.”1
I don’t know the Ten Commandments perfectly. I think I know them approximately. So why don’t I know them perfectly? Probably because of my New Testament bias, which is deeper than I want to admit, still considers the Old Testament as somehow preempted despite still being the Word of God. And probably because I can look up the Ten Commandments anytime I want. I mean, why know anything perfectly anymore, right? We have Google, for crying out loud!
Over the last several years, I have come to frequent Psalm 1, which opens as follows:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers, . . . (v.1)
It is easy to agree with, isn't it? Who wants to do these things? I suspect no one wants to walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers, and yet scores and scores of people do just this. Notice how the psalmist first tells us who the blessed are not. Next, he tells us who the blessed are:
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night. (v. 2)
The inference is clear. Those who do not delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night are the ones who turn out to walk in step with the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, and sit in the seat of mockers.
After many walks through Psalm 1, it finally hit me. I don't think I have ever actually meditated on the Law of God. Somehow, it never occurred to me to meditate on the Ten Commandments. So how is it I can claim to have delighted in the Law of God? I can't.
I have been in active repentance ever since.
THE PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
Lord Jesus, you are my Deliverer,
I love your Law. I want to delight in it. I will follow the psalmist's lead in declaring:
The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb. (Ps. 19:7–10)
Teach me to meditate on your Law day and night that I might become the vision you delight to see, "like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever he does prospers" (Ps. 1:3).
It will be for your glory, for others' gain, and for my good.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen! Amen!
