God my hope: Psalm 33:18–22. Psalm 130.
6. God my trust: Psalm 40:2–6.
Third, I must know how I must show gratitude to God for this deliverance: first in serving and in obeying his commandments (Question 194 to 228). Then in calling on Him in all my needs, in seeking my salvation and my happiness in Him, in giving thanks in my heart and in confessing by my words—which I address to God in prayer, and to my neighbor in bearing testimony of my faith—that all my good things come from Him alone (Questions 229 to 290).
Bible readings:
7. It is by thanksgiving that we sanctify ourselves: Ephesians 5:8–11; Romans 6:11–14.
8. Praise: Psalm 57.
9. Praise: Psalm 124.
Part One
Lesson 2
The Misery of Man
SUMMARY: The law of God reveals to me my misery and sin. The holiness of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ shows better still the destructive work of sin in my spirit and in my heart.
Given over to my strength alone, I am inclined to evil and I am incapable of doing good; I disobey without ceasing the holy, just and good will of my God; I bear in my body and in my soul the wages of my sins which lead me to suffering and to death, and expose me to the fearful consequences of God’s indignation and judgment.
Bible readings for the week: Monday, Question 6: (1), (2), and Question 7: 1, 2. Tuesday, Question 9: 1, (2), 3, 4. Wednesday, Question 9: (5), 6, 7, (8), 9, 10. Thursday, Question 11: (1), 2, and Question 12: (1), 2, 3. Friday, Question 14: (1), 2, 3. Saturday, Question 15: 1, 2, (3).
6. How do you know of your misery?
By the law of God. “It is the law,” said Saint Paul, “which gives the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20). We feel in our conscience a testimony of this law.
Bible readings:
1. The law and the conscience: Romans 2:12–16.
2. Sin is manifested by the law: Romans 7:7–13.
7. What does the Law of God require of us?
Jesus Christ teaches us by the summary of the Law of which he reminds us in the Gospel:
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment; and a second is like it, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37–40; Luke 10:27).
I must recognize myself as guilty before my own conscience. And this in two respects: (1) for the things that it tells me I ought to do and I have not done. What are they? And (2) for the things which it forbids to me and I do in spite of it. What are these?
But though the conscience is a universal “preaching” by God to the heart of all men, it is only a very imperfect testimony of the requirements of his Law revealed in the Holy Scriptures.
What are the sins that I presently know, revealed to me by the Law of God and which my conscience ignores? (Cf. Romans 7:7–13) Are there things which I love to do simply because God forbids them?
8. Can you keep all these commandments perfectly?
No, because I am not spontaneously inclined to love God and my neighbor.
As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. There is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:10–12, 22, 23
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and his Word is not in us. 1 John 1:8–10; cf. Romans 8:7, 8, Ephesians 2:3, 4.
Bible readings:
1. We are all convicted of sin by the law: Romans 3:9–20.
2. I will, but I do not!: Romans 7:14–25.
9. Is the law the only means by which you have a knowledge of your misery?
No. I also receive a knowledge of great misery by the fact that God makes Himself known to me in the Scripture as the thrice-Holy God whose purity is infinite.
Bible readings:
The holiness of God reveals the sin of man.
1. Isaiah 6:1–7.
2. Daniel 10:4–12, 15–19.
3. Job 4:17–19, 15:14–16.
The knowledge of my misery and sin is even more clearly seen if I consider that Jesus, in his humanity, is like us in all things except sin. Every difference between Jesus the man and myself can be attributed to my sin. If I were not a sinner I would be identical to the man Jesus.
In measuring the abyss which separates me from my Savior, I measure too the greatness of my sin and the depth of my misery.
In the light of this revelation I understand that I do not possess in myself real love, that is, the purity and the humility that God requires of me. Instead of seeking his glory, I seek mine. Instead of living for him I live for myself. I do not operate out of love for God but love for myself.
Bible reading:
4. We do not seek the glory of God: John 5:41–47.
Sin creeps into every area of our life. By our own power we are not able to escape. We remain “carnal men” who only love our own selves. Our existence is nothing more than open or secret revolution against God. We are all as straying sheep, each following his own way (cf. Isaiah 53:6).
Do you see that your situation before God is quite impossible, and that before his holiness you have only one alternative: you can revolt against Him in an act of despair or accept his judgment and confess your sin?
Bible readings:
5. The revolution of men: Isaiah 1:2–4.
6. They hate and run from the light: John 3:17–21; 7:7.
7. They speak and believe the lie: John 8:42–47.
8. They do not believe the truth: 2 Corinthians 4:3–5.
9. They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness: 2 Corinthians 11:15.
10. They make God a liar: 1 John 5:9–13.
10. Did God therefore create man so wicked and perverse?
No, on the contrary! God created man good and in his image (Genesis 1:26–27), in true righteousness and holiness,
