God Spake These Words

On the Fourth and Fifth Sundays in Lent, we at St. Paul's will be reciting the Decalogue as part of the opening devotions of our worship. The Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, are the historic presentation of the ethical Law of God given to Moses on Mount Sinai. As Christians, they show us the righteousness of Christ: when we say that Jesus Christ was perfect God and perfect man, we are saying that he perfectly obeyed His Father's law. He never put any god above God His Father. He never made anything an idol or took God's name in vain. He kept the sabbath day holy (despite arguments to the contrary from the religious elite of his day). He honored his mother and father, and so on. In this way, the Decalogue shows us what Jesus was like; it shows us his perfection both as God and human being.

The Decalogue also shows us our need for Christ. When we recite these commandments, we are confronted by the reality of our sin and our inability to keep the Law. The Decalogue shows us who we are apart from the saving love of Christ, and our deep and tremendous need of Christ's offering of Himself to fulfill the Law, allowing us to be the redeemed people of God.

Jesus' life, death, and resurrection demonstrate the love of God for we who continually miss the mark. The Decalogue reminds us, as we need constantly to be reminded, that Our Lord Jesus Christ comes to us as the perfecter and redeemer for we who are imperfect and in such need of His redemption.


Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee!