Interestingly, a few days ago I finished my study/reading of the Heidelberg Catechism. The last weekly reading had this to say about temptation.
52. SUNDAY
127. What is the sixth petition?
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” that is: Since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot stand a moment,1 and besides, our deadly enemies, the devil,2 the world3 and our own flesh,4 assail us without ceasing, be pleased to preserve and strengthen us by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may make firm stand against them and not be overcome in this spiritual warfare,5 until finally complete victory is ours.6
Q. 195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition? A. In the sixth petition (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil), acknowledging that the most wise, righteous, and gracious God, for divers holy and just ends, may so order things, that we may be assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations; that Satan, the world, and the flesh, are ready powerfully to draw us aside, and ensnare us; and that we, even after the pardon of our sins, by reason of our corruption, weakness, and want of watchfulness, are not only subject to be tempted, and forward to expose ourselves unto temptations, but also of ourselves unable and unwilling to resist them, to recover out of them, and to improve them; and worthy to be left under the power of them; we pray, that God would so overrule the world and all in it, subdue the flesh, and restrain Satan, order all things, bestow and bless all means of grace, and quicken us to watchfulness in the use of them, that we and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin; or, if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to stand in the hour of temptation; or when fallen, raised again and recovered out of it, and have a sanctified use and improvement thereof: that our sanctification and salvation may be perfected, Satan trodden under our feet, and we fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil, forever.
History shows we need God’s help.
And this was particularly useful. Please note that the essence of The law contained in the two Great Commandments and the Ten Commandments is throughly discussed in the historical Catechisms.
What, then, is this half of a use this article is going on about? Look at verse 22, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being.” One of the proper uses of the law – and a part of heartfelt obedience to the law – is to love it. To delight in it. To cherish it. To derive actual pleasure from the righteousness, holiness, and goodness of it. Obeying the law means enjoying the law.
Just look at the psalmists when they write about their affections for the law of God:
Psalm 119:97 “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
Psalm 19:7, 10 “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul . . . More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”
Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
According to Paul, that’s how he feels about God’s law as well. By the power of the Spirit at work in his mind, he regards God’s commands to him – some of which confront him, rebuke him, and demand change from him – are a source of such glorious wisdom that he loves them. He loves to meditate on them, to apply them, and to preach them. Paul delights in the law of God for all of its uses, and because of its source.
So did John Calvin. In reference to the law-delighting psalms, Calvin writes,
“These do not contradict Paul’s statements, which show not what use the law serves for the regenerate, but what it can of itself confer upon man. But here the prophet proclaims the great usefulness of the law: the Lord instructs by their reading of it those whom he inwardly instills with a readiness to obey. He lays hold not only of the precepts, but the accompanying promise of grace, which alone sweetens what is bitter. For what would be less lovable than the law if, with importuning and threatening alone, it troubled souls through fear, and distressed them through fright? David especially shows that in the law he apprehended the Mediator, without whom there is no delight or sweetness.”
To Calvin, the law is a delight not only because it teaches us how to live, but because it shows us God. And God is delightful.
So, the next time you go to open the Old Testament law, and you’re reading through those long lists in Leviticus, or wondering about some of those odd prohibitions in Deuteronomy, remind yourself of the 3.5 uses of the Law. Remember that this good, holy command to Israel from heaven has been placed in your lap so that you might know the God who wrote it and enjoy him.
Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Rainbow Trout 