May 29

Morning

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy. — Ps 45:7 BSB

“Be angry and do not sin.” There’s little goodness in a person who doesn’t feel anger towards sin. If you love truth, you must hate everything that opposes it. Look at how our Lord Jesus reacted when temptation came. Three times it came at Him in different ways, but He always met it with, “Get behind me, Satan.” He hated sin in others too, though He often expressed His hatred with tears of compassion rather than harsh words. Still, when needed, His words were firm and sharp, like when He declared, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers.”

Jesus hated wickedness so deeply that He bled to deal it a fatal blow. He died so that sin could die. He was buried so that sin could be buried, and He rose again so that He could forever trample it under His feet. Christ, in the Gospel, is the sworn enemy of every form of wickedness. Even when sin tries to dress itself up in righteousness, Jesus, like when He cleansed the temple, drives it out with a holy zeal. In the heart where Jesus reigns, there’s a constant war between Christ and sin. And when Jesus returns as our Judge, His words, “Depart from me, you cursed ones!” will echo His life’s teachings about His hatred for sin.

Just as fervent as His love is for sinners, so intense is His hatred of sin. Just as complete as His righteousness is, so thorough will be His destruction of wickedness. O glorious champion of righteousness and destroyer of evil! It’s for this reason that God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.

Evening

At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” — Josh 6:26 BSB

If there was a curse for rebuilding Jericho, how much worse for those who try to bring back the errors of the past, like Popery. In the days of our forefathers, the towering walls of false religion fell through the power of their faith, their perseverance, and the proclamation of the Gospel. But now, some seek to rebuild that cursed system on its old foundation. O Lord, we pray You to stop their efforts and tear down every stone they try to build.

We should take this seriously, ensuring that our hearts and our churches are completely purged of every error that might give room to the spirit of falsehood. Once we’ve cleared our own lives, we should also oppose its spread in the church and the world. This can be done through fervent prayer in private and bold testimony in public.

We must wisely and courageously warn those leaning towards error and teach the young about the dangers of past falsehoods. We should do all we can to spread the light of the Gospel, for just like owls, false teachers hate the daylight.

Are we doing all we can for Jesus and the Gospel? If we’re neglecting our duty, we’re playing into the hands of error. What are we doing to spread the Bible—the very thing that dismantles falsehood? Are we sharing good, sound Gospel teachings? Luther once said, “The devil hates the quill,” and it’s true! Writers inspired by the Holy Spirit have done great harm to the devil’s kingdom. If everyone who reads these words tonight would do all they could to stop the rebuilding of this cursed city, God’s glory would spread swiftly among the people. Reader, what can you do? What will you do?