My reading today took me to Leviticus and Matthew. It’s dramatic to read the laws about Old Testament sacrifices along side the accounts of Jesus’ final days of ministry leading up to His great offering for sin, the once-for-all sacrifice. How great is His salvation! How wise of God to portray the need for offerings for sin by means of the Old Testament system, but, then, to accept the offering of Jesus Christ, His Son, as sufficient for the cleansing and redemption of all His elect people.
Do you need a reminder of your desperate state apart from Him? I do. Today, I read these words from the Puritan prayers found in the Valley of Vision (p. 66):
“Thou Blessed Spirit, Author of all grace and comfort,
Come, work repentance in my soul;
Represent sin to me in its odious colours that I may hate it:
Melt my heart by the majesty and mercy of God…
Give me that faith which is the means of salvation,
and the principle and medium of all godliness;
May I be saved by grace through faith,
live by faith,
feel the joy of faith,
do the work of faith.
Perceiving nothing in myself, may I find in Christ
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption.
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