When Curse Becomes Blessing

John Calvin Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith !Gal. 3:13-18 As we have seen, if our only hope of salvation rested upon the condition that we fulfil our duty, we would all be conde ned! for we have all fallen short in any different ways and are, therefore, "uilty in the eyes of God. #ndeed, even the holiest a on"st us can never clai to have reached a state of perfection, never a"ain to fall, and free fro all infir ity$ %e are, therefore, led to conclude that we will all be lost and conde ned when God calls us to account. &his is an's true condition, despite the hi"h re"ard he ay have for hi self$ &herefore, we need so e eans of escape fro the curse we are under. (therwise, what "ood will it do us to have our ears daily assailed by the %ord of God) #t will only push us closer towards eternal death. &hus, in order that the %ord of God should profit and assist us to find salvation, we have to find a way of escape fro the sentence of *ud" ent pronounced upon the hu an race. +aul points out the way of escape to us here: 'Christ hath redee ed us fro the curse of the law, bein" ade a curse for us.' ,e shows us that it was not in vain that our -ord Jesus Christ hun" on the tree, for he suffered to bear the curse of all those he would call to salvation. As we have said, we are all under this curse, which eans it was necessary for our -ord to ta.e our burden of sin upon hi self. #n the law of /oses, it is written: 'Cursed is everyone that han"eth on a tree' 01eut. 21:233. (ur -ord co anded that the bodies of the dead should be re oved fro si"ht, because it was a dis"race to see a hu an body thus defiled and therefore he desired it to be ta.en away. 4et, when God pronounced this curse upon all who hun" upon a tree, he .new only too well what was "oin" to happen to his only 5on. 6or the -ord Jesus Christ did not suffer such a death by accident, nor accordin" to the whi of an. %hilst it is true that he was crucified by unbelievers, it had been ordained by the will of God 0Acts 2:23! 7:283. As it is written, God so loved the world that he did not even spare his only 5on, but delivered hi up to death for us. #ndeed, if his death had been deter ined by Judas alone, who had hi wic.edly and forcibly led away, this could not be the foundation for our salvation at all$ %e ust re e ber that God had appointed it thus, as +eter e8pounds in "reater depth in Acts chapter two, verse twenty-three, where he states that the wic.ed hands that crucified our -ord Jesus did no ore than God had previously deter ined in his will. &hus, when we read that our -ord Jesus Christ was crucified, we ust re e ber that it was all for our salvation, because by this eans God was see.in" to reconcile us to hi self. &herefore, when God said, 'Cursed is everyone that han"eth on a tree', he was not i"norant of what was "oin" to occur, for all had been settled and predeter ined. &hese two facts ust be carefully held to"ether9that God has said that whoever han"s upon a tree is cursed, but that it was his will for his own 5on to suffer thus. %hy was this) ,e too. our burden upon hi self, as our substitute, and ade hi self, as it were, the chief of sinners on our behalf. Jesus Christ beca e a curse in order to deliver us fro the curse of the law. #t ay see harsh and stran"e at first si"ht that the -ord of Glory, he who has all soverei"n authority, and before who all the an"els of heaven tre ble and prostrate the selves, should be sub*ect to a curse. :ut we ust call to ind what +aul wrote in the first letter to the Corinthians, that is to say, that "ospel teachin" is foolishness to the hu an race, who re"ard the selves as wise 01 Cor. 1:18, 233. #n deed, in this way, God hu bles us for our folly. 6or there is enou"h wise and "ood instruction, if we care to heed it, in the heaven and earth around us! yet we are blind and shut our eyes to God's wisdo displayed in

nature. &his is why he has opened up a new way to draw us to hi self9throu"h so ethin" which we dee foolish$ &hus, we ust not *ud"e what we read here, concernin" the curse to which the 5on of God was sub*ect, by our own hu an reasonin". #nstead, we should deli"ht in such a ystery and "ive "lory to God that he loved our souls so uch that he redee ed the at such inesti able cost to hi self. 6ar fro detractin" fro the a*esty of our -ord Jesus Christ, or obscurin" the "lory which the ,oly 5criptures attribute to hi , this teachin" provides occasion to "lorify hi even ore. #ndeed, ay we all do so, for here is our -ord Jesus Christ refusin" to consider it robbery 0as +aul e8presses it3 to reveal hi self in his infinite "lory 0+hil. 2:;3. ,e willin"ly e ptied hi self! he not only too. upon hi self a hu an nature and beca e a an, but he also sub itted to a ost sha eful death in the si"ht of both God and an. ,ow precious to hi we ust have been for hi to allow hi self to e8perience such e8tre e sufferin" for our rede ption$ #f we could but taste so ethin" of what this i plies, we would forever a"nify the unspea.able "race which surpasses all hu an understandin". ,owever, althou"h we cannot co prehend it fully, and can only fatho the hundredth part of it, it deli"hts us to .now that we can "rasp so ethin" of its eanin", however s all$ 4et, how this e8poses the alice and perversity that is in an$ 6or when +aul declares that our -ord Jesus Christ beca e a curse for us, it washes over us. &here are even those who are so depraved that they will see this as an occasion to behave scandalously, abandonin" the "ospel alto"ether when they hear of the way in which Christ has redee ed us. 5uch people say, '%hat$ Can it be that the 5on of God, the fountain of all that is "ood, and the one who sanctifies us, has been cursed)' &o their way of thin.in", God has acted in an unreasonable and disorderly fashion$ :ut, 0as # have been sayin"3, God had to stoop to this 'folly' because we did not respond to his wisdo , thou"h the way was clearly evident! thus he e8poses our own i"norance$ %e can only wonder at the ysteries of God, for their si"nificance ay be obscure to us and see stran"e! for in the face of such wonders, our intellect fails and our powers of reasonin" are confounded$ &he fact that the 5on of God beca e a curse for us de ands a fuller e8a ination of our sinful state. #ndeed, we be"in to realise that we are detestable in the eyes of God, that is, until our sins and ini<uities have been cleansed in the blood of the -ord Jesus Christ. 6or even if all the an"els of heaven were to be ade answerable for us, the price they would pay would be insufficient. &he only one able to a.e satisfaction for our sins is the -ord Jesus Christ. :ut, when he ca e to this world, it was not by a display of divine and heavenly power that he paid our debt of eternal death. ,ow, then, did he co e) #n wea.ness! indeed, not only so, but he was accursed. #f this had not been the case, our burdens would have crushed us and all would have perished in the abyss. %hen we understand that the 5on of God, the -a b without ble ish, the irror and fountain of all ri"hteousness, that this (ne was cursed for us, should we not be horrified at the thou"ht of all our sins and en"ulfed in despair until God rescues us in his "race and infinite ercy) &herefore, let us be aware that when God says he has redee ed us fro the curse of the law, it is to brin" us to a state of co plete hu ility. %e can never be hu ble unless we are first stripped of self-confidence and beco e asha ed at what lies within us. &hen we are fri"htened and lost, .nowin" that the wrath of God han"s over us until the re edy is applied to us throu"h our -ord Jesus Christ. &hus, our whole life is detestable in God's si"ht and there is no eans of reconciliation with hi apart fro the -ord Jesus Christ, who ta.es away the curse which is upon us and bears it hi self. =ow, each ti e that we read this passa"e, we should arise and present ourselves before the *ud" ent seat of God, aware that there is a pit waitin" to swallow us up if we re ain as we are. -et us feel our lost condition and be asha ed before God. 6urther ore, let us a"nify the "race bou"ht for us by the 5on of God, and be careful not to detract fro his worth in any way whatsoever, even thou"h he beca e a curse. &his ou"ht, rather, to stir us to render all the praise that he deserves, for he has proved our salvation to be so precious to hi . /oreover, let us properly appreciate such a pled"e of our salvation and display of the love God has for us, and let us not doubt that we are acceptable in God's si"ht when we approach hi . 6or he has redee ed us at such a cost, as +eter shows in his first epistle9not with silver or corruptible thin"s

but with the -ord Jesus Christ who beca e a ranso for us 01 +et. 1:183. &herefore, we ust trust that whenever we co e in his na e to as. for ercy, it will be bestowed upon us. :ut if we co e believin" that we have a scrap of erit, what "ood is it) %e .now how uch the 6ather loves the 5on, and how precious his death was in his si"ht. 6or this reason, we can have full confidence that God will for"ive us and be favourable and .ind to us if we cleave to what +aul shows us here: na ely, that our -ord Jesus Christ spared nothin" for us, even to the point of bearin" our curse. ,owever, let us turn our attention to what +aul continues to say: '&hat the blessin" of Abraha i"ht co e on the Gentiles throu"h Jesus Christ! that we i"ht receive the pro ise of the 5pirit throu"h faith.' :y entionin" Abraha , he reveals that the pro ise belon"ed first to those who descended fro hi . 6or the "ift of salvation was for the Jews until God opened the doors to everyone else, and spread his "ospel abroad, that all i"ht share in the rede ption purchased by the -ord Jesus Christ. 6or althou"h this pro ise ori"inally belon"ed to the Jews and was peculiar to the , it was ade applicable to the whole world. ,ow is this possible) :ecause the pro ise ori"inated in the 5pirit and was not dependent upon observin" the cere onies. :y referrin" us to the 5pirit, +aul blots out all the false doctrines tau"ht by seducers who sou"ht to i8 the law and the "ospel to"ether. ,e is revealin" that now all these thin"s are superfluous, that is to say, sacrifices, circu cision and suchli.e. &his is not to ar"ue that we cannot profit by readin" what is contained in the law: no, but the practice of it has been abolished. &his is why we can say that the pro ise is a spiritual one for us today, because we no lon"er need the types and shadows of days "one by. =ow we are si ply called and invited to co une with our God. =ow we are able to cry to hi with co plete confidence, because, havin" been adopted by hi , we lean entirely upon the -ord Jesus Christ, who is the only foundation the "ospel allows! we find all we need in hi . &his is, in effect, what +aul intends us to learn fro this passa"e. &o reinforce the essa"e, he adds another point which proves that the "ospel is the perfect revelation of the way of salvation, and that we need no other teachin" but the si ple doctrine of *ustification throu"h the free "race of our God. ,e tells us that the law was "iven four hundred and thirty years after the free pro ise of salvation. =ow we .now that a covenant ade between en, if it is to be authentic, ust stand, no atter what happens. #t follows, therefore, that the law was not "iven to cancel what God had pro ised to Abraha and his descendants 0and conse<uently to the rest of us3. %e ay at first <uestion this ar"u ent of +aul's, thin.in" that a second contract ust annul the first. As soon as en have entered an a"ree ent, they are liable to have second thou"hts and chan"e their inds, a.in" the first contract null and void. &he sa e applies to laws and statutes, for a first law can easily be bro.en and invalidated by a second. :ut +aul presupposes so ethin" which needs to be considered, which is that if a an has pro ised and sole nly obli"ated hi self to do so ethin", he cannot retrace his steps9the a"ree ent ust re ain fir . 4et, if two parties were to a"ree to"ether to chan"e their previous resolutions by utual consent, this is a different case. #ndeed, such an e8a ple is al ost irrelevant here if we bear in ind that en chan"e their ideas so li"htly at the sli"htest whi . +aul, however, presupposes that the 'person' in <uestion has ade a covenant which will endure, and which will not be disputed or contravened afterwards in any way whatsoever. #f one of the parties were to brea. that ori"inal covenant, it would be counted terrible treachery which all en ali.e would *ud"e intolerable, since the a"ree ent was so sole nly and for ally recorded that it ust be upheld and aintained without the sli"htest contradiction. =ow, is it possible that there could be less constancy in God than in a an, who is ere vanity by co parison) &herefore, # conclude that the "ospel pro ise holds fir because the free pro ise was ade before the arrival of the law. All this could ystify us if it were not e8plained in "reater detail. %e have already dealt with the contrast +aul a.es between the law and the "ospel in previous studies. %hen God pro ised salvation, it was upon condition that we served hi , co pletely fulfillin" our duty to hi . &his, however, is not possible! thus, we are e8cluded fro all hope of salvation by the law. #t is not that God

is unfaithful on his part: it is we who do not eet his re<uire ents$ #t is li.e a an who says, '# a willin" to sell "oods to you on condition that you have the oney.' &hus, whoever does not have a penny cannot buy any of the "oods, for this is the condition that was set down in the first place. 5i ilarly, God pro ises that we will inherit salvation if we serve hi , but this does not benefit us because we cannot fulfil what he de ands. #ndeed, we are so full of ini<uity, so polluted and infected in his si"ht, that he <uite *ustly re"ards us with detestation. &herefore, we all stand conde ned under the law. ,owever, God freely and "raciously accepts us throu"h the -ord Jesus Christ, who offers us the re ission of our sins. #n fact, he "reatly desires us to accept the "race that we are offered and to lean co pletely on the -ord Jesus Christ, not upon ourselves. =ow +aul as.s, '%hich is ore ancient9the free pro ise of salvation or the law)' %e are aware of the difference between the . =ow, if the law were the ore ancient, it ust hold fir , because God never chan"es and is not sub*ect to variation. ,owever, if the free pro ise ca e first and was ade before the law was decreed, then we ust conclude that God has not chan"ed his ind, nor withdrawn his ori"inal pro ise. ,e would not have desired the abolition of this covenant, for such would have been a withdrawal of his .indness and ercy. #f, at one ti e, he bound hi self out of his free bounty to "ive salvation to en on a basis other than erit, subse<uently chan"in" his ind as if he desired us to enrich hi by our "ood wor.s, it would be absurd$ +aul tells us that the free pro ise was "iven before the law. #t therefore follows that the law does not chan"e anythin" about the pro ise! its nature and its force re ain intact. %hilst it is true that the -ord Jesus Christ had not yet been born on earth when the pro ise was ade to our father Abraha , he had already been chosen as our /ediator because, throu"h hi we would be reconciled to God. =ow, in case we thin. that the law ust have been unnecessary, or that there ust have been a chan"e of ind on the part of God, +aul ne8t addresses this atter. %e ust not beco e confused! thou"h it is not possible to e8plain everythin" in an hour, nor indeed in a day, it is enou"h for the o ent for us to have this one fact clearly understood: that the pro ise to ordain us to be his children was ade by God before the law. #ndeed, it was not ade with reference to our erit or personal worthiness! God did this out of his own "oodness and ercy and e8pected nothin" fro us because he .new we were full of nothin" but wretched sin. &his pro ise had its foundation in the -ord Jesus Christ, whose office was already that of /ediator, "rantin" access to God the 6ather. ,avin" said this, we conclude that this pro ise will endure to the end of the world. &he ain reason this ust be said is because the Jews tended to boast in their herita"e. +aul see.s to tell the that their father Abraha did not have the law and yet was content, althou"h he did, of course, offer sacrifices and the li.e. :ut, even thou"h he was eventually circu cised, at the ti e he received the pro ise no written code as yet e8isted and not even any circu cision. 6or althou"h Abraha was not circu cised when he received the pro ise, he was, nevertheless, *ustified apart fro circu cision by faith alone. &herefore, +aul de onstrates to the Jews that it is very foolish indeed to count the selves in a cate"ory apart fro the rest of hu anity, and to base their hopes upon the types and shadows of the law, seein" that their father Abraha , the chief patriarch of the church, was *ustified in the sa e way as people today. #n other words, he was *ustified by the ercy of God alone, havin" reco"nised that he was a poor sinner, lost and conde ned in Ada , and that the only blessin" he could hope for was to be included in the pro ise ade in the na e of the -ord Jesus Christ. &his is what we are to re e ber. =e8t, we ust carefully consider the pro ise addressed directly to Abraha , which revealed to hi that all nations on earth would be blessed throu"h his seed 0Gen. 12:33. =ow, there are two ain points ade here. (ne is that the blessin" is not only pro ised to the earthly descendants of Abraha 0as we have seen3, but to the whole world in "eneral. &hus, we who descend fro Gentile stoc. 0that is, fro those who are unclean and who were ori"inally banished fro the heavenly .in"do 3 can also share in this pro ise. Althou"h we do not belon" to that holy linea"e that God chose at the be"innin", yet now salvation e8tends even to us. ,ow is this) :ecause it was pro ised that all the

nations on earth would be blessed. &his bein" the case, dare we spea. as if God has withdrawn his liberal hand, and only see.s the descendants of Abraha , when he had already declared that he would reveal hi self as the 5aviour and 6ather of an.ind when the ti e was ri"ht) &hus, the ost i portant point here is this: thou"h this pro ise was ade to Abraha , it did not apply to his physical descendants alone, but to all en, even thou"h this was not apparent at first because the fulness of ti e had not co e, as we shall see in the followin" chapter. &he second point is that the blessin" pro ised to Abraha was for his seed. +aul says that he does not refer to 'seeds' in the plural, but to one seed! we ust, therefore, conclude that he is referrin" to Jesus Christ. %e i"ht perhaps have felt that +aul is a.in" uch of so ethin" which has little relevance! after all, the ter 'seed' refers si ply to descendants, not specifically to one an, nor to ten, nor to forty$ 5urely, it spea.s of a whole race of people, the seed of Abraha bein" the race that descends fro hi . #ndeed, this co prised such a "reat ultitude that it was said to be li.e twelve peoples 0Gen. 1>:;3! for when we refer to a people, we spea. of about a hundred thousand en, and there were ore than this in the tribe of Judah alone$ &hus, it would see that +aul had not properly considered what God intended by this word 'seed', when he says that it refers to *ust one an. :ut we ust wei"h up +aul's conclusions in order to realise that they are correct and fir ly established! indeed, we shall see that his ar"u ent is utterly infallible. Abraha did not have *ust one son! after #sh ael, he had #saac. And what happened to his oldest son) ,e was cast out of his house, as we shall see when we co e to consider the ne8t chapter. &hus, here is #sh ael, who has all the privile"es of bein" the first-born of Abraha 's household, bein" cast out li.e a stran"er, *ust as it is written, 'Cast out this bondwo an and her son: for the son of this bondwo an shall not be heir with y son, even with #saac' 0Gen. 21:1?3. After this, other children were born to hi 0Gen. 2@:1ff3. ,e "ave each one their allotted portion and then sent the away. (nly #saac re ained with Abraha . #n ti e #saac had two children, twins born of the sa e wo b 0Gen. 2@:22-233. &he first-born, Asau, who ou"ht to have had the authority, was re*ected and not counted as a descendant of Abraha ! thus, he had no share in the pro ised blessin"s. &hat left only Jacob, for his father i"norantly and ista.enly blessed hi , then declared that he could not withdraw that blessin", nor alter what he had said since he had been the instru ent of the ,oly 5pirit 0Gen. 2>:3>3. #f we ta.e the ter 'seed' to apply to those who descend fro Abraha , then surely this will include such people as the #sh aelites and ,a"arenes 0as they are called3 and the li.e. #f this were so, the #du aeans, their servants, i"ht also be counted as part of his household. :ut the inheritance was ta.en away fro these people. &herefore, the phrase 'the seed of Abraha ' ust be understood in a rather different way. -et us thin. throu"h the issue for a o ent. %ithout faith, what would unite the church) &here would be no sure eans of discernin" the spiritual seed of Abraha . ,ow would we distin"uish the fro the rest of an.ind) &he only way is by co in" to the ,ead, in other words, to the -ord Jesus Christ. &he unity of the body depends on its ,ead, on its Bedee er. &his is why +aul says that the pro ise does not refer to seed in the plural, but to one an, to who we ust co e if we are to discover his spiritual people. #n other words, if we desire to locate the church of God, we ust start with the -ord Jesus Christ, because his own will be "athered round hi . All who belon" to his body and cleave to hi by faith are the children of God, and are his servants. &hese are truly the seed of Abraha . &his is discussed ore fully in the Apistle to the Bo ans, chapter nine, verse si8, where it says, '&hey are not all #srael who are of #srael.' ,ow is this) %ell, there was really only one child of pro ise: #saac. &herefore, we ust co e to the -ord Jesus Christ, for in hi all the pro ises of God are 'yes and a en', bein" absolutely fir and sure 02 Cor. 1:2?3. %ithout hi , we would all be lost. &his is why it is written in the first chapter of Colossians, verse twenty, that the office of the -ord Jesus Christ was to "ather to"ether all that had been scattered in heaven and on earth! without hi , we would all be confounded.

=ow we can see uch ore clearly the line of +aul's ar"u ent. :efore the law was i parted to the world, that is, before we were infor ed of our duty to obey all that is written therein, God had already revealed his "ood pleasure. 5eein" the hu an race lost and conde ned, he desired to brin" his elect to hi self in order to bestow ercy on the . &his was not only for one race but for 'all nations' as the 5cripture asserts. And the source of that ercy is the -ord Jesus Christ. #ndeed, when Abraha was alive, our -ord Jesus Christ had already been appointed /ediator, that throu"h hi the wrath of God a"ainst us i"ht be appeased. &hus, when we co e in his na e as.in" for "race, it will be supplied to us and our e8pectations will not be disappointed. &his had already been established and, happily, nothin" has chan"ed! we can be sure that God accepts us today if we are fully rooted and "rounded in the -ord Jesus Christ. 6or the covenant ade in his na e shall not chan"e9it is per anent and will always be in force. &hus, we ay freely co e before God and call upon hi as our 6ather since he has adopted us as his children! not because there was anythin" worthy in us, but only because of his ercy are we united by faith to the -ord Jesus Christ. ,owever, in order to receive the "race of God and have assurance of salvation, we need to renounce all opinions we i"ht have of our own worth. %e ust "ive heed to what is declared in this passa"e concernin" faith, for it is only throu"h faith that we are enabled to en*oy such blessin". 6aith 0as we have e8plained3 eans that we e brace the ercy of God. :ut we cannot have faith until we have been touched with a sense of our own poverty, for the -ord Jesus Christ, by beco in" a curse for us, presents us with a picture of our cursed state. 6aith, therefore, cannot e8ist without repentance, for it is not possible for us to co e to God see.in" salvation and as.in" hi to pity our iserable condition, unless we have been convicted in our souls and led to deplore ourselves. ,ypocrites who oc. at God by wallowin", into8icated, in their sins, ust not e8pect Jesus Christ to receive the as his own! for such people ay not even so uch as approach hi . #ndeed, his invitation is intended for those who labour and are heavy laden 0/att. 11:283, who can bear no ore and who sta""er under the burden of their sins. &his is how we ust approach the -ord Jesus Christ, not with any erit of our own! for all the cere onial law and all the sacrifices we could offer cannot contribute to our salvation. Bather, before God shows us ercy, we ust co e in a state of hu ility, fully aware of our iserable condition. %e are first brou"ht low in order that we i"ht perceive the curse that we are under, before we can re*oice that we have been purchased at such inesti able cost. &his has been our the e throu"hout our study. &hus, it is by faith that we receive the pro ise of the 5pirit and beco e united to the -ord Jesus Christ. %e beco e part of the spiritual seed of Abraha . Althou"h we do not physically descend fro his fa ily, it is enou"h that we are united to"ether with hi by faith. #ndeed, we have been re"enerated by incorruptible seed, as +eter says, in other words by the %ord of God, the 5criptures 01 +et. 1:233. ,avin" been transfor ed, we understand that God accepts us as part of the body of his only 5on. &hou"h of Gentile descent, we can still be *oined to his church, since faith is all that is re<uired. ,ere, all pride in hu an virtues and erits ust cease, and en ust reco"nise that they shall be utterly confounded unless they see. God in the way that he has appointed. ,avin" said this, let us learn not to be blown here and there, li.e unstable en, who will not be content with what God has declared but ust always add so ethin" to it of their devisin". %e need to "uard a"ainst such an unholy i8ture. # intend to e8pand upon this after lunch in the will of God. -et Jesus Christ be our sufficiency, since our salvation depends entirely upon hi ! we will lac. nothin" if we have an interest in hi . &his is the point to which +aul fre<uently returns in this boo.. 6urther ore, he desires that we hold fast to God's truth, .nowin" that it does not allow for any additions. %ere we to add to it, we would corrupt, pervert and falsify the covenant upon which our salvation depends. ,avin" e braced our -ord Jesus Christ, we are e8pected to re ain fully in hi , because this one an has sufficient "race for us all. #n hi , we can call upon God boldly, .nowin" that, althou"h we descend fro the accursed race of Ada , we, nevertheless, receive blessin" in Jesus Christ. ,e now accepts us as his children and freely adopts us. ,e desires that this essa"e should be heard throu"hout the world9there is now an open door and free access by which we ay draw near to hi .

=ow let us fall before the a*esty of our "reat God, ac.nowled"in" our sins, and as.in" that he would a.e us increasin"ly conscious of the , that we ay detest the . /ay we spend our lives see.in" and strivin" to honour and serve hi in strict obedience. And since we cannot free ourselves owin" to our "reat infir ity, ay he bear us up until he has freed us fro all the defile ents of the flesh, and clothed us in his ri"hteousness. #ndeed, he has be"un this wor. in us now and affords us solid "round of assurance that what he has be"un, he will co plete. &hus, we all say, Al i"hty God and our heavenly 6ather, etc.

"ar#ed up by $ance George "arshall