Wisdom 15:1-19: a reflection

1But you, our God, are gracious and true, patient, and in mercy ordering all things. 2For even if we sin, we are yours, knowing your dominion; but we will not sin, knowing that we have been accounted yours. 3For to be acquainted with you is perfect righteousness, and to know your dominion is the root of immortality. 4For we weren’t led astray by any evil plan of men’s, nor yet by painters’ fruitless labor, a form stained with varied colors, 5the sight of which leads fools into lust. Their desire is for the breathless form of a dead image. 6Lovers of evil things, and worthy of such hopes, are those who make, desire, and worship them. 7For a potter, kneading soft earth, laboriously molds each article for our service. He fashions out of the same clay both the vessels that minister to clean uses, and those of a contrary sort, all in like manner. What shall be the use of each article of either sort, the potter is the judge. 8Also, laboring to an evil end, he molds a vain god out of the same clay, he who, having but a little before been made of earth, after a short space goes his way to the earth out of which he was taken, when he is required to give back the soul which was lent him. 9However he has anxious care, not because his powers must fail, nor because his span of life is short; But he compares himself with goldsmiths and silversmiths, and he imitates molders in brass, and considers it great that he molds counterfeit gods. 10His heart is ashes. His hope is of less value than earth. His life is of less honor than clay, 11because he was ignorant of him who molded him, and of him that inspired into him an active soul, and breathed into him a vital spirit. 12But he accounted our life to be a game, and our lifetime a festival for profit; for, he says, one must get gain however one can, even if it is by evil. 13For this man, beyond all others, knows that he sins, out of earthy matter making brittle vessels and engraved images. 14But most foolish and more miserable than a baby, are the enemies of your people, who oppressed them; 15because they even considered all the idols of the nations to be gods, which have neither the use of eyes for seeing, nor nostrils for drawing breath, nor ears to hear, nor fingers for handling, and their feet are helpless for walking. 16For a man made them, and one whose own spirit is borrowed molded them; for no one has power as a man to mold a god like himself. 17But, being mortal, he makes a dead thing by the work of lawless hands; for he is better than the objects of his worship, since he indeed had life, but they never did. 18Yes, and they worship the creatures that are most hateful, for, being compared as to lack of sense, these are worse than all others; 19Neither, as seen beside other creatures, are they beautiful, so that one should desire them, but they have escaped both the praise of God and his blessing.

In the midst of a long meditation, the book of Wisdom pauses to rest in the character of God and the security of belonging to him. But you, our God, are gracious and true, it says, patient, and in mercy ordering all things. For even if we sin, we are yours, knowing your dominion. Here is a striking assurance: God is gracious, true, patient, merciful; and those who are his belong to him even when they fail, even if they sin. To belong to a God like this, gracious and patient and merciful, is a deep security; for even our failures do not undo our belonging to him. Even if we sin, we are yours: our belonging to God rests not on our perfect performance but on his grace and our being his. This is not license to sin, for the very next words are, but we will not sin, knowing that we have been accounted yours; but it is a real security, that we belong to a gracious God whose mercy holds us even in our failures. To belong to a gracious and patient God is a security our failures cannot undo.

Notice the security the passage names: even if we sin, we are yours. This rests on the character of God, who is gracious, true, patient, and merciful, ordering all things in mercy. Those who belong to such a God are secure in their belonging, not because they never fail, but because his grace holds them even when they do. Even if we sin, we are yours: our belonging is grounded in his grace and our being accounted his, not in our flawless performance. This is a deep comfort, for we do fail, we do sin; and if our belonging depended on our never failing, it would be endlessly insecure. But it depends on God's grace, and so our failures, though real and not to be excused, do not undo our belonging to him. This security is not a license to sin, for the passage goes on to say we will not sin, knowing we are his; the knowledge that we belong to a gracious God moves us toward faithfulness, not away from it. But the security is real: we belong to a gracious God whose mercy holds us. Our belonging rests on his grace, not our perfection.

That is worth resting in, for we belong to a gracious and patient God, whose mercy holds us even in our failures. We can feel that our belonging to God depends on our never failing, so that every sin threatens to undo it; but the passage assures us that God is gracious and patient, and that even if we sin, we are his. Our belonging rests on his grace and our being accounted his, not on our flawless performance. This is not license to sin, but a real security: we belong to a gracious God whose mercy holds us. When you fear your failures have undone your belonging to God, remember that even if we sin, we are his, held by his grace. Rest in the security of belonging to a gracious and patient God, whose mercy holds you even in your failures, as the book of Wisdom says that God is gracious and true and patient, and that even if we sin, we are his; for our belonging to God rests not on our flawless performance but on his grace and our being accounted his, so that our failures, though real and not to be excused, do not undo our belonging, and to belong to so gracious and merciful a God is a security our failures cannot destroy, which moves us toward faithfulness rather than away from it.

Lord, in the midst of a long meditation, the book of Wisdom pauses to rest in your character and the security of belonging to you. But you, our God, are gracious and true, it says, patient, and in mercy ordering all things. For even if we sin, we are yours, knowing your dominion. Here is a striking assurance: you are gracious, true, patient, merciful; and those who are yours belong to you even when they fail, even if they sin. To belong to a God like this is a deep security; for even our failures do not undo our belonging to you. Even if we sin, we are yours: our belonging rests not on our perfect performance but on your grace. This is not license to sin, for the very next words are, but we will not sin, knowing that we have been accounted yours; but it is a real security. Show me the security the passage names: even if we sin, we are yours. This rests on your character, gracious, true, patient, and merciful. Those who belong to you are secure in their belonging, not because they never fail, but because your grace holds them even when they do. This is a deep comfort, for I do fail, I do sin; and if my belonging depended on my never failing, it would be endlessly insecure. But it depends on your grace. The knowledge that I belong to a gracious God moves me toward faithfulness, not away from it. Let me rest in that, for I belong to a gracious and patient God, whose mercy holds me even in my failures. I can feel that my belonging to you depends on my never failing, so that every sin threatens to undo it; but the passage assures me that you are gracious and patient, and that even if I sin, I am yours. When I fear my failures have undone my belonging to you, help me remember that even if we sin, we are yours, Lord, held by your grace, and rest in the security of belonging to so gracious and merciful a God.