Cleave to the Lord

Rest is a dangerous hour if it makes the hands slack. Joshua speaks when the wars have quieted, and his charge is not to drift but to cling: keep the commandment, refuse fellowship with idols, and love the Lord with steadfast obedience. The old servant knows that yesterday’s victories do not preserve today’s faithfulness. Therefore the people must be watchful, for to turn aside is to perish.

Lamentations teaches the same fear with tears. The man under affliction does not deny the rod, excuse sin, or demand ease. He waits, examines his ways, and bears the yoke in silence. As Origen says, “he sits alone, and keeps silence, because he has borne it upon him.” This is not despair but repentance with endurance. The soul that has sinned must not harden itself when corrected, nor accuse God of cruelty. It must return.

Yet neither reading leaves us in darkness. The Lord wounds justly, but He does not cast off without measure. Cyprian repeats the prophet’s word: “The Lord will not reject forever; and when he has made low, he will have pity according to the multitude of his mercy. Because he will not bring low from his whole heart, neither will he reject the children of humankind.” So then, mercy is promised not to the stubborn, but to those who turn back, hold fast, and wait for Him.

Let your mouth therefore not depart from the Lord’s law, and let your life not depart from His ways. In peace, fear Him. In chastening, submit to Him. In both, cleave to Him.