Grace Not Received in Vain

The same snare runs through these readings: a man may be near God’s works and yet be ruled by another spirit. David seeks the Lord, risks himself for Keilah, and endures betrayal without casting off obedience. Saul, though king in Israel, is consumed by envy. As Cyprian says, “Moreover, that Saul the king hated David, so as to seek by often repeated persecutions to kill him — innocent, merciful, gentle, patient in meekness — what else was the provocation save the spur of jealousy?” Tyre sees Jerusalem broken and counts another city’s fall as its own gain; therefore its songs and wealth are brought down to silence. The apostle then warns us not to receive grace in vain, but to live as servants of God in purity, patience, truthful speech, and steadfast endurance.

So the matter is not whether we have heard God’s word, but whether we obey it without mixture. Envy, profit from another’s ruin, and fellowship with uncleanness are all works of darkness. “No communion between light and darkness,2 Corinthians 6:14 how can either darkness illuminate, or unrighteousness justify?” If David in the wilderness inquired of God and kept mercy under persecution, then we too must refuse the quick road of spite, compromise, and advantage.

Today, then, let the ruin of Tyre instruct the prosperous, the patience of David instruct the afflicted, and the apostle instruct the Church: now is the accepted time to cleanse the hands, bridle the tongue, repay no jealousy with jealousy, and separate from every partnership that trains the soul in disobedience. Grace is not idle; it makes a man steadfast, clean, and ready to suffer rather than sin.