7 March
You have come to the blood of sprinkling, which is better than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:24
Thus the blood of Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, without ceasing, cries out so that God the Father takes note of His beloved Son’s pleas and intercessions and is gracious to us poor, miserable sinners. For He can see no sin in us, even though we already are stuck full of sin, indeed sheer sins are inwardly and outwardly in our body and soul, from peak to heel [from the top of our head to the tip of our toes], instead He sees only the dear, precious blood of His beloved Son, our Lord, wherewith we have been sprinkled. For that very same blood is the golden cloak or robe of grace wherewith we have been dressed and in which we stand before God, in order that He can not nor wants to see anything other than as if we were His beloved Son Himself, full of righteousness, holiness, innocence.
My son took me to have my eye-glasses framework adjusted after lunch today. Came back and tried to take a nap. The pains in one of my joints kept me awake…. God used it for a good purpose = He has enabled me, amidst the pain, to finish this translation. With this one Luther has me singing what my parents taught us siblings in our childhood: “Christi Blut und Gerechtigkeit …(oops, I’ll translate THAT into English too):
“Jesus, Your blood and righteousness,
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
Arrayed in which before my God I’ll stand
When I shall enter the heavenly land!”
On the phone last night my 87 year old sister and I recited it in German.
Arrayed in His righteousness,
Elmer
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