Romans 9:25-9:29 - God Chooses Both

Calvin (1/2/02)

9:25-9:26: Footnote: The passage quoted here, Hos 2:23, is also referenced by 1Pe 2:10. Paul quotes this passage to support the argument that God has now called the Gentiles, yet in the original setting, the words were clearly spoken to and of the Jewish nation. Some have tried to resolve this by holding that Paul offers the example of God's treatment of the Jews as evidence that His prior sentiment toward the Gentiles was no obstacle to His now choosing them, as well. However, it would be quite typical for the prophet to have turned from his declarations of Israel's misery to a view of the kingdom of Christ, in which their only hope was to be found. This occurs frequently among the prophets, and it seems quite likely that Hosea has done so in this current example. Where God's vengeance has been pronounced, there remains only that covenant of grace which is found in Christ Jesus to save. In that kingdom is found the heavenly Jerusalem unto which citizens of all nations shall come. The equalizing of Jewish and Gentile status did not come when the Gentiles were allowed into God's family, but rather when the Jews were first banished. At that moment, all were made equal, and now, it is quite fitting that God's mercy should be extended equally to both Jew and Gentile. What Hosea declared was declared to a people divorced by God, deprived of all prior honors. Though His eternal counsels hold in the destinies of the elect, He often speaks so as to show that none are His children but those in whom election is proved by calling. God's election cannot but be made manifest by those evidences that show the fruit of His calling. (Eph 2:12 - Remember that you were once separated from Christ and excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. You were then alien to the covenant promises, without hope and without God.) This separation was in spite of the fact of God's eternal decrees on their part. In spite of His predetermined plan to save them, there was a time they knew not His favor. In spite of His eternal mercy, there was a time when His love was not manifest toward them. "Until adoption reconciles men to God, we know that His wrath abides on them." This, even though His mercy is determined to save them. The beginning of love is that point in time at which God adopts the one who had previously been a stranger to Him. Footnote: v26 quotes Hosea 1:10, although not verbatim.
9:27: Paul describes Isaiah as crying out, so as to grab the reader's attention. Here, Isaiah was offering reassurances that, although God was devastating His people, yet the covenant would hold, if only for a few. The remnant of which Isaiah speaks is that portion of Israel that would return from the Babylonian captivity. Yet, this remnant, real though it was, was but typical of what God would be doing in His church. That was but the beginning, and the work continues to this day in the deliverance of the Church.
9:28: Although it may seem that the whole of God's people had been consumed by destruction, yet He will leave a portion to testify to the world of His righteousness. Many mistakes have been made regarding this passage, as it has been misinterpreted. Primary in this, is the matter of consumption, a quick and thorough execution, which others have seen as a cutting off. (Isa 10:22-23 - Though your people be as the sand of the sea, yet only a remnant will return; a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. For it is a complete destruction that is decreed, which the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land. Isa 28:22 - Don't continue to scoff, or your bonds will be made stronger. For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts that there will be a destruction on all the earth. Eze 11:13 - What I had prophesied came to pass, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. At that, I fell on my face and cried loudly to God. "Oh, Lord GOD! Will You then completely finish off the remnant of Israel?") The word used in these passages can speak either of consuming, or of perfecting, and issues of translation have arisen where attention was not properly paid to the distinction. In the Hebrew, the proper meaning in the current passage is made clear by an additional word, indicating the cutting off of His people.
9:29: Footnote: The word Sabaoth is often left untranslated. However, exceptions occur in the Psalms, and other places, where it is translated as "the Lord of the powers", or "the Lord omnipotent", or occasionally, "the holy one." However, "the Lord of hosts" is a more appropriate translation, where the hosts are all created things, both animate and inanimate. Unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, God ever preserved a portion of His people as seed stock, even in the midst of His most severe judgments against them. Ever, in His discipline, He was and is mindful of His covenant promises.

Matthew Henry (1/2/02)

9:25: To show the legitimacy of the Gentile inclusion, Paul turns to the Old Testament. From its pages, he shows that their inclusion was foretold, and therefore must be in keeping with God's promise. He begins with two quotes from Hosea, the first from Hos 2:23. "Former badness is no bar to God's present grace and mercy."
9:26: Lest there remain any thought that inclusion required membership in the Jewish nation, Hos 1:10 is also noted, wherein God explicitly declares a people His own who previously were not. "His calling them so makes them so."
9:27: Next, he turns to Isaiah, quoting Isa 10:22-23. The more immediate fulfillment of that prophecy had come with the Babylonian captivity, but it points to a later and greater truth. God, who had once so reduced the nation of Israel while upholding His promise to Abraham (Ge 22:17 - I will multiply your seed, so that they are as numerous as the stars, or the sand on the shore. Your seed will possess their enemies' gates.), could certainly do so again. Many are called, yet only the chosen remnant are saved.
9:28: God will complete the work He has begun. The work of unbelief among the Jews was finished in the ruin brought upon them by Rome. The work begun in the Christian church, the spread of the Gospel to all nations, will likewise be completed by Him who began that work. God has already determined the conditions and privileges that shall come to each man, and as each man comes to being, He deals with them as He has determined. He will complete the mystical body of the Church, calling all who belong to grace. This work, He will do quickly, cutting it short, yet with all righteousness, wisdom and justice. Some take that cutting short to be a reference to Christ's completed work, which put an end to the types and ceremonies of the Levitical order of worship. The lengthy rules and conditions that then applied have been graciously and righteously contracted. Where we strive for such a concise and compact meaning, we tend to wind up muddying the picture, but God's efforts leave us with a clear and plain order of religion.
9:29: Isa 1:9 is also quoted, reinforcing the understanding that it was not some new and unusual thing for God to allow Israel to border on complete ruin, reserving only the smallest portion to Himself. If it has been so previously, what cause is there to consider His actions suspect in the present case? God is the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts (Jas 5:4 - The pay you withheld from your laborers cries out, and reaches the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.) He is Lord of all that is in heaven or upon the earth. His acts in securing a seed are the acts of One almighty in power and infinite in sovereignty. The seed reserved for next year's planting is miniscule when compared to the seed eaten this year, yet that seed is the substance of the next generation. (Isa 6:13 - There will remain a tenth, subjected to burning. It will be like a felled tree whose stump remains. The holy seed is its stump.) There is no cause for charges of injustice that so many perish. Rather, it is a mighty display of God's mercy that all do not likewise perish. This is the great truth being taught in this passage: all have, by their actions, deserved destruction, yet God has, by His sovereign choice, saved a portion for Himself.

Adam Clarke (1/2/02)

9:25: That names are not spelled consistently between the Old and New Testaments is a cause of confusion to those unfamiliar with the text. By the verse quoted, Paul shows that the calling of the Gentiles was not some new thing, but a plan long held in the divine mind. "By opposing the calling of the Gentiles, the Jews in effect renounced their own prophets, and fought against God."
9:26: The passage quoted here (Hos 1:10) follows on the heels of God's declaration of Israel's rejection. (Hos 1:9 - Name your son Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.) The loss of the ten tribes of northern Israel would be recovered by the inclusion of the Gentiles. [In spite of My rejection of you as My people, yet the sons of Israel will be like the sands. If the Jewish nation had been rejected, where then were these sons to come from?] It was this replacement seed that God had declared He would sow for Himself in Hos 2:23 (I will sow her for Myself in the land. And I will have compassion on her who had not known compassion. I will say to those who were not My people that they are My people. And they will declare me their God.). This sowing was the dispersion of the Jews into the Roman empire, preparing the Gentiles for the coming Gospel. Those upon whom God declared His compassion were those Gentiles.
9:27: Now, Paul turns to Isaiah to show that God had rejected the majority of the Jews, that few of them would embrace His Gospel and be saved.
9:28: God has judged, and found them guilty. The execution of their punishment will be immediate.
9:29: If not for God's mercy, the Jewish nation would long since have gone the way of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is no new thing for God to restrict His favor to a believing few, when the majority of a nation is corrupt.

Barnes' Notes (1/3/02-1/4/02)

9:25: Paul offers the best possible defense for his doctrine: Scripture. The doctrine he is defending is that God intended the calling of the Gentiles along with the Jews, that He was under no obligation to give salvation to all the Jews, and that He was within His rights to reject any whom He chose to reject. Paul's quote from Hosea is not verbatim, but captures the sense of what was written there. Hosea's meaning is not changed by the rephrasing. God declared that he would bring a people who were once outcasts into covenant relation with Himself.
9:26: Both this quote, and the previous one originally referred to the recall of rejected Israel back into the fold. Having been rejected and cast off, He declared that He would restore them to sonship. Paul does not attempt to claim that this passage originally spoke of the Gentiles. Rather, he shows by God's acceptance of a people stripped of their benefits, that the same action by God toward the Gentiles ought not to be seen as strange. By His treatment of Israel in Hosea's day, God displayed His principles of government, which are not different today. Again, it is no strange thing that God should operate on those same principles for the Gentiles. The place may have been those nations to which the Jews were scattered, or it may have been those peoples not regarded as the people of God. Whichever the case, the reference is to an idolatrous, sinful people, therefore strangers to God, not under His covenant protection. To be called something is to be something. When God called them His sons, so they were. (Mt 5:9 - Peacemakers are blessed, for they will be declared sons of God. Mt 21:13, Mk 11:17 - My house shall be called a house of prayer. Lk 1:32 - He will be called the Son of the Most High God. Lk 1:35 - Because the Most High has come upon you, your holy child will be called the Son of God. Lk 1:76 - Your child will be called the prophet of the Most High, for he will go before the Lord to prepare His way. Mt 1:1 - Jesus Christ was son of David, son of Abraham.) God is a living God, unlike all the dead idols. (Mt 16:16 - Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Mt 26:63 - Jesus remained silent, but the high priest demanded of Him by the living God to tell whether He were indeed the Christ, God's Son. Jn 6:69 - We have believed, and now know that You are the Holy One of God. Ac 14:15 - Why are you doing these things? We are men just like you, and preach the Gospel so that you will turn from vain idols to a living God, the One who made heaven and earth, and all that is in them. 1Th 1:1 - We write to the church of Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.) There can be no higher honor to man than to be sons of the living God, secure in His protection. (Ps 42:2 - My soul thirsts for the living God, when may I come and appear before Him? Ps 84:2 - My soul longs and yearns for the courts of the LORD. My heart and flesh sing joyously to the living God.)
9:27: (Jn 1:15 - John witnessed of Him, crying out that He was that one of whom he had spoken; the one of higher rank, Who had existed before himself.) It was an open declaration of the full doctrine, free of any concealment. The doctrine there declared pertains to the rejection of the Jews. Though it was a specific generation that Isaiah originally spoke of, yet a general principle is established with regard to God's governance of His people. If it could happen then, that God rejected Israel, it could as easily happen now, when the Gospel was going forth. The use of sands to represent an 'innumerable multitude' dates back to times when the art of numbers was yet unknown. Examples abound throughout Scripture. (Ge 22:17 - I will multiply you as the stars, and as the sands. Your seed will possess the gates of their enemies. Jdg 7:12 - The sons of the east were in the valley, as numerous as locusts, and their camels were beyond counting, as many as the sands on the shore. 1Sa 13:5 - The Philistines came together to fight Israel, with many chariots and horsemen, and people like the sand on the seashore. 2Sa 17:11 - I counsel that all Israel come to you, from the farthest reaches of the nation, so as to be as the sands for abundance, and that you then go into battle yourself. Ge 15:5 - God took him outside, and bade him look to the heavens so as to count the stars. So, He said, would Abraham's descendants be; numerous beyond counting.) Yet, in spite of this great number, Isaiah declares that only a remnant would be saved, implying that the greater portion would be cast off. A remnant is what is left, for instance, after a great battle. (2Ki 19:31 - A remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, survivors from Mount Zion. God's zeal will accomplish this. 2Ki 10:11 - Jehu killed all who remained of Ahab's household, along with all his men, friends, and priests, leaving him with absolutely no survivors. Isa 14:22 - I will cut off Babylon from both name and survivors, leaving no offspring or posterity, says the LORD of hosts. Wisdom of Sirach 44:17 - Noah was left as a remnant when the flood came.) That only a small portion returned from Babylon establishes the fact that God is not required to save the whole of Israel to maintain His promise. Thus, Paul's conclusion that God was now rejecting Israel was consistent with God's prior actions on that nation's behalf. Paul does not claim that passage as referring to his own time, but only as establishing the principle which he saw at work again in his own time.
9:28: What God declares is His firm purpose, which He will certainly bring to completion. Where He has declared that a people will be cut off from Himself, it will certainly be done, and that, right quickly. In doing so quickly, He makes His justice to be known. The severity of His act is a just expression of His abhorrence of sin. [There is a clause here in the AV that does not show up in other translations: Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.] The 'short work' is the matter of His decree. He has determined His purpose toward Israel, and will do it. Again, the point established is that God had destroyed much of the Jewish nation before because of their sins, so there was no reason to exclude such a possibility now.
9:29: This was not the only instance of Isaiah speaking such destruction for Israel. In the very first chapter of his prophecies the same message is issued. Sabaoth is translated hosts, and denotes armies. Thus, the reference is to the hosts of heaven, the heavenly armies. This would include angels (Eph 1:21 - He is far above every authority and power, above every name that is named both in this age and in the coming age. Eph 3:10 - [I was privileged to preach] so as to make His wisdom known through the church to the rulers and authorities in heaven. Eph 6:12 - We struggle not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and powers, forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavens. Col 1:16 - By Him were all things created, both in heaven and on earth, seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, rulers and authorities - everything created by Him and for Him. Col 2:15 - [He cancelled the debt of your sins] when He had disarmed all rulers and authorities, having triumphed over them through God. Jude 6 - Those angels who did not keep to their own domain, He has held in eternal bonds for the judgment day. 1Ki 22:19 - I saw the LORD on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing before Him. Ps 103:21 - Bless the LORD, all you hosts, who serve Him by doing His will. Ps 148:2 - Praise Him, all His angels, all His hosts!) The same term also refers to the stars. (Jer 33:22 - As the host of heaven can't be counted, so will be David's descendants, and the Levites who minister to me. Isa 40:26 - Look on high and see who has created the stars, He who leads the host of them forth by number, and calls them by name. Because of His great might, not one is missing from among them. Dt 4:19 - See that you don't lift your eyes to see the sun, the moon, the stars - all the host of heaven - and be drawn into worshiping them, for God has given them to all the people under the heavens.) That any were preserved was because God had stopped them from being completely cut off. Although seed generally refers to descendants, here it parallels remnant, referring to the small portion reserved for sowing. (Ge 18:32 - "Will You yet destroy the city if there be ten righteous men found there?" He answered, "No.") Israel's condition at that time was no different. Very few remained pious among its people. Thus, it was only God's determined purpose the kept them from complete and utter destruction. Again, though the reference is to a specific event, it yet serves to establish the principle that God may well cut off the majority of the Jewish nation, and yet hold true to His promise. That any people knows true religion is due only to God's love. That any men are kept from sin, that any nation is kept from destruction, is due only to God's mercy. The value of righteous men to a nation cannot be overestimated. Consider that ten such men would have saved Sodom from annihilation. (Mt 5:13-14 - You are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its flavor what shall restore flavor to it? It becomes useless, and can only be thrown out to be walked over by men.) God is within His rights to remove His mercy from whomever He will, no matter their high position. We ought not to be proud in our state as His people, but ought to fear, lest He remove us. (Ro 10:20 - I found those who weren't looking for Me, and became evident to those who weren't asking for Me.)

Wycliffe (1/5/02)

9:25-9:26: The passages from Hosea were written to the ten tribes of northern Israel, who had become like Gentiles due to their departure from God. Paul applies the promise God made to them to the Gentiles as well.
9:27-9:28: Now, Isaiah's testimony is brought to bear. Although there is a fair amount of textual debate for this passage (Septuagint vs. Hebrew, manuscript comparisons, etc), the primary point is unaffected. That point is that only a remnant will return to God. This thought Paul pursues further in Chapter 11. One could take v28 to mean that God will fulfill His promise by cutting off the bulk of the nation so as to apply Himself only to the remnant, or that God will shorten the time, and avoid prolonging His own long-suffering. This latter view seems to fit the context better.
9:29: Paul's final quote from Isaiah follows the Septuagint wording of 'seed,' where the original Hebrew has 'a very small remnant.' The meaning is clear, either way. Israel would be gone from the earth, had God not worked to leave some.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1/5/02)

9:25: Though addressed to the ten tribes, they had at that time sunk to such a low level as to be equated with the pagans that surrounded them. Thus, Paul is quite legitimate to apply the passage to the pagans as well. (1Pe 2:10 - You were once not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.)
9:26: The focus should not be on what place is being spoken of here, whether Palestine or elsewhere. The focus is on the question of whether the Gentiles are fit to admit to Christian fellowship, and upon the grace of God in changing their situation so as to allow their admission.
9:27: To cry out: to openly and boldly testify. (Jn 1:15 - John bore witness of Him, crying out that He was the one of whom was said, "He who comes after me has a higher rank, having existed before me." Jn 7:28 - Jesus cried out in the temple, "You know Me and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. Him, you do not know." Jn 7:37 - On the last day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." Jn 12:44 - Jesus cried out, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me.") It is only the elect remnant who shall be saved out of the great number of Israel.
9:28: He is finishing the matter of His promise. It is argued that the text noted as being only in the AV should be retained, since it is more likely that said text was accidentally omitted in transmission, than that it was inserted at some later time. God's choice to destroy the bulk of His people, while preserving only a remnant was a righteous choice. If they will not repent, it is right of Him to complete the judgment upon their wicked ways. Whether in judgment or in salvation, He will quickly complete His work.
9:29: Although Sabaoth is translated as hosts, it remains untranslated both here and in Jas 5:4 (You withheld your workers pay, and their outcry against you has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.) Thus, it has become a part of Christian phraseology. God left only a small remnant, a seed, but in time that seed would grow to be plentiful again. (Ps 22:30-31 - Posterity will serve Him. The next generation will be told of the LORD, and they will come and declare His righteousness to a generation net yet born. They will tell that generation what He has done. Isa 6:12-13 - The LORD has sent men far from their lands, and much of our land is forsaken. Yet there will remain a tenth of it, once more subjected to burning like the stump of a tree that is cut down. The holy seed is that stump.) If not for that seed, Israel would have resembled Sodom not only in its doom, but also in its degeneracy.

New Thoughts (1/6/02-1/8/02)

In this passage, I find both great comfort and great sorrow, for in this passage the full breadth of God's sovereignty is displayed. What have we been taught here? We have been shown throughout this letter that we all deserved destruction. Jew and Gentile, God's people or alien, it doesn't make that much difference; all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. All have ordered their actions such that God's wrath upon them is the right and proper reaction for a holy God.

Now comes again the word of hope: God has saved a portion for Himself. In spite of our actions, He has determined that He will have a remnant. In spite of our worst, God has ensured that there will be a people that know true religion, that know and honor God. This is an assurance for us, but it is also, as I said, a cause for sorrow, for in that very promise I hear the limit placed upon it. Indeed, that is the whole thrust of this passage. Many are called, but few are chosen. Many hear the gospel, but few accept it. Many raise their hands, and say the sinner's prayer, but few commit themselves to the call. Many today think themselves saved, even as Israel thought themselves safe, but few are indeed in God's saving influence.

It is not for us to determine who is for real and who is fooled. It is for us to look long and hard at our own situation, and see what God would say to us. It is for us to make certain, with fear and trembling, of our own election, our own calling. It is for us to show the fruits of salvation in our lives.

The point Paul drives home to the Jew of his day is that what God had done before in Israel, He could easily be doing again. Had He once come close to eliminating Israel from the earth? Many times, it would seem He had done so. In Egypt, in the desert, and in the Babylonian captivity, His people had been winnowed down. When the majority were apostate, the majority were removed. Israel had fallen into a false confidence in Paul's day. They thought that God would never allow such as Rome to overrun His holy city. They were wrong. Their own actions, even within His very temple, had called down wrath upon themselves. Their own actions, in rejecting the Savior He sent to them, sealed their fate to themselves.

How can we, as God's church today, think ourselves any more secure, any less in danger, than Israel was at that day? If we carry the sins of this world into God's house, if we practice deceit and dissension within His body, how can we think He will look the other way this time? If we water down the Gospel, if we present a religion that is no longer that which God handed to us, how can we think to avoid destruction? As then, so now. There is a remnant in the Church of God. The numbers may seem to swell, or they may seem to shrink over time, but the remnant remains. God knows those whom He has chosen, and they will be preserved. What is said of Israel can already be easily said of the Church. If it had not been for God's covenant with us, we would be as Sodom and Gomorrah, forever gone from the earth.

This is the message of Jesus' parable in Mt 5:13-14 (You are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its flavor what shall restore flavor to it? It becomes useless, and can only be thrown out to be walked over by men.) If our Gospel no longer carries the flavor of God, if our witness no longer smells of His grace, we have become useless. As with salt, so with the empty witness. We will have fit ourselves to be thrown out and trod upon. All that we will be good for is traction under another's feet. Perhaps by the example God makes of these tasteless ones, another will be kept from slipping. All things work for good to them that work according to His purpose, after all.

God will complete His work quickly, Isaiah tells us. That He will do, whether that work be salvation or destruction. To us, it may seem that He is taking an inordinate amount of time. I, for one, have often found myself praying that He would speed the day of my salvation, that He would hasten the end of this time of trials. Often enough, I find myself wondering at the time He has allowed some people to continue without punishing them. At times, I wonder that He was patient enough with me that I might come around. But all things are in His timing. What seems so long to us is but a blip on eternity. He will indeed complete all that He has declared, and it will indeed be soon. I want to be found ready.

Another thought that is brought up here, which occurs to our minds all too often is the thought that God may have forgotten His promises, or may have decided to renege on them. This is a terrible thought! If God could do that, all hope would be gone. No! His disciplines may seem severe. All discipline seems severe at the time. They may seem severe, but He has never lost sight of His promises, and He never will. God is faithful. When He declares His purposes, He knows what He is saying. Of all beings, He alone can declare with such certainty. We are all too willing to promise things, claiming a confidence that at best can only be self-delusion. We cannot promise anything future, for we don't know or control that future. God can.

Nor is the God of Truth about to be found having promised a lie, or having lied in a promise. It is not possible for God to lie, except He stop being God. If He has promised to leave a testimony to Himself in the earth, then rest assured, that testimony will always be present. Though all but the smallest part may pass away, though the battle may so prevail against His Church that all seems lost, yet He has assured us that He will preserve a faithful testimony, and He will do it.

There was a passage in Psalms noted that I think deserves consideration. Psalm 22:30-31 reads to the effect: Posterity will serve Him. The next generation will be told of the LORD, and they will come and declare His righteousness to a generation net yet born. They will tell that generation what He has done. Here, God has declared both a promise and the means by which that promise is to be born out. He has, as it were, declared the result, and required of us the effort to bring that result about.

We've been hearing a lot lately about the Moses and Joshua generations, about the passing of the torch from one generation to the next, that God's work might be carried on. Here is God Himself telling us that that has always been the plan! Posterity will serve Him. This is not a conditional statement, it is a statement of fact, a promised outcome. God will assure that posterity will serve Him. He will be victorious. How could He not? But, combined with that assured outcome, He has offered us a role in bringing that outcome about. What an honor! What a task!

Here is what He has given us to do: tell the next generation of what He has done. Moses! Tell Joshua all the details of what I have been doing with and through you. He needs to know Me. He needs to know all about Me. He needs to know Me well enough that he can come to Me on his own. This is our job as parents. We need to make certain that our children know God, that they know all that God has done in our own lives, and in our nation. They need to become intimately acquainted with their godly heritage, in all its aspects. They need to become intimately acquainted with their Father.

And then, look at the outcome. They will tell a generation not yet born. They will ensure that that heritage is continued to those that we won't have opportunity to teach or talk to. Long after we are gone from the earth, yet the fruit of our labors will continue, if we are faithful to God's directions. If we will take on the role He has offered us, then our lives will truly have meaning, not only for ourselves, but for generations to come.

Lord, I know I've not been at my best in fulfilling this role. I've been all too willing to allow others to take care of training my daughter in Your ways. I've been all too concerned with my own image to discuss those things You have done in me. I don't want my past out in the open. So many things I did that are cause for nothing but shame, and I cannot bear to show those things. I need humbling, Father. It's true. There is a great pride I have in appearances. Help me to focus more on the underlying realities instead. Give me the strength and the fortitude to work at making the reality match the appearance I desire.

Barnes said something that really struck me. To be called something is to be something. What God declares us to be, we truly are. To a lesser degree, I think this holds true for us, as well. If we declare something to be the case often enough, it will prove to be the case, whether it was so originally or not. If we declare ourselves incapable of accomplishing some particular often enough, we will so convince ourselves that we will never make the attempt, and so, we will find ourselves correct.

What of those others we are charged with raising, or otherwise contacting on a daily basis? Are our words towards them serving to build a positive and confident image, or are we inculcating a mindset of inadequacy in them?

I ask myself this question, and it brings me close to tears. I know, as a parent, I'm all to ready with the criticism for my daughter. I need help, though, to remember to be just as ready with the praises. It's so easy to see the mistakes. It's so easy to miss the correct actions, because they are, after all, what's expected. Oh God! I'm so glad You don't work with me on the same terms! Where would I be if You constantly rode me for my mistakes, and took my few right actions as only what is expected. Would that I could do only what is expected! Would that I could be so instant in my obedience. Oh, Lord, I am Your servant, and yet what a terrible servant I make! Too many times, I miss Your command completely. Too many times, I hear, but think I know better. What is to become of me? How can I, knowing my own record, complain of my daughter's performance? How can I turn myself around? How can I learn, my Father, to have the patience with her that You have had with me? Help me, I beg of You, to learn that patience and forbearance that is most fitting for a child of Yours!