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MUSIC.CPH.ORG THE TEN COMMANDMENTS "THESE ARE THE HOLY TEN COMMANDS" LSB 581/The Hymns of Martin Luther (HML) 62 Do you want to live a happy life? Martin Luther once offered a suggestion on the topic. In his short hymn focused on the Ten Commandments, Luther wrote: "Wilt thou, O man, live happily, And dwell with God eternally? The Ten Commandments keep, for thus Our God Himself biddeth us. Lord, have mercy" (HML 82, st. 1). It sounds so easy! Keeping the Commandments equals happy living. If only keeping the Commandments was so simple! Yes, we try to keep the Commandments, but by our own fault the opposite often occurs: we break them. So, instead of happiness, we experience sadness–sadness over what we've done to others, sadness over what people have done to us. We also experience terror–terror because we know how God should treat us because of our commandment breaking. He should give us endless pain! Endless pain wouldn't bring a happy life. Both "Wilt Thou, O Man, Live Happily" and "These Are the Holy Ten Commands" review the Ten Commandments, with the latter hymn giving a more thorough instruction on each commandment. Unlike the former, however, the final stanza of "These Are the Holy Ten Commands" points us to Jesus, "who pleads for us endlessly" (st. 12). Do you want to live a happy life? If so, you need Jesus. Without Jesus, no happiness would exist. Instead of happiness, your works would "merit only endless pain" (st. 12). But with Jesus, forgiveness exists. The Father forgives because your ascended Lord continues to plead to the Father on your behalf, pleading for your forgiveness on the basis of His once-shed blood (Hebrews 9:24). The Father's forgiveness allows you to live each day happily, loving God and loving your neighbors. Because of God's grace freely given to you, you are set free to thank and praise, serve and obey your Lord and to live out a life in accordance with the Ten Commandments as a guide for your behavior and the standard of life as God's child.

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