“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (KJV, 1 Pet. 2:9-10).
“But ye are a chosen generation”
Father, I thank You for not holding my sin against me. I thank You that before the foundation of the earth, You saw my helpless state and saw fit to bless me in Christ. I thank You for choosing me to come to You. I see that You are the initiator of salvation. John tells me that I love You because You loved me first.
I pray that You would help me to find comfort in the fact that You chose me. Please help me to give You the praise that You so rightly deserve for choosing me in Christ. You have been abundantly gracious to me, and in that, I am thankful. Your mercies know no bounds, and Your steadfast love helps me to know that You have chosen me.
“a royal priesthood”
I see that You have not only chosen me, but You have called me to a state of royalty. I thank You for calling me to Yourself and for allowing me to partake in the royalties of Christ. I see my Great High Priest, and I see my King. I see the One in Whom I have been united, and I praise You, God, for such a marvelous work.
I thank You that as a priest, I can approach Your throne. I see the priests of old approaching You in the tabernacle. I see the priests being allowed into Your presence. I see Your telling me that I have been allowed into Your presence through the marvelous work of Christ.
“and holy nation”
Father, I thank You for making me holy in Christ. I thank You that I stand before You as holy. You have made me holy, but at the same time, You tell me to be holy. I pray that You would help me to walk in the way of holiness. Help me to be like You in all my conduct. You have shown me Christ, and in Christ, I see my Savior, my Lord, and my example.
You set before me the way of holiness, and I pray that You would help me to walk that path. I often find that I stray from Your path, but I pray that You would teach me to keep my eyes fixed on Your commands. I see that one day, I will be made perfect. Sometimes, I find that I wish You would make me perfect in this life and that I would not have to work out my own salvation.
However, I see that Christ came to the earth, and He had much work to do. I can see that I have work to do, as well. The great and glorious day is coming when sin will be no more, but for now, I must fight against my flesh and sin.
“a peculiar people”
You have sanctified me in Christ, and it is rightly said that I am peculiar. To the world, the Christian seems rather odd. The Christian does not follow the path that the world takes; he follows the path that Christ has laid out before him. The Christian does not talk like the world or act like the world. Instead, the Christian takes his orders from Another.
I see that You have set me apart for Your glory. I can see from the example of the Israelites of old that being sanctified and set apart from the surrounding nations meant they did things a little differently. I also see that Christ was deemed to be a little odd and was eventually crucified because He was not accepted by the world. Let me never believe that this world is my home, but rather that I am a pilgrim passing through.
“that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you”
Teach me to honor You as God and give thanks to Your holy name. Let Your name be known throughout the land. I pray that Your kingdom would come and that praises would be heard throughout the nations.
You have called me, and I pray that this would motivate me to praise You. I pray that You would cleanse my heart that it might be a place of worship. Rid me of sin and purify my temple that I might honor You as God and give You the thanks that You deserve.
“out of darkness into his marvelous light”
You have called me out of darkness and into Your kingdom of light. I see that there was a time in which I was blinded to Your ways. I see that there was a time in which I did not know the truth. Satan had the eyes of my mind blinded to spiritual realties. I see that there was a time in which I lacked the spiritual capacity to accept You and honor You for Who You are.
However, I also see that You called me and transferred me out of the darkness in which I resided. I thank You for loving me. I thank You for not leaving me in my darkness. I was lost, but Christ came to seek and to save the lost. I was guilty, but Christ died so that I could be forgiven.
What a blessing it is to be in Your sovereign plan. What a blessing it is that You have set Your affection on me. Thank You for showing me Your truth. Thank You for showing me how I ought to live and for helping me to distinguish between truth and error.
“Which in time past were not a people”
Your Word tells me that in Adam, I was dead. Your Word tells me that at one time, I was without You and without a hope in the world. At one time, I did not know You and was far from Your heart. At one time, I was deaf and could not hear Your voice. I was blind and could not see Your face. I was mute and could not speak Your praises. I was lame and could not walk with Christ. I was a leper and was unclean before You. I was sick and in need of a Physician. I was lost and needed to be found. I was dead and needed to be given life. I was deceived and needed to know the truth.
“but are now the people of God”
But then You made a way for me to come to know You. Now, it can be said of me that I am a child of God. I thank You for calling me to Yourself and giving me life. I thank You that You have called me out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Your beloved Son. You have called me into Your kingdom and made me an ambassador for You.
Your Word tells me that You make Your appeal through me. I pray that You would help me to see that You have not called me to Yourself so that I would be stagnant. You have called me to Yourself, and there are works that You have prepared in advance for me to do.
“which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy”
There was once a time when I was not the recipient of Your saving mercies. I thank You that in Christ, I have an abundance of mercy bestowed on me every day. I thank You that You are not storing up wrath for me on the Day of Judgment. I thank You for sending Your Son to die in my place so that I could know You and be with You throughout all eternity. You have been merciful to me, and I often take it for granted. I pray that You would be honored in my life and that my life would be an offering to You, O Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.