253. Tuesday after First Sunday after Trinity.
Psalm 73, 23-28. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish; thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.
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No matter how long the glory of the wicked may seem to last, be sure that it will have a miserable end. — We do not expect to see truth and right victorious while this world endures. We know very well that falsehood shall prosper, adorn itself with the name of truth, and tread the saints under foot as being the enemies of happiness. Nevertheless we find it hard to accept this state of facts; our heart is prone to become bitter, and our feet to turn aside from the path of faith and patience. However, the word of God gives us light and strength. It teaches us that the visible things pass away, but that the invisible are eternal, and that all the glory of the world is nothing as compared with our communion with God and the bliss of heaven. The bitterness of our temptation is the venomous thought: “How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? Can the God who governs in this way be a just God?” But when we go into the sanctuary of the word, and thence look over into heaven, and out upon the earth, we so far understand the purpose and will of God that we become contented and happy. It matters not that we suffer oppression; our rights and our happiness are absolutely secure. Through suffering we learn patience; through temptation we obtain victory. We have no reason, then, to feel sorrow except for them who let themselves be deceived by the devil. For it is sad that man, who was created to live in the love of God, and who is unhappy without him, regards his revelation as foolishness, and eternal life as a fable. You, who are a child of God, shall remain with the Lord alway; himself holds you with his right hand, with the power of his omnipotence. Think of this; it will strengthen your faith. He guides you with his counsel; then all is well, even if it be something else than you expected. Could you wish for anything better than to be led according to the counsel of him who is eternal wisdom itself? Thereafter he receives you into glory. To this you are chosen and anointed; what matters it, then, though you be mocked and oppressed by the world? Your portion is in heaven; your life is in God. What though your flesh and heart should fail, and you be in greater trouble than any other man? Love is the stronger, and does not die, nor relax its hold; God is ever the same, he in you, and you in him; how, then, can you perish? He remains the rock of your salvation, and your blessed portion. Your love of him is fostered and purified in temptation; and thus all things must work together for the good of them that love God.
Lord, let me ever remain with thee. Keep me with thy right hand, and be thou the portion of my heart forever. Amen.*
Now thank we all our God,
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom his earth rejoices;
Who from our mother’s arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today. [TLH 36; LSB 895]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.