302. Wednesday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
Lord, teach us to believe
in thy goodness and mercy. Amen.
Psalm 145, 14-21. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
❦
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.” His goodness attracts all creatures to him. As the flowers all turn toward the sun, so do the eyes of all turn to the Lord. As the children stand around the mother, and eye her hand, so all creatures stand around the Lord, and wait upon his bounteous hand. The wicked only, together with the devils, turn away from the Lord. They live of his bounty; but they receive it with evil and cold hearts, and do not give him thanks. The heart of the Lord is as full of kindness to us, as his munificent hand is full of good gifts. As a spring pours out its water year after year and century after century, and yet has as copious a supply as ever, so the goodness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. Take of it, and enjoy it; drink, and give others to drink with you. It is his great delight to do us good, to cheer our hearts, and to satisfy our desire. “Fear thou not; let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” (Zeph. 3, 16. 17). — “But why, then, is he often so hard with me? Or how shall I draw in abundance out of his fountain when I see it empty before my eyes? It often seems to me that he makes sport of me most unmercifully, gives me something of which I am fond, and then robs me of it at the moment when I love it most dearly; leads me forward, but only to make me more sensible of my loss when he thrusts me back again; shows me a good way out of a difficulty, and then closes it before me when I am about to make use of it.” My dear friend; do not find fault with God, but with your own sin and unbelief. If you needed nothing more than temporal happiness, the Lord would give you this in abundance; if it were a good thing for you to become great and rich and to fare sumptuously every day, you might complain of the Lord, who does not bring this about. But such things would not be good for you. If you had free scope, you would lose everything; but if the Lord be allowed to have command, — the command over your heart also, — you shall eternally possess and enjoy all things. When he denies you an earthly wish, or seems to deal harshly with you, he does this either that you may repent, or, if you are already his child, that you may die to the things which are corruptible, and live in those which are of heaven. No; the stream of God is not empty; it is full of water. That branch of it also which contains temporal blessings runs full at your feet; and there would be nothing to prevent you from taking what you need, and giving to others also, were you not wanting in the faith of the widow of Sarepta! Seek this faith first of all, and God shall give it you. God is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works. This is most certainly true.
This truth do thou establish in our hearts, merciful God, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*
The Lord is never far away,
Forsakes his people never,
He is their refuge and their stay,
Their peace and trust forever;
And with a mother’s watchful love
He guides them wheresoe’er they rove:
To God all praise and glory!
[TLH 19, LSB 819, ELH 435; listen here]
* 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.