312. Friday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
God, remember thy congregation,
which thou hast purchased of old;
the rod of thine inheritance,
which thou hast redeemed. Amen.
Micah 3, 5-12. Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace: and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him: therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
❦
The nation is unhappy which has covetous, lying teachers and unjust magistrates. Such teachers and rulers are in themselves a punishment from God, and they call down upon the people new judgments of his wrath. When people have the pure word of God, and will not hear it; when they have a good and just government, and yet are dissatisfied; God sends them false prophets and wicked magistrates. Under the lash of these hard masters it may happen that the people humble themselves; but as a rule there is awakened in them a servile mind or a spirit of rebellion. Worse, however, than a bad government are the false teachers with their lies, which are deadly poison to the souls. When people are not disciplined by earnest teachers with the unadulterated word of God, the result will be the springing up and increase of unbelief and worldliness with their accompaniment of contentions, bitterness, strife, envy, sensuality, and lasciviousness; and with it all the most dreadful feeling of security, and under these circumstances a nation is sick unto death. The threats uttered by the Lord in our text have been fulfilled to the letter on the Jewish people, as a warning to us.
Though a worldly-minded clergy and unjust magistrates are God’s scourge on a people, this does not in any sense justify their wickedness. Even if they have been sent as a punishment for the wickedness of the people, they have no excuse. It were well, if we ministers and teachers would seriously consider, that there exist no men more wretched than the spiritual hirelings, who for money and favor sell their convictions, nay the divine truth itself, and with it the temporal and eternal welfare of the souls whose salvation the Lord has committed to their charge. Alas, many a servant of the Lord, who started out with the ardor of youth and holy zeal, has had his earnestness and vigor choked by the cares of this world. Let us all watch and be on our guard against ourselves, and let none think that he is beyond the reach of this temptation. This feeling of security may be that “peace” of which the prophet speaks in our text. But all who wish to remain faithful shall surely receive the requisite mercy from the Lord. “I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” As compared herewith, what are gold and honor, private gain and popular favor? Here are truth and right and the eternal salvation of the souls. Come, now, to our assistance, you believers! Let us strengthen one another, and lift one another’s hands toward heaven. For the sake of God and your own salvation, fight and pray for us and with us, and be obedient to the word of God, that we may give an account with joy; not with grief, for this is not expedient for you.
Fill us, O God, with the power of thy Spirit, that we may march with victorious strength against the unbelief of the multitude and against the whole army of Satan. Lord, in mercy chasten us for our sins, that we humble ourselves; but do not take from us the joy and comfort of thy word and Spirit. Be gracious unto us, and bless our people, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*
Those haughty spirits, Lord, restrain,
That fain would o’er thy Christians reign,
And e’er bring forth some fancies new,
Devised to change thy statutes true.
And, as the cause and glory, Lord,
Are thine, not ours, do thou afford
Us help and strength and constancy;
With all our heart we trust in thee.
[TLH 292, LSB 585, ELH 511; 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.