376. Friday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
“They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy.”
Romans 5, 1-5. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.
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In vain the devil accuses the faithful on account of the sin and weakness which still cling to them; they stand in grace unceasingly, are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and thus they all the time have peace with God. The apostle does not here speak of the feeling of peace in their hearts, but of God’s relation to them, that he no more condemns them or casts them off, but is to them a God of peace and a merciful Father in Christ. Rejoice, then, in the midst of your afflictions, dear Christian; you dwell continually in “a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings” with the Almighty. To have him as your enemy is terrible; but to be his child of grace is bliss; for “if God be for us, who can be against us?” — In Christ faith has access to the heart of God. He has taught us to pray to “our Father,” and has given us the spirit of children; so that by his blood we have boldness to enter into the holiest, and find help at all times. Glorious estate of grace! Yet our rejoicing is in the hope of the glory to come. For this very reason, however, no tribulation can rob us of our joy; on the contrary, we glory in tribulations also. It has been said concerning woman, that she “is in pain from the day on which she becomes a mother”; and this can be said with still more truth of a Christian: The world persecutes him, and God disciplines him; and he has labor and vexation and danger and fear every day. Herein we glory, however; for “tribulation worketh patience.” It does not only demand, but “worketh” patience; and “patience worketh experience.” It teaches us to suffer without complaining, and to have brave hearts, and to gain the victory. It consumes our pride and our despondency, and gives our faith the stamp of experience. Saint James says: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work.” We glory in everything with which our enemies would injure us; for it must serve to injure and destroy our sin only, and to strengthen our hope of glory. — Cause and effect here work beautifully in a circle: Hope causes tribulation; tribulation, patience; patience, experience; experience again, a stronger hope. Christ has taken away my sin; God has bound me to himself in an eternal covenant of peace; he who cannot lie has from ages eternal promised me everlasting life. — Give us, O God, faith unfeigned; and shed abroad thy love in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Let our hope wax strong, and sustain us in our tribulations, that we may emerge from them with the genuine stamp of experience; and give us at last the heritage of glory. Amen.*
When darkness and when sorrows rose
And pressed on every side,
The Lord has still sustained my steps,
And still has been my guide.
Here will I rest, and build my hopes,
Nor murmur at his rod;
He’s more than all the world to me,
My health, my life, my God!
[suggested tune: Domine, clamavi (TLH 593; 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.