434. Friday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
Lord, give us the Spirit
of grace and prayer,
of humility and obedience. Amen.
1 Timothy 2, 1-7. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the gentiles in faith and verity.
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Paul here teaches us that, as our first and most important duty of all, we are to pray for all men. As one God embraces us all in his love, we are to love all, and pray for them with trust in God. Furthermore, as one mediator, the man Jesus Christ, the second Adam, whose kinsmen we all are, has gathered us in himself, and redeemed us all, we must feel ourselves a unit with all men, and thus pray for them. As Christ took upon himself the sin of all, so we are to take upon ourselves the cause of all; not to make atonement for them, as he did, but to make intercession for them. We shall make “supplication” that they may be saved. These our supplications we shall present as prayers; each for himself and for all together; and these prayers are intercessions, in which we lay before God the need of others, as if it were our own; even as did Abraham and Daniel, and above all our Lord Jesus. And in these prayers there is to be “giving of thanks”; in the first place, because all have been redeemed; and then, because we are permitted thus to take our troubles to the Lord in prayer; and finally, because faith does not doubt that our prayer will be answered. Such prayers and intercessions with giving of thanks are matters of the very highest concern.
Now, it is a striking circumstance that in the midst of his dissertation on the duty of making intercession for all men, that their souls may be saved, the apostle makes special mention of “kings and all that are in authority.” “To be sure, the government of the state does not concern itself with the gospel, but with entirely different matters; and does not care for the souls, but for the bodies and bodily things;” and yet, the salvation of the souls is the ultimate purpose also of civic order in the world; and this is of great importance to the kingdom of God. For this reason Paul declares: We must pray for those in authority, that we may lead a quiet, godly, and honest life; for this is pleasing in the sight of God, who will have all men to be saved, and to come into the knowledge of the truth. He clearly establishes a relation of cause and effect between a peaceable civic government and a life in godliness, and again between these two things and the extension of God’s kingdom. He who follows the disobedient spirit of the age goes directly against the ordinance of God; and thereby he also violates the love which he should have for the salvation of souls, and hinders the extension of the kingdom of God. Let all believers pray diligently for those who administer the affairs of the state; and let them bear the burdens with them in the sight of the Lord. It is a great blessing that God has joined us together in orderly society; and this would be true, even if we had a bad government. How much more, then, should we pray and give thanks for those in authority over us, when they are good and just!
We thank thee, Lord God, for thy wisdom and goodness toward us needy sinners. We thank thee for the government which thou hast given us; and we humbly ask thee to bless it, and preserve it, and strengthen it unto every good work. Give us grace, we pray thee, to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty; a life acceptable in thy sight, and one which thou dost bless for the promotion of thy kingdom. Give us to this end thy Holy Spirit, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*
Lord God, we worship thee!
And pray thee, who hast blest us,
That we may live in peace,
And none henceforth molest us:
O crown us with thy love;
Fulfill our cry to thee:
O Father, grant our prayer:
Lord God, we worship thee!
[suggested tunes: Nun danket alle Gott (TLH 36), listen here; or O Gott, du frommer Gott (TLH 395), 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.