11. Monday after Second Sunday in Advent.
Lord, stir our hearts
to hear thy word. Amen.
Isaiah 13, 9-13. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
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It is the doom of Babylon which is described by the prophet in these appalling words; but such judgments on particular peoples are earnest of the judgment on the world, and hence this is also a description of the last day.
The day of the Lord will be a glorious one for God’s people, but terrible for his enemies. The brave shall then become cowards. Now they hold the head high, but then they shall cringe with fear. You shall find no man among them on that day, though you offer gold in exchange for him. The sun disappears, the stars are blotted out; travail lays hold of the hearts of men, so that their faces are now flushed with shame, now blanched with fear. See, how the eyes of the proud are cast down, how they stand confounded, with what despair they gaze at one another! They mocked at pain and boasted of their courage; now they groan like a woman in labor, and call to the mountains, “fall on us,” and to the hills, “hide us from the anger of the Lamb.”
The unbelievers mock, saying: “What is become of his advent? We have heard of it so long, but it is no nearer than before.” Thus spake also the men of the time of Noah, until the flood came and swept them all away. In like manner also the people of Sodom, until fire and brimstone rained from heaven; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, until the flames rolled and their own blood ran in torrents through their city. You, then, who are the Lord’s believers and know that all things shall pass away, what should your attitude be? In holy living and godliness, you should look for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Heaven and earth, as they now are, shall dissolve and pass away; but, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, be diligent that ye may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless in his sight; account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; for he wants the number of his saints to be full.
God, give us the spirit of thy fear and keep us awake, so that we may meet thee with joy. Let that day become for us a day of glorious redemption. Amen.*
My soul, be on thy guard;
Ten thousand foes arise;
And hosts of sin are pressing hard
To draw thee from the skies.
O watch, and fight, and pray!
The battle ne’er give o’er;
Renew it boldly every day,
And help divine implore.
* 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.