62. Monday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
Lord, thou knowest us;
give us grace to hear thy word
and keep thy ways. Amen.
Genesis 18, 17-19. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
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Of the Virgin Mary we read that she “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart;” and, again, that she “kept all these sayings in her heart.” This is great praise for Mary, and she was made the blessed among women. In that she so faithfully kept the word of God in her heart, she received the unspeakable grace and glory of instructing Jesus in the word of God. Abraham was blessed, and was made a blessing, became the progenitor of Christ, and the father of all the faithful, in that he kept the words of God in his heart. To his son Isaac the Lord says: “I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Genesis 26, 4. 5). Our Lord Jesus himself was always about his Father’s business; he lived and had his strength in the word of God, and was everywhere obedient. The faithful in all ages are like him, and shall endeavor to be like him. But to keep the word in the heart is to think on it, ponder it, let its truths pass in review and stand still before the mind’s eye, seek to find and preserve its heavenly substance; furthermore, to accept the word as true, hold it fast, embrace it with the soul’s trust, and never relax our hold of it; from which will follow sincere obedience to the word, so that this determines our course, and makes our whole life a divine service. Then the word of God becomes too precious to be lost, and it is our constant care that we may walk in the ways of the Lord, — the exact reverse of the course taken by the heathenish and unbelieving world.
The Lord desires to give this same grace to us; for which reason he has given us his word. The worldly-minded despise it, and rob their children and their household of this blessing; as the servants of Satan they even take pains to rob our people of this their true happiness. The Christians must let themselves be fired with zeal for the word of the Lord, and in very truth make their hearts and homes his temples. Are you willing to leave your children behind you in this wicked world without having given them the word of God in their hearts as a shield and weapon against the devil? God forbid! May the Lord declare concerning us: I will surely bless him and his kindred; for I know him, that he commands his children and his household to keep the way of the Lord, hold his word sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end. I hate vain thoughts; but thy law do I love. Thou art my hiding place and my shield; I hope in thy word. Amen.*
The word of God’s our heritage;
God grant we lose it never!
May we and ours, from age to age,
Exalt and praise it ever;
It is our help alway,
In life and death our stay;
O God, while worlds endure,
Preserve thy statutes pure
To us and to our children.
[TLH 283, LSB 582, ELH 583; 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.