65. Thursday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
Psalm 119, 9-20. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from me. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
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None other has followed the word of God as closely as did our Lord Jesus, and none other has kept his way as clean as he. He loved his Father’s ordinances, and delighted himself in them, and kept his word in his heart; and he is lovable in the sight of God, and comely and fair above any other among the children of men. We will earnestly strive to be like him. Dear young people; do you rejoice in the word of God? If you do not, you are on an unclean and slippery path; the trail that you are following does not lead to the home of light and glory. Reverse your steps, and begin to love the word of the Lord. You have a Bible, which you received as a baptismal gift, or at the time of your confirmation; or if not, there surely is a Bible in your home, or you may easily procure one for yourself. Begin to read it daily, first the books of the New Testament in their sequence, then the Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the Prophets; then the New Testament again, and thereafter the whole Bible. Read with careful attention, ask God to enlighten you that you may understand the word, and obey it with honest soul. Do not neglect the divine services in the church, and do not let the wicked one come and catch away the word from you, while you hear it, or while you are on your way to your home. I beseech you by the love of God and by your precious covenant of baptism, obey my advice, keep the word of the Lord in your heart. Would you not like to keep your way clean? Would you not like to resemble Jesus? You aspire to life and happiness, and imagine that you will find them in the pleasures of the world. David rejoiced in the testimonies, and delighted himself in the decrees of the Lord; and with the deepest yearning of his soul he prayed that he might behold the wondrous things in the law of the Lord; that he might live and walk according to the word of God. Should not you do likewise? Verily, it is your sworn enemy who shuts your heart to the word of God. You are a child of God from the hour of your baptism; the Father loves you, Jesus loves you, the Holy Ghost loves you, the holy angels, also, love you. Do not pollute your path with ungodliness, but say in earnestness, sincerity, and fear of God: “Lord, thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Amen.*
Savior! like a shepherd lead us;
Much we need thy tend’rest care;
In thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus!
Thou hast bought us, thine we are.
[LSB 711, with last two lines repeated; 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.