91. Saturday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
Psalm 27, 7-14. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
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It is a great mercy that the Lord has given us his promises concerning salvation, and has said that we are to hold these up before him when we cry to him in our distress. He wants to be conquered by means of his own word. When Jacob went to Mesopotamia, God gave him this promise: “I will bring thee again into this land, and I will do that which I have spoken to thee of.” However, when Jacob returned, God came at night, and wrestled with him, and threatened his life. Then Jacob held up before the Lord his own promise, and gained the victory. “Lord, thou hast said that thou wouldst bring me again to Canaan; if thou dost now take my life, thy promise will not come true. Thou must do that which thou hast said. Do this, Lord, for the sake of thy mercy and truth.” He wept and prayed, and conquered; and, instead of losing his life, he received the blessing of the Lord. Thus did Moses and David and all who were governed by the Spirit of God. The heart shall seek the face of the Lord, abide by that which he has spoken and done; for he has said: “Seek my face.” He has said: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” We shall remind him of his promise; then he cannot do otherwise than help us. These are not empty words, but unfailing truth. He is the God of our salvation, the God who has a remedy against every evil, and has pledged himself to save all who seek him. Human help does not avail against the devil and death. The love of father and mother falls short; but his mercy endures for ever. When I stand forsaken, like a poor, friendless orphan child, the Lord will receive me and care for me.
Shall, then, the people of God always be in danger among enemies and false brethren? Certainly they shall, while they are here on earth. The tares sown by the enemy do not die out. And in afflictions we learn obedience. The church of God thrives best under persecution; the Christians are sanctified in suffering, and are glorified through tribulations; gold is purified in fire. Be assured, beyond any doubt, that the way of distress which you travel is good, and leads to the land of life, if you do but seek the face of the Lord at all times, and if you always come forward into the light before him with your heart. — However, our afflictions shall come to an end. If we did not believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, we had despaired. But now we believe in his power and mercy, and seek his face; and then himself places the unfailing words of hope on our lips: “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.”
Lord Jesus, thou hast said that we shall believe and hope in thee alone. Give us grace to do this by thy Holy Spirit. We have no faith, we cannot pray; but we come to thee. Do with us as thou hast said: We will not let thee go, except thou bless us. Let thy word be preached in the power of the Spirit, and let it accomplish that whereto thou dost send it. Amen.*
If God himself be for me,
I may a host defy,
For when I pray, before me
My foes confounded fly.
If Christ, my head and master,
Befriend me from above,
What foe or what disaster
Can drive me from his love?
[TLH 528 (listen here); or LSB 724, ELH 517 (listen here); see also video below]
* 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.