102. Monday after Septuagesima Sunday.
I will pay my vows unto the Lord now
in the presence of all his people.
Luke 17, 7-10. But which of you, having a servant plowing, or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
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Servants in that age were serfs, who with their labor were the absolute property of their master. It was as impossible for them to do more than the service which they owed their master, as it is for my hand to do more than its duty to me. All that which he commanded they were in duty bound to do. In like manner we Christians are, after a blessed fashion, the serfs of the Lord. This entirely excludes all merit on our part, and destroys our self-righteousness; but it imbues us with the willing and humble spirit of love. It is not possible for us to earn any title to salvation and honor before God; 1) because in Christ we are already righteous, and born to be heirs of glory; 2) because all that we have belongs to him. He owns us in fee simple; whatever there may be in us of strength to do that which is good, is his; it is he who works in us both to will and to do. Is this not a grand and good thing for us? The relation is not that of bondage in the distressing sense of the word; our hearts are bound to him by the delicious bonds of love and liberty; and thus we belong to him heartily and gladly, and are happy in serving him with joy and delight. If we did our whole duty to the utmost limit, no merit would be ours; still less can we boast of any merit now that we, unfortunately, do not fulfill our duty. No; that which he has done is our merit, our privilege, our hope; more than this we do not need, and more we do not have. We know that it is not the duty of the master to serve the servant; but this is what our Master has done. He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; this is our merit, our redemption. Therefore we look into the perfect law of liberty, and do not labor for hire; we are more than paid by being permitted to devote ourselves to him, to love him, and to serve him.
Give us this grace, precious Lord Jesus. We heartily desire to promote thy honor. Give us this grace by thy good Holy Spirit. Amen.*
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill thy law’s demands.
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone:
Thou must save, and thou alone.
[TLH 376, LSB 761, ELH 286; 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.