INDEX
to the Bible passages
treated in this volume.

[The Gospel and Epistle Lessons have been marked with an asterisk (*).]

Genesis

Genesis 2, 18. 21-24
Genesis 4, 3-11
Genesis 17, 1-6
Genesis 18, 17-19
Genesis 24, 1-7

Exodus

Exodus 1, 22-2, 10
Exodus 4, 10-15
Exodus 15, 1-11

Leviticus

Leviticus 14, 2-8

Numbers

Numbers 21, 5-9

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 1, 20. 24-28

1 Kings

1 Kings 17, 12-16
1 Kings 18, 17-21

Job

Job 15, 14-16

Psalms

Psalm 2
Psalm 6
Psalm 7, 11-17
Psalm 8
Psalm 12
Psalm 13
Psalm 15
Psalm 16
Psalm 19, 7-12
Psalm 22, 14. 15
Psalm 23
Psalm 24
Psalm 25, 1-11
Psalm 27, 7-14
Psalm 31, 19-24
Psalm 32, 1-5
Psalm 34, 1-10
Psalm 36, 5-12
Psalm 37, 1-6, 21-26
Psalm 42, 1-5
Psalm 46
Psalm 48
Psalm 51, 10-19
Psalm 57
Psalm 62, 1-8
Psalm 63, 1-7
Psalm 69, 21
Psalm 72, 1-8
Psalm 73, 12-19, 23-28
Psalm 74, 1-9. 12
Psalm 80, 1-7
Psalm 84, 1-7
Psalm 86, 11-17
Psalm 90
Psalm 100
Psalm 102, 1-14
Psalm 103, 1-5, 8-14
Psalm 110
Psalm 116, 1-9, 10-19
Psalm 118, 14-24
Psalm 119, 9-20, 25-32, 41-50, 64-72, 97-105, 169-176
Psalm 126
Psalm 130
Psalm 138
Psalm 139, 13-18
Psalm 142
Psalm 143
Psalm 145, 14-21

Proverbs

Proverbs 8, 10-17
Proverbs 11, 23-25
Proverbs 30, 5-9

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 11, 9. 10; 12, 1. 2

Isaiah

Isaiah 1, 2-6, 10-15
Isaiah 5, 1-7
Isaiah 6, 1-7
Isaiah 7, 10-15*
Isaiah 9, 6. 7
Isaiah 12
Isaiah 13, 9-13
Isaiah 25, 6-9
Isaiah 29, 10-14, 17-19
Isaiah 35
Isaiah 40, 1-5, 9-11, 26-31
Isaiah 42, 1-4, 5-10
Isaiah 44, 1-5
Isaiah 45, 4-8, 22-25
Isaiah 49, 5. 6
Isaiah 53, 1-5, 6-9, 10-12, 12
Isaiah 55, 1-5, 6-7, 8-13
Isaiah 57, 15-21
Isaiah 58, 5-8, 9-11
Isaiah 60, 1-6*
Isaiah 61, 1-3, 10. 11

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 31, 1-4

Lamentations

Lamentations 3, 22-33

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 3, 17-21
Ezekiel 16, 9-14
Ezekiel 34, 11-16
Ezekiel 36, 25-27

Daniel

Daniel 9, 15-19

Joel

Joel 2, 28-32

Jonah

Jonah 2, 1-9

Micah

Micah 3, 5-12
Micah 5, 2-5
Micah 7, 18-20

Zechariah

Zechariah 3, 1-5

Malachi

Malachi 3, 1-6
Malachi 4, 1-6

Matthew

Matthew 1, 20-23
Matthew 2, 1-12*, 19-23*
Matthew 3, 8-10, 13-17*
Matthew 4, 1-11, 12-17
Matthew 5, 1-12*, 13-16, 17-19, 20-26*, 38-42, 43-48
Matthew 6, 5-8, 19-23, 24-34*
Matthew 7, 12-14, 15-21*
Matthew 8, 1-13*, 14-17, 23-27*
Matthew 9, 1-8*, 9-13, 18-26*
Matthew 10, 37-42
Matthew 11, 2-10*, 25-30*
Matthew 12, 33-37
Matthew 13, 24-30*, 36-43, 44-46
Matthew 14, 24-33
Matthew 15, 21-28*, 29-31
Matthew 16, 1-4, 13-19, 21-23
Matthew 17, 1-9*, 24-27
Matthew 18, 15-22, 23-35*
Matthew 20, 1-16*, 25-28
Matthew 21, 1-9* (here and here), 10-16, 28-32
Matthew 22, 1-14*, 15-22*, 34-46*
Matthew 23, 34-39*
Matthew 24, 4-14, 15-28*
Matthew 25, 1-13, 31-46
Matthew 26, 1-16, 21-25, 39-46, 45-48, 49-54, 50-56, 59-68
Matthew 27, 3-10, 23-25, 27-30, 31-32, 33-34, 39-44, 45-49, 57-66
Matthew 28, 18-20

Mark

Mark 7, 6-13, 31-37*
Mark 8, 1-9*
Mark 9, 17-27
Mark 14, 26-31, 32-34, 66-72
Mark 15, 25, 28
Mark 16, 1-7*, 14-20*

Luke

Luke 1, 26-38*
Luke 2, 1-14*, 15-20, 21*, 33-40*, 42-52*
Luke 4, 16-21
Luke 5, 1-11*
Luke 6, 31-35, 36-42*
Luke 7, 11-17*, 36-50
Luke 8, 4-15*
Luke 9, 57-62
Luke 10, 23-37*, 38-42
Luke 11, 14-28*
Luke 12, 16-21, 32-37
Luke 14, 1-11*, 16-24*, 25-33
Luke 15, 1-10*, 11-16, 17-24, 25-32
Luke 16, 1-9*, 10-13, 19-31*
Luke 17, 7-10, 11-19*
Luke 18, 9-14*
Luke 19, 41-48*
Luke 21, 25-36*
Luke 23, 4-12, 17-24, 27-31, 34, 39-43, 46
Luke 24, 13-35*, 36-48, 50-52

John

John 1, 1-13, 14-18, 19-28*, 29-34, 35-42, 47-51
John 2, 1-11*
John 3, 1-15*, 16-21*, 27-36
John 4, 6-14, 15-26, 30-34, 46-53*
John 5, 2-9. 14, 19-23, 25-29
John 6, 1-15*, 37-40, 43-47
John 7, 37-40
John 8, 1-11, 21-27
John 10, 1-10, 11-16*, 23-30
John 11, 1-13, 20-27, 33-38, 39-45
John 12, 23-32
John 13, 1-15*
John 14, 1-6, 7-13, 23-31*
John 15, 1-6, 7-11, 17-21
John 15, 26-16, 4*
John 16, 5-15*, 16-22*, 23-28*
John 17, 1-5, 6-11, 11-19, 20-26
John 18, 1-2, 4-9, 12-14. 19-24, 28-32, 33-38
John 19, 1, 4-7, 12-16, 18, 19-22, 23-24, 25-27, 28-29, 30-37
John 20, 1-10, 11-18, 19-23*, 24-31
John 21, 1-6, 7-14, 15-19, 20-23

Acts

Acts 1, 1-11*, 13-14
Acts 2, 1-11*, 22-28, 29-36, 37-42
Acts 4, 8-12
Acts 6, 8-15 and 7, 54-60*
Acts 10, 34-41*, 42-48*
Acts 13, 38-41, 44-49
Acts 16, 25-34
Acts 26, 12-18

Romans

Romans 1, 16. 17
Romans 3, 19-22*, 23-28
Romans 4, 1-8, 18-25
Romans 5, 1-5, 6-11, 12-16, 17-21
Romans 6, 3-11*, 19-23*
Romans 7, 1-6
Romans 8, 1-4, 5-11, 12-17*, 18-23*, 28-32
Romans 10, 4-10 (here and here)
Romans 11, 33-36*
Romans 12, 1-5*, 6-16*, 17-21*
Romans 13, 1-7, 8-10*, 11-14*
Romans 14, 7-13
Romans 15, 4-9*

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1, 4-8, 17-21
1 Corinthians 2, 9-13
1 Corinthians 3, 18-23
1 Corinthians 4, 1-5*
1 Corinthians 5, 7-8*, 9-13
1 Corinthians 9, 19-22
1 Corinthians 9, 24-10, 5*
1 Corinthians 10, 6-13*
1 Corinthians 11, 23-29*
1 Corinthians 12, 2-11*
1 Corinthians 13, 1-7
1 Corinthians 15, 1-10*, 20-27, 35-44

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 3, 4-9*
2 Corinthians 4, 7-18
2 Corinthians 5, 1-10, 14-21
2 Corinthians 6, 1-10*
2 Corinthians 9, 8-11
2 Corinthians 12, 2-9*

Galatians

Galatians 2, 19-21
Galatians 3, 5-11, 15-22*, 23-29*
Galatians 4, 1-7*, 21-31*
Galatians 5, 16-24*
Galatians 5, 25-6, 10*

Ephesians

Ephesians 1, 3-7, 8-14, 17-23
Ephesians 2, 13-22
Ephesians 3, 5-12, 13-21*
Ephesians 4, 1-6*, 11-16, 22-28*
Ephesians 5, 1-9*, 15-21*, 22-33
Ephesians 6, 10-17*

Philippians

Philippians 1, 6-11*
Philippians 2, 1-4, 5-11*
Philippians 3, 7-11, 17-21*
Philippians 4, 4-7*

Colossians

Colossians 1, 9-14*
Colossians 3, 1-6, 12-17*

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4, 1-7*, 13-18*
1 Thessalonians 5, 12-23*

2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 1, 3-12
2 Thessalonians 2, 1-10
2 Thessalonians 3, 7-13

1 Timothy

1 Timothy 1, 12-16
1 Timothy 2, 1-7
1 Timothy 6, 9-12, 13-21

2 Timothy

2 Timothy 1, 6-12
2 Timothy 2, 19-22
2 Timothy 3, 14-17
2 Timothy 4, 1-8

Titus

Titus 2, 11-14
Titus 3, 1-7

Hebrews

Hebrews 4, 9-16
Hebrews 5, 5-10
Hebrews 10, 19-25
Hebrews 11, 1-6, 8-12, 8-16, 23-27
Hebrews 12, 1-11
Hebrews 13, 8

James

James 1, 2-12, 17-21*, 22-27*
James 2, 10-17
James 3, 13-18
James 5, 19. 20

1 Peter

1 Peter 1, 3-6, 14-19, 22-25
1 Peter 2, 1-6, 11-20*, 21-25*
1 Peter 3, 8-14*, 18-22
1 Peter 4, 7-11*
1 Peter 5, 1-5, 6-11*

2 Peter

2 Peter 1, 12-18*

1 John

1 John 1, 1-7
1 John 1, 8-2, 2
1 John 2, 4-11
1 John 3, 1-6, 13-18*
1 John 4, 1-4, 9-12, 16-21*
1 John 5, 4-12*, 13-15, 18-21

Revelation

Revelation 1, 4-7
Revelation 2, 8-11
Revelation 3, 1-6, 7-13, 14-22
Revelation 7, 1-12*, 13-17
Revelation 14, 1-5
Revelation 19, 1-9

[Series Announcement]

[Adventide]

[Ad te levavi]

1. First Sunday in Advent. I.
2. First Sunday in Advent. II.

3. Monday after First Sunday in Advent.
4. Tuesday after First Sunday in Advent.
5. Wednesday after First Sunday in Advent.
6. Thursday after First Sunday in Advent.
7. Friday after First Sunday in Advent.
8. Saturday after First Sunday in Advent.

[Populus Zion]

9. Second Sunday in Advent. I.
10. Second Sunday in Advent. II.

11. Monday after Second Sunday in Advent.
12. Tuesday after Second Sunday in Advent.
13. Wednesday after Second Sunday in Advent.
14. Thursday after Second Sunday in Advent.
15. Friday after Second Sunday in Advent.
16. Saturday after Second Sunday in Advent.

[Gaudete]

17. Third Sunday in Advent. I.
18. Third Sunday in Advent. II.

19. Monday after Third Sunday in Advent.
20. Tuesday after Third Sunday in Advent.
21. Wednesday after Third Sunday in Advent.
22. Thursday after Third Sunday in Advent.
23. Friday after Third Sunday in Advent.
24. Saturday after Third Sunday in Advent.

[Rorate coeli]

25. Fourth Sunday in Advent. I.
26. Fourth Sunday in Advent. II.

27. Monday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.
28. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.
29. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.
30. Thursday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.
31. Friday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.

[Christmastide]

32. Christmas Eve.

[The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord]

33. Christmas Day. I.
34. Christmas Day. II.

[Saint Stephen the Martyr’s Day]

35. Second Christmas Day. I.
36. Second Christmas Day. II.

37. Third Christmas Day.
38. December 28.
39. December 29.
40. December 30.

41. Sunday after Christmas. I.
42. Sunday after Christmas. II.

43. New Year’s Eve.

[The Circumcision and the Name of Jesus]

44. New Year’s Day. I.
45. New Year’s Day. II.

46. January 2.
47. January 3.
48. January 4.
49. Epiphany Eve.

50. Sunday after New Year. I.
51. Sunday after New Year. II.

[Epiphanytide]

52. Epiphany (January 6). I.
53. Epiphany. II.

54. Monday after Epiphany.
55. Tuesday after Epiphany.
56. Wednesday after Epiphany.
57. Thursday after Epiphany.
58. Friday after Epiphany.
59. Saturday after Epiphany.

60. First Sunday after Epiphany. I.
61. First Sunday after Epiphany. II.

62. Monday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
63. Tuesday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
64. Wednesday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
65. Thursday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
66. Friday after First Sunday after Epiphany.
67. Saturday after First Sunday after Epiphany.

68. Second Sunday after Epiphany. I.
69. Second Sunday after Epiphany. II.

70. Monday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.
71. Tuesday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.
72. Wednesday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.
73. Thursday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.
74. Friday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.
75. Saturday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

76. Third Sunday after Epiphany. I.
77. Third Sunday after Epiphany. II.

78. Monday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.
79. Tuesday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.
80. Wednesday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.
81. Thursday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.
82. Friday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.
83. Saturday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

84. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. I.
85. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. II.

86. Monday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
87. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
88. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
89. Thursday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
90. Friday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.
91. Saturday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

92. Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. I.
93. Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. II.

94. Monday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
95. Tuesday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
96. Wednesday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
97. Thursday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
98. Friday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.
99. Saturday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

On the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, if there be one, the text for the Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity may be read.

[Gesimatide]

100. Septuagesima Sunday. I.
101. Septuagesima Sunday. II.

102. Monday after Septuagesima Sunday.
103. Tuesday after Septuagesima Sunday.
104. Wednesday after Septuagesima Sunday.
105. Thursday after Septuagesima Sunday.
106. Friday after Septuagesima Sunday.
107. Saturday after Septuagesima Sunday.

108. Sexagesima Sunday. I.
109. Sexagesima Sunday. II.

110. Monday after Sexagesima Sunday.
111. Tuesday after Sexagesima Sunday.
112. Wednesday after Sexagesima Sunday.
113. Thursday after Sexagesima Sunday.
114. Friday after Sexagesima Sunday.
115. Saturday after Sexagesima Sunday.

116. Quinquagesima Sunday. I.
117. Quinquagesima Sunday. II.

118. Monday after Quinquagesima Sunday.
119. Tuesday after Quinquagesima Sunday.

[Lententide]

[Ash Wednesday]

120. Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday.

121. Thursday after Quinquagesima Sunday.
122. Friday after Quinquagesima Sunday.
123. Saturday after Quinquagesima Sunday.

[Invocavit]

124. First Sunday in Lent. I.
125. First Sunday in Lent. II.

126. Monday after First Sunday in Lent.
127. Tuesday after First Sunday in Lent.
128. Wednesday after First Sunday in Lent.
129. Thursday after First Sunday in Lent.
130. Friday after First Sunday in Lent.
131. Saturday after First Sunday in Lent.

[Reminiscere]

132. Second Sunday in Lent. I.
133. Second Sunday in Lent. II.

134. Monday after Second Sunday in Lent.
135. Tuesday after Second Sunday in Lent.
136. Wednesday after Second Sunday in Lent.
137. Thursday after Second Sunday in Lent.
138. Friday after Second Sunday in Lent.
139. Saturday after Second Sunday in Lent.

[Oculi]

140. Third Sunday in Lent. I.
141. Third Sunday in Lent. II.

142. Monday after Third Sunday in Lent.
143. Tuesday after Third Sunday in Lent.
144. Wednesday after Third Sunday in Lent.
145. Thursday after Third Sunday in Lent.
146. Friday after Third Sunday in Lent.
147. Saturday after Third Sunday in Lent.

[Laetare]

148. Fourth Sunday in Lent. I.
149. Fourth Sunday in Lent. II.

150. Monday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.
151. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.
152. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.
153. Thursday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.
154. Friday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.
155. Saturday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.

156. Annunciation Day. I.
157. Annunciation Day. II.

158. Monday after Annunciation Day.
159. Tuesday after Annunciation Day.
160. Wednesday after Annunciation Day.
161. Thursday after Annunciation Day.
162. Friday after Annunciation Day.
163. Saturday after Annunciation Day.

[Palmarum (Sixth Sunday in Lent)]

164. Palm Sunday. I.
165. Palm Sunday. II.

166. Monday in Holy Week.
167. Tuesday in Holy Week.
168. Wednesday in Holy Week.

[Maundy Thursday]

169. Thursday in Holy Week. I.
170. Thursday in Holy Week. II.

[Good Friday]

171. Good Friday. I.
172. Good Friday. II.

[Holy Saturday]

173. Saturday in Holy Week.

[Eastertide]

[The Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord]

174. Easter Day. I.
175. Easter Day. II.

176. Easter Monday. I.
177. Easter Monday. II.
178. Tuesday after Easter Day.
179. Wednesday after Easter Day.
180. Thursday after Easter Day.
181. Friday after Easter Day.
182. Saturday after Easter Day.

[Quasimodogeniti]

183. First Sunday after Easter. I.
184. First Sunday after Easter. II.

185. Monday after First Sunday after Easter.
186. Tuesday after First Sunday after Easter.
187. Wednesday after First Sunday after Easter.
188. Thursday after First Sunday after Easter.
189. Friday after First Sunday after Easter.
190. Saturday after First Sunday after Easter.

[Misericordias Domini]

191. Second Sunday after Easter. I.
192. Second Sunday after Easter. II.

193. Monday after Second Sunday after Easter.
194. Tuesday after Second Sunday after Easter.
195. Wednesday after Second Sunday after Easter.
196. Thursday after Second Sunday after Easter.
197. Friday after Second Sunday after Easter.
198. Saturday after Second Sunday after Easter.

[Jubilate]

199. Third Sunday after Easter. I.
200. Third Sunday after Easter. II.

201. Monday after Third Sunday after Easter.
202. Tuesday after Third Sunday after Easter.
203. Wednesday after Third Sunday after Easter.
204. Thursday after Third Sunday after Easter.
205. Day of Common Prayer. I.
206. Day of Common Prayer. II.
207. Saturday after Third Sunday after Easter.

[Cantate]

208. Fourth Sunday after Easter. I.
209. Fourth Sunday after Easter. II.

210. Monday after Fourth Sunday after Easter.
211. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday after Easter.
212. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday after Easter.
213. Thursday after Fourth Sunday after Easter.
214. Friday after Fourth Sunday after Easter.
215. Saturday after Fourth Sunday after Easter.

[Rogate]

216. Fifth Sunday after Easter. I.
217. Fifth Sunday after Easter. II.

218. Monday after Fifth Sunday after Easter.
219. Tuesday after Fifth Sunday after Easter.
220. Wednesday after Fifth Sunday after Easter.

[Ascensiontide]

221. Ascension Day. I.
222. Ascension Day. II.

223. Friday after Ascension Day.
224. Saturday after Ascension Day.

[Exaudi]

225. Sixth Sunday after Easter. I.
226. Sixth Sunday after Easter. II.

227. Monday after Sixth Sunday after Easter.
228. Tuesday after Sixth Sunday after Easter.
229. Wednesday after Sixth Sunday after Easter.
230. Thursday after Sixth Sunday after Easter.
231. Friday after Sixth Sunday after Easter.
232. Pentecost Eve.

[Whitsuntide]

233. Whitsunday. I.
234. Whitsunday. II.

235. Monday after Whitsunday. I.
236. Monday after Whitsunday. II.
237. Tuesday after Whitsunday.
238. Wednesday after Whitsunday.
239. Thursday after Whitsunday.
240. Friday after Whitsunday.
241. Saturday after Whitsunday.

[Trinitytide]

242. Trinity Sunday. I.
243. Trinity Sunday. II.

244. Monday after Trinity Sunday.
245. Tuesday after Trinity Sunday.
246. Wednesday after Trinity Sunday.
247. Thursday after Trinity Sunday.
248. Friday after Trinity Sunday.
249. Saturday after Trinity Sunday.

250. First Sunday after Trinity. I.
251. First Sunday after Trinity. II.

252. Monday after First Sunday after Trinity.
253. Tuesday after First Sunday after Trinity.
254. Wednesday after First Sunday after Trinity.
255. Thursday after First Sunday after Trinity.
256. Friday after First Sunday after Trinity.
257. Saturday after First Sunday after Trinity.

258. Second Sunday after Trinity. I.
259. Second Sunday after Trinity. II.

260. Monday after Second Sunday after Trinity.
261. Tuesday after Second Sunday after Trinity.
262. Wednesday after Second Sunday after Trinity.
263. Thursday after Second Sunday after Trinity.
264. Friday after Second Sunday after Trinity.
265. Saturday after Second Sunday after Trinity.

266. Third Sunday after Trinity. I.
267. Third Sunday after Trinity. II.

268. Monday after Third Sunday after Trinity.
269. Tuesday after Third Sunday after Trinity.
270. Wednesday after Third Sunday after Trinity.
271. Thursday after Third Sunday after Trinity.
272. Friday after Third Sunday after Trinity.
273. Saturday after Third Sunday after Trinity.

274. Fourth Sunday after Trinity. I.
275. Fourth Sunday after Trinity. II.

276. Monday after Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
277. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
278. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
279. Thursday after Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
280. Friday after Fourth Sunday after Trinity.
281. Saturday after Fourth Sunday after Trinity.

282. Fifth Sunday after Trinity. I.
283. Fifth Sunday after Trinity. II.

284. Monday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity.
285. Tuesday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity.
286. Wednesday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity.
287. Thursday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity.
288. Friday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity.
289. Saturday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity.

290. Sixth Sunday after Trinity. I.
291. Sixth Sunday after Trinity. II.

292. Monday after Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
293. Tuesday after Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
294. Wednesday after Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
295. Thursday after Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
296. Friday after Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
297. Saturday after Sixth Sunday after Trinity.

298. Seventh Sunday after Trinity. I.
299. Seventh Sunday after Trinity. II.

300. Monday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
301. Tuesday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
302. Wednesday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
303. Thursday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
304. Friday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
305. Saturday after Seventh Sunday after Trinity.

306. Eighth Sunday after Trinity. I.
307. Eighth Sunday after Trinity. II.

308. Monday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
309. Tuesday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
310. Wednesday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
311. Thursday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
312. Friday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.
313. Saturday after Eighth Sunday after Trinity.

314. Ninth Sunday after Trinity. I.
315. Ninth Sunday after Trinity. II.

316. Monday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
317. Tuesday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
318. Wednesday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
319. Thursday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
320. Friday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
321. Saturday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity.

322. Tenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
323. Tenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

324. Monday after Tenth Sunday after Trinity.
325. Tuesday after Tenth Sunday after Trinity.
326. Wednesday after Tenth Sunday after Trinity.
327. Thursday after Tenth Sunday after Trinity.
328. Friday after Tenth Sunday after Trinity.
329. Saturday after Tenth Sunday after Trinity.

330. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. I.
331. Eleventh Sunday after Trinity. II.

332. Monday after Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
333. Tuesday after Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
334. Wednesday after Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
335. Thursday after Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
336. Friday after Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
337. Saturday after Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.

338. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. I.
339. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. II.

340. Monday after Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.
341. Tuesday after Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.
342. Wednesday after Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.
343. Thursday after Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.
344. Friday after Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.
345. Saturday after Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.

346. Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
347. Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

348. Monday after Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.
349. Tuesday after Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.
350. Wednesday after Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.
351. Thursday after Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.
352. Friday after Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.
353. Saturday after Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.

354. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
355. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

356. Monday after Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
357. Tuesday after Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
358. Wednesday after Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
359. Thursday after Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
360. Friday after Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
361. Saturday after Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.

362. Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
363. Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

364. Monday after Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
365. Tuesday after Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
366. Wednesday after Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
367. Thursday after Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
368. Friday after Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
369. Saturday after Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

370. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
371. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

372. Monday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
373. Tuesday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
374. Wednesday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
375. Thursday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
376. Friday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
377. Saturday after Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.

378. Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
379. Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

380. Monday after Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
381. Tuesday after Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
382. Wednesday after Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
383. Thursday after Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
384. Friday after Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
385. Saturday after Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.

386. Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
387. Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

388. Monday after Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.
389. Tuesday after Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.
390. Wednesday after Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.
391. Thursday after Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.
392. Friday after Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.
393. Saturday after Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.

394. Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. I.
395. Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. II.

396. Monday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
397. Tuesday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
398. Wednesday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
399. Thursday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
400. Friday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
401. Saturday after Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.

402. Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. I.
403. Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. II.

404. Monday after Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.
405. Tuesday after Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.
406. Wednesday after Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.
407. Thursday after Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.
408. Friday after Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.
409. Saturday after Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.

410. Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity. I.
411. Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity. II.

412. Monday after Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.
413. Tuesday after Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.
414. Wednesday after Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.
415. Thursday after Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.
416. Friday after Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.
417. Saturday after Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.

418. Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity. I.
419. Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity. II.

420. All-Saints Day. I.
421. All-Saints Day. II.

422. Monday after Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.
423. Tuesday after Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.
424. Wednesday after Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.
425. Thursday after Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.
426. Friday after Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.
427. Saturday after Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity.

428. Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity. I.
429. Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity. II.

430. Monday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
431. Tuesday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
432. Wednesday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
433. Thursday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
434. Friday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.
435. Saturday after Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

436. Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity. I.
437. Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity. II.

438. Monday after Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.
439. Tuesday after Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.
440. Wednesday after Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.
441. Thursday after Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.
442. Friday after Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.
443. Saturday after Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.

444. Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. I.
445. Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. II.

446. Monday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.
447. Tuesday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.
448. Wednesday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.
449. Thursday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.
450. Friday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.
451. Saturday after Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity.

452. Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity. I.
453. Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity. II.

454. Monday after Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.
455. Tuesday after Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.
456. Wednesday after Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.
457. Thursday after Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.
458. Friday after Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.
459. Saturday after Twenty-sixth Sunday after Trinity.

460. Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity. I.
461. Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity. II.

462. Monday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.
463. Tuesday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.
464. Wednesday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.
465. Thursday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.
466. Friday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.
467. Saturday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

Some short Morning and Evening Prayers,
for the use of such as do not use their own words when having family prayers.

INDEX
to the Bible passages treated in this volume.

107. Saturday after Septuagesima Sunday.

Psalm 119, 25-32. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Remove from me the way of lying; and grant me thy law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

❦

While our souls inhabit this bodily tenement of dust, they are in great danger of clinging to the dust and departing from the everlasting things in the word. We are tempted to labor for the meat which perishes, and to be caught in the toils of the sorrow of the world. This must not be. The believing children of God do not belong to the world, but are strangers in a strange land. Their labor is not in vain; in reality they labor for Christ in all that they do; and their desire shall, therefore, not be after perishable things, but after God. In the minds of the children of the world covetousness or cares are supreme, and cause much anguish and distress, combined with envy and bitterness, anger and malice; thus making of the soul a veritable by-place of hell. When the fire is no longer tempered by the enjoyment of the things of the world, it will burn fiercely in all eternity. The children of God, also, may oft be sad, even on account of worldly matters, such as poverty, disappointment in the children, bodily ailments, or despondency; they may be wearied with the labor of this earthly existence, and yet feel that they cleave unto the dust. I can well understand your state of mind, you tired wanderer, whose soul by reason of its sadness dissolves in sighs and tears. But after all, your heart is nevertheless in heaven; and your treasure and your comfort endure forever. Never, then, allow yourself to be overcome by the temptation to despondency and weariness; and never let bitterness against God or man bear sway in your mind. Should it please God to let you be heavy-hearted and depressed, or to be weighed down with trouble and care your whole life long, well and good; this may, perhaps, be the only method after which God can deal with you, if you are to become eternally happy. Cleave to the testimonies and promises of the Lord; and do not let unbelief, with its hideous brood of whining, and obstinacy, and despair, and bitterness, and anger, and enmity toward God and all men, get the better of you. Has not the Son of God saved you? Have you not cost him dear, and do you not belong to him? Has he not called you, and have you not received grace to choose the way of truth? Assuredly, he shall set you free from the dust, and satisfy you forever with the good things of his house. — Teach me, O Lord, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. But alas, for my impure mind; cleanse it, cleanse it in the blood of Jesus. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Let thy mercies come also unto me, even thy salvation, according to thy word. Amen.*

A pilgrim and a stranger,
I journey here below:
Far distant is my country,
The home to which I go.
Here I must toil and travail,
Oft weary and opprest,
But there my God shall lead me
To everlasting rest.

[TLH 586; 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.

106. Friday after Septuagesima Sunday.

God, anoint our eyes
with thy Holy Spirit!

Isaiah 53, 10-12. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

❦

The love with which God loves us is inconceivably great; so intense and deep that it pleased him — actually pleased him — to bruise his only begotten Son and put him to grief, when this was necessary, in order that we might be saved. At what a sacrifice have we not been bought! How great was the labor which was done by the Son of God in order to deliver us from the power of death! Yes, he, he has labored for us, and done the pleasure of the Lord, and set us free. He has fulfilled all righteousness, he has done every deed of the law, he has borne the whole punishment, he has paid the whole debt, he has suffered all pain, he has endured all trouble, he has tasted all the bitterness of death in our stead, and brought his work to perfect completion; the pleasure of the Lord has succeeded by his hand. Now he lives alway to intercede for us. What, then, is his reward? His reward is to give us a portion with himself in the joys of heaven. His reward is to own our hearts, to have our trust and our love. Is this, then, worth so much to him? Yes, it is; for the reason that he is love, and for the reason that we are they whom it has pleased him to love so well. Truly, I grow dizzy when I attempt to search this matter out; but I am and shall be inexpressibly rich in joy and glory in and through my Lord Jesus. I am righteous, I am holy, I am saved and glorified through him. None can bring anything to my charge; none can condemn me. I believe and confess that Jesus is my righteousness before God; I stay by him, my high priest; in him I am wholly righteous, and there is nothing which I must do to become righteous. He has taken away my sin, and I am clothed in his righteousness. All who know him are justified by him. I will therefore give myself wholly to thee, my precious Savior. Thou didst pour out thy soul unto death, in order that I might find room in thee instead of making my home with the devil. Take me in, Lord Jesus; I am thine, I love thee, I serve thee, I live unto thee, and I am blessed in giving myself to thee as the spoil of thy work of salvation; thou whose delight it is to own us, and whose meat it is to be loved by us, thou great and eternally blessed God, praised and glorified by all the hosts of heaven! Amen.*

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

When from the dust of death I rise,
To take my mansion in the skies,
This even then shall be my plea:
“Jesus hath lived and died for me.”

[TLH 371, LSB 563 (listen here); or ELH 432 (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.

105. Thursday after Septuagesima Sunday.

1 Corinthians 9, 19-22. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

❦

It was the glorious calling and duty of the apostles to preach the gospel; and it is the calling and duty of all Christians to win souls for the Lord. Every Christian should be able to say that which Paul here says: “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” Faith makes me free from all men; love makes me the servant of all men. Paul was no longer bound in conscience to observe the Jewish ordinances, with abstinence from certain kinds of food, with purifications, vows, and the like. He could, without doing violence to his own conscience, have eaten the flesh of swine, and blood, and things strangled, and anything whatever. But he conformed to their customs notwithstanding. For instance, he caused his head to be shorn in Cenchrea, because he had made a vow; he observed the rite of purification in Jerusalem (Acts 18, 18; 21, 26); and he declares concerning meats, that if it makes his brother to offend, he will eat no flesh while the world stands (1 Cor. 8, 13). When he could, without wounding the feelings of the Jews, disregard their customs, and in that way the more readily gain the gentiles, he did this also. He did not lead a lawless, heathen life; on the contrary, he was bound by the law of Christ, which is love, and he led a Christian life in spirit and truth. To the weak he became as weak; he was made all things to all men, that he might save some. And this life in true liberty and ministering love was so important to him that without it he could not be a partaker of the gospel. In the following verses he speaks of the struggle for the prize. This is worthy of particular notice. — Such a life must we lead, dear Christians; free from all men; lords with Christ over all rules and ordinances; not to be judged of the weak or the strong, and yet in love the servants of all; willing to accommodate ourselves to all in order to gain them. If we know these things, then may God help us to do them! Then we shall not be all the time asking: What am I permitted to do; and what must I deny myself? Love will point out to us the proper course. Let it be the constant aim of our whole life to win souls for the Lord by ministering, self-sacrificing love. Do this, for the sake of God and your salvation. As for yourself, you are saved in Christ without any work of your own; now you should strive to do unto others that which he has done unto you. In this way you shall surely be able to decide upon the better course to take in matters relating to the so-called indifferent things, which are neither commanded nor prohibited.

Lord, give us the true spirit of liberty and charity. Give us grace to walk in this spirit at all times and in all places. Alas, we are as yet very far from doing it; help us, O our God, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Lead on, O Love and Mercy,
O Purity and Power!
Lead on, till peace eternal
Shall close this battle-hour:
Till all who prayed and struggled
To set their brethren free,
In triumph meet to praise thee,
Most holy Trinity.

[suggested tune: Aurelia, TLH 473; 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.

104. Wednesday after Septuagesima Sunday.

Heavenly Wisdom; enter,
and abide in us.

1 Corinthians 3, 18-23. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men: for all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

❦

Persons who are puffed up with conceit have no place in the church of Christ. He that seems to himself to be wise is far away from God; he must become a fool, before he can become wise. He must learn that he knows nothing; in this way, only, can he receive instruction of the Spirit of God. For the Holy Ghost shows us clearly that we are fools, darkened and blinded, without true knowledge of God; but he also teaches us to know God. Furthermore, he leads us into an ever deeper knowledge of self, and keeps our hearts humble, by the very fact of his revealing to our souls more and more of the wisdom of God. As a result we see that we know very little; but, at the same time, we are enabled to surmise and catch a glimpse of a depth of glorious and blessed things, and to understand that we live in the very midst of divine excellencies. What reason have we, then, to be puffed up? Or what have we in which to glory as against one another? We are not one another’s masters, but servants; we have not been appointed to rule over one another, but are joint partakers of the wisdom of God, that we may serve one another. And yet all is ours. Each one of us is part owner of the whole. All the gifts which are given to you are mine also, and mine are yours. For we are one body in Christ. Paul’s gifts of grace belong to you, and you belong to the apostolic church. The property of the father is the common property of all the children. — No, the wisdom of God does not lead to conceit and envy. Such things as these come of the wisdom from below. The wisdom which is from above is humble, pure, peaceable, full of mercy and all the fruits of love. O, that no man among us might deceive himself!

Lord God, our heavenly Father, enlighten us by thy Spirit; teach us that we of ourselves understand nothing; and teach us to know thy wisdom from on high, that we therein may serve one another with humility and faithfulness as good stewards of thy manifold grace. Amen.*

Jesus, our Lord, how rich thy grace!
Thy bounties, how complete!
How shall we count the matchless sum,
How pay the mighty debt?

High on a throne of radiant light
Dost thou exalted shine;
What can our poverty bestow,
When all the worlds are thine?

[American Lutheran Hymnal 253; 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.

103. Tuesday after Septuagesima Sunday.

O, that we may hear
thy voice, Lord Jesus!

Matthew 10, 37-42. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it. He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

❦

Our Jesus is infinitely more excellent than all things and persons in heaven and on earth. If we know him, we love him above all, and gladly follow him through tribulation and suffering. He becomes our delight, our treasure, our joy; he becomes our life. Says Paul: “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” He who does not in this wise know Jesus is not his disciple. For he will teach you this, if you take lessons of him. Begin to do from your heart what he says and as he did; do good to all, especially to his disciples, to the poor, to the forsaken and the little ones. Do it from the heart; do it out of love; persist in it unto the last. Then you shall come to feel deeply your distress and your need of Jesus, the Savior of sinners; and you shall learn to know his unspeakably great goodness and grace. In this way he becomes precious to the soul. He is the sweet fountain of life, the bottomless well of love; he is the sun in our sky, which drives away the night of death. He is the fullness of glory, the God of all spirits; everything beautiful and noble is but his reflection. In him only does our heart find peace, joy, and salvation. He has demolished my death, extinguished my sorrow, plucked me out of hell, and placed me in his heavenly kingdom, — and has done all this out of pure love; that is his nature. He offered up his life for me in death on the cross; thereby am I become a child of God, and shall live with him alway, and inherit all things. All that I am and have is of him; and yet he rewards me for that which I do in his service. I have deserved nothing whatever with my greatest and best deed; yet will he reward me even for the least. I have the blessed honor of giving him meat and drink and clothing and care; namely, in his needy little ones; and yet I am to receive for this an everlasting reward! What say you? is not this love? is not this life? He that spares his own life, and holds it more dear than Jesus, loses his life. He that will not mortify his flesh; he that will not take his cross, which Jesus gives, and follow after him, and live this life in him, is not worthy of him. So himself says; and so say we also, with all our heart.

O, dear Lord Jesus, teach us to know thee in truth, that we may love thee, and follow after thee. Give us a portion in thee; do thou live in us; and thus let us live, and serve one another in thy love. Amen.*

The captive to release,
The lost to God to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christlike thing.

And we believe thy word,
Though dim our faith may be;
Whate’er we do for thine, O Lord,
We do it unto thee.

[TLH 441, LSB 781 (listen here); or ELH 445 (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.

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.

❦

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.

100. Septuagesima Sunday. I.

Lord Jesus, speak now
thy lesson of life to us all.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 20, 1-16. For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more: and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

❦

The faithful live before God, and do all their work in the Lord. When we do this we labor in his vineyard. Then we in all things seek the honor of the Lord, and strive after promoting the growth of God’s kingdom; namely, by increasing in faith, strengthening the brethren, and bringing the unbelieving to repentance. They only who lead this manner of life, and work for the kingdom of God, are laborers in the Lord’s vineyard. The others stand idle in the marketplace. Many men and women strive and exert themselves to the utmost, but only for the things of this life or in self-righteousness; in spite of all their labor, they stand idle in the marketplace. The Lord goes out to call the laborers into his vineyard. Some hear the call early, in the morning of their life; and so they live in faith from childhood, and practice deeds of love. Others are converted in their youth, others not until later on, and some at about the eleventh hour of their life. It is a great mercy to serve the Lord from the early morning, and to live a life which is rich in true and good works. None is able to do this of himself; the call is of God, and the power to remain faithful is given of God. “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?” — It is not the fault of the Lord that many continue long in sin, and waste their day of grace. They speak a lie when they say that no man has hired them; the Lord wanted to engage them early in the morning, but they would not listen to his call. In spite of this he calls them again when the day is almost done; and if they then accept the call, he gives them a full day’s hire.

If you still stand idle in the marketplace; if you do not as yet labor for the Lord of the church; if you still live your life for the world, and not for Jesus, who lived his whole life for us alone, and who labored for us until he did sweat blood and suffer death on the cross; — then listen to his call today, and come now and labor in his vineyard. If you are young, it is not too early; the Lord was from childhood engaged in the work of the Father. If you are old, it is not too late; the time of grace still endures, — but soon it will have expired.

Besides this invitation to come and labor in the vineyard, our gospel text contains the lesson, that we are to recognize the labor itself and the reward as being pure grace on the part of God. If you begin to harbor the thought that you have by your work made God your debtor, you are no longer fit for life in his blessed fellowship. For love is then lost; and you again come under the curse of the law. No, my dear friend, all is grace; God bestows a glorious gift on you when he permits you to labor much for him. How many, who were not converted until late in life, do not continue to weep, because they wasted so much of their time in vanity, and served Satan in the fair days of their youth! The glorious privilege of devoting the whole strength of your life to the Lord’s service is a more than sufficient reward of your labor. The others, who now receive full grace for all their sin, and full salvation according to the measure of their ability to receive it, you shall regard, not with envy, but rather with sympathy, and above all with thanks to the Lord who is so unspeakably rich in grace. In the kingdom of God his gracious will and his mercy, which govern all things, are supreme; no human merit, no deeds of whatever degree or dignity have any authority.

Lord God, do thou call quickly all who can be called. Preserve all thine from pride, self-righteousness and envy. Give us humble hearts, full of love unto the end. Amen.*

Hark! the voice of Jesus crying,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white, and harvests waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth,
Rich reward he offers thee:
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I; send me, send me”?

[TLH 496, LSB 826, ELH 191; listen here]

---

101. Septuagesima Sunday. II.

Lord Jesus, draw us after thee. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, 1 Corinthians 9, 24-10, 5. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

❦

The gospel lesson for today, on the laborers in the vineyard, contains a solemn warning against falling from grace; or in other words, against falling into the sin of self-righteousness. In like manner this epistle lesson earnestly exhorts us to keep in the right path. It is a great thing to be converted, to come over from the road leading to hell onto that which leads to heaven; but it is, if possible, even greater yet to remain faithful unto the end and never to quit the road until the goal is reached. A glorious, incorruptible crown beckons us at the end of the course; but they, only, receive it who are faithful unto the end. The apostle likens the Christians to men who run in a race. Even as these put forth all their strength and exert themselves to the utmost in order to win the prize, so shall we exert ourselves in order to win eternal life. In like manner as they looked intently forward and had nor ear nor eye for anything but the goal, so shall we with steady longing look upward and use our every faculty and all our time in the endeavor to secure the crown. Our spiritual exercises and all our work on earth shall be done in the Lord and have heaven as their aim. The men who took part in those athletic games mortified their flesh in order to increase their suppleness; and they willingly abstained from sensual pleasures which might unfit them for the contests; — and all this in order to win a wreath that soon withers. Us there awaits an incorruptible crown. Do we abandon all those things which might weaken us for the struggle? Do we freely renounce the lusts of the flesh for Jesus’ sake? Many go out of Egypt; but few, alas, are they who enter Canaan. They are baptized into Christ, but will not follow him; they eat and drink his Holy Supper, but their hearts turn back to the fleshpots of Egypt.

Brethren and sisters; remain faithful to the Lord. Let the work of your salvation be your sacred care. Stand steadfast in the grace of God; push all the time more deeply into the fellowship of Jesus. Watch and pray, and take heed unto yourselves; bow to the will of God when he disciplines you and humbles your pride, and become ever less in your own eyes; then shall you become all the time more rich in the Lord’s work, and receive his glory as your reward.

“When I am faint and on my dangers ponder, Then let me see the crown that beckons yonder, Of which thou gavest me thy promise true; Then shall I gather strength and heart anew.” — Give us, O God, to be faithful unto the end, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.*

From strength to strength go on,
Wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread all the powers of darkness down,
And win the well-fought day.

Still let the Spirit cry,
In all his soldiers, “Come,”
Till Christ the Lord descends from high,
And takes the conqueror home.

[TLH 450, listen here; or ELH 520 (sheet music here), 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.

99. Saturday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

Psalm 74, 1-9. 12. Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary; they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

❦

It always was a cross for the saints of God that there was such a deal of wickedness in the church. They saw the tares among the wheat, and asked: “Wilt thou, then, that we go and gather them up?” But the open infidelity which denies the divinity of Christ has probably at no time been greater and more shameless than it is now. Must it not be said at this time: “Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations?” And must we not now ask: “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? For men who call themselves Christians, and dwell in the midst of the Christian people, mock and scoff with the most reckless impudence at Christ and his person and office in his word and servants; and they break down the most sacred and precious jewels of the church with axes and hammers. O God, why dost thou not take thy right hand out of thy bosom? Hast thou forgotten thy congregation, which thou hast purchased; the rod of thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed? Seest thou not, O Lord, what a fire is kindled in our hearts also; in the hearts of thy poor people, who still cling to thee? See, how the enemy does wickedly against us. Wherefore dost thou not ‘turn thy hand again upon thy little ones’?” — Nevertheless, the complaint of this psalm, also, ends in hope and promise. “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces. The day is thine, the night also is thine. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause; remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.” — Help us, help us; help us to believe that which thy mouth has spoken. Amen.*

O God! how sin’s dread works abound!
Throughout the earth no rest is found,
And wide has falsehood’s spirit spread,
And error boldly rears its head.

Oh, grant that in thy holy word
We here may live and die, dear Lord.
And when our journey endeth here,
Receive us into glory there.

[TLH 292, LSB 585, ELH 511; 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.

98. Friday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

Let thy truth and love, O God,
penetrate our souls. Amen.

Ephesians 4, 11-16. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

❦

In the midst of all confusion do you follow your course straight onward in humility and love, and hold fast that which you heard from the beginning. When one cries: “Lo, here is Christ,” and another cries: No; but Christ is here,” do not go after them, nor follow them. Now, you have, I trust, enough of faith and knowledge of the Son of God to know that in nothing is the devil more active than in founding sects and parties. To rend, to tear asunder, to cut in pieces the body of Christ; surely, this is the devil’s own work. Let us henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro as waves, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Let us now walk as sober men, and labor in truth and love for the Lord, in every way serving one another. Do not retreat by the breadth of a hair from that which you know to be true; but love all the children of God, even if they may not be of one mind with you in all things. Seek to acquire clear and fixed convictions, that you may know what the truth is and cling to it with unswerving loyalty; but though you be never so unyielding, do not violate the law of love, and do not lose your spirit of humility. You shall not seek strife; but neither shall you be a coward and desert your post when you are attacked. “Every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.” (Nehemiah 4, 17). Go your way onward in goodness and active charity; then shall you promote your own growth and edify others. The necessary strength has been given us. The word and Spirit are present with the grace required for the growth of the body of Christ. Labor hopefully, however dark the outlook; in the end all who speak the truth in love shall become one in faith. It is a grand object for which to strive. God, give us this great grace, that we may at all times speak the truth in love. Give us this grace, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Ye servants of the Lord,
Each in his office wait,
Observant of his heavenly word,
And watchful at his gate.

Let all our lamps be bright,
And trim the golden flame;
Gird up your loins, as in his sight,
For awful is his name.

[Common Service Book 377; 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.

97. Thursday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

O God, may we be vessels of gold
and silver in thy house. Amen.

1 Corinthians 5, 9-13. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

❦

When in the pursuance of our vocation it becomes necessary for us to associate with ungodly persons, we must not withdraw from them, although we find their company unpleasant; but neither should we unnecessarily run headlong into the company of wolves. Christians have no spiritual fellowship whatever with the ungodly; their hearts do not belong together, and they shall not cultivate the society of one another. If any man be a drunkard or fornicator, covetous or idolator, reviler or extortioner, and the Christians have brotherhood with such a one, the body of Christ is defiled, the holy name of the church is befouled, and the Lord himself is dishonored. It is a leaven that leavens the whole lump, a foul spot that eats as does a canker. We are not to judge; that is: 1) We do not assume to decide how many there be of the members of the church who are true believers; but in charity we think as well as possible of all, though many of them may exhibit various traits which we do not like. 2) We are to hope that the wicked, also, may repent; and we should remember that in the glory of heaven they may, perhaps, stand nearer than we to the throne. We are not to judge; yet it is our duty to pass judgment on those who give offense in the church by reason of their ungodly life. It is our duty to help the erring and wicked to mend their ways; and this is the very reason why it is our duty to discipline them and exclude them from communion with us at the Lord’s table. We know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and we shall let them know it and feel it, in order that they may repent. — By the help of God we will exercise discipline, both for the purpose of keeping the church pure, and for the purpose of saving the ungodly. Charity demands this. The decay of church discipline, as well as sectarianism and separatism, has its origin in want of true charity. The church, mark you, the church society, the congregation, sins against God and against the souls when it fails to judge them that are within, and to rid itself of the wicked. God give us the Spirit of love, strength and wisdom. Amen.*

How helpless guilty nature lies,
Unconscious of its load!
The heart, unchanged, can never rise
To happiness and God.

O change these wretched hearts of ours,
And give them life divine!
Then shall our passions and our powers,
Almighty Lord, be thine.

[suggested tune: Azmon, TLH 281; 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.

96. Wednesday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

Psalm 12. Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips, and with a double heart, do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things; who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

❦

There is a holy sorrow for the distress of the church. Have you known this sorrow? Paul testifies, his conscience also bearing him witness in the Holy Ghost, that he has great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart because of the blindness of his people; and his heart burns in him at every offense which comes to his notice in the church. This is some of the same fire that melted our Lord Jesus, and caused him to shed tears over Jerusalem. Is there but little distress at the present time, since we know so little of this sorrow? By no means. But the love of many has waxed cold; and we say in the words of our text: “Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth.” Hypocrisy, security, lukewarmness, unbelief; yes, unbelief, unbelief, have gained the ascendency; and even the hearts of the faithful have been contaminated thereby to such a degree that they do not feel the impressiveness of eternity, the weight of God’s wrath, the significance of grace, the importance of the Christian life. Therefore we have in our hearts at the present time but little joy in the Lord, and but little sorrow for the misery of the world and the distress of the church. — But we have the word of the Lord among us; the pure word, as silver refined seven times. Hear this, ye wretched ones, who have been maltreated by the spirit of lies; ye needy, who cry to the Lord; hear his unadulterated word. This revives us, humbles us, gathers us; it creates life in the dead bones. Hear, hear; then shall your soul live.

Thou living God, quicken our hearts; give us the love after which we thirst, that we may know its joy and its sorrow, and that we may spend our years in the exercise of this love. Amen.*

Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide,
For round us falls the eventide;
Nor let thy word, that heavenly light,
For us be ever veiled in night.

In these last days of sore distress
Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness,
That pure we keep — till life is spent —
Thy holy word and sacrament.

Lord Jesus, help, thy Church uphold,
For we are sluggish, thoughtless, cold;
Endow thy word with power and grace,
And spread its truth in every place.

[TLH 292, LSB 585, ELH 511; 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.

95. Tuesday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, have mercy on us,
and let thy word of reproof
be for our salvation.

Revelation 3, 1-6. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard; and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

❦

This is spoken to us; it fits the condition in our churches. How may not the solemnity of this declaration cause the heart to quake: “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” Nothing could be more sad. Of all things life is the best, and death the worst. What could, then, be more terrible than to be called living, and yet to be dead? How impressive a statement this is from the mouth of Jesus: “I have not found thy works perfect before God.” And, again: “If thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief.” But such is the state of affairs with the greater number among us. They are called Christians, that is, anointed; but the living Spirit of God does not dwell in them. On the contrary, the prince of death rules in their hearts. O, ye few, who have not defiled your garments; watch, and keep yourselves pure. Fight for your lives. The enemy of your souls wants to rob you of life; fight, therefore, as a man struggles against a mortal foe. Truly, every day is in these times a struggle for life itself, — the life everlasting. Strengthen one another; for many are weak, and on the point of dropping off to sleep in death. Keep close together around our Lord Jesus. Love one another, and bear with one another; but reprove one another, also, and understand that this is love. Admonish one another, and stand together confessing the same faith. For God’s sake do not let the devil divide the army of the Lord. Brethren, the white garments of victory and our names written in the book of life, these are a prize well worth fighting for.

O God, my heart burns within me from fear of losing the life which thou didst give me. And the brethren, Lord God; let none of them fall back into the sleep of death. Almighty, merciful God, help us. Quicken us, and make us zealous to testify concerning thee, and to praise thy name. Knit us together; unite our hearts in thy love. Amen.*

May the grace of Christ our Savior,
And the Father’s boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit’s favor,
Rest upon us from above.

Thus may we abide in union
With each other and the Lord,
And possess, in sweet communion,
Joys which earth cannot afford.

[Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal 14; listen 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.

94. Monday after Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

Search me, O God,
and know my heart,
and lead me in the way
everlasting. Amen.

Matthew 13, 36-43. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man: The field is the world: the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one: The enemy that sowed them is the devil: the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

❦

Ignatius, a disciple of the apostle John, was about to be thrown to the wild beasts. Shortly before this he writes to a church which he knew and loved: “I am one of God’s grains of corn; I am to be ground by the teeth of the beasts, in order that I may be one of Christ’s pure loaves.” This is one of the few who have encountered death with a faith in which was no admixture of doubt. Who among us is able to boast of the like? And may not God come this very day? Here the rule that the harvest cannot come before the summer does not hold good. The Father has reserved to himself alone the right to fix the time and hour. Neither may we say: “The signs which are to precede this harvest have not yet come to pass.” We often are so blind that we neither see nor understand the signs of the times. Nor may we say: “The world is not yet ripe for the harvest.” Of this none can judge but the Lord of the harvest, who engages and directs the reapers. — Awake, therefore, ere the time comes to separate the grain and the chaff. God will have no noxious weeds. They may take such firm hold that it is beyond the power of man to destroy them; parasitic plants grow so thick that man is helpless to cope with the situation. But the sickle of God cannot be broken. He cuts down princes and paupers as it pleases best himself. Before him all men are as the grass of the field. The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. — It will avail you nothing to dissemble before God. There is a sort of spurious wheat which in outward appearance is much like the genuine. A human reaper may mistake it for good grain, and gather it into his barn. Such counterfeit wheat is found in the field of God, also. Many have a form of godliness. But it is only a Christian cloak; the heart has not been renewed in humility and devotion to Jesus Christ. It is not possible to deceive God. He sees the heart, the corn, the kernel. These spurious ears of wheat, also, shall his reapers bind together in bundles to burn them. Make haste, therefore; become good wheat by the power of God. Be not ashamed to do penance. Make haste! The older one is, the more difficult it is to be renewed and become a child of God. Act on the supposition that the day of judgment shall come tomorrow. Today, then, you should take thought that you may be saved. Should God in his mercy prolong your life, you never will repent having found shelter under his grace; for they, only, enjoy life who adorn it with faith.

Give us, O God, this grace, that we may be true grains of wheat, and be gathered into thy glory. Amen.*

Ne’er think the victory won,
Nor lay thine armor down;
Thine arduous work will not be done
Till thou obtain thy crown.

Fight on my soul, till death
Shall bring thee to thy God:
He’ll take thee, at thy parting breath,
To his divine abode.

[TLH 449; 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.

92. Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. I.

Lord Jesus, give us grace
to hear thy word
and examine ourselves. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 13, 24-30. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

❦

In the visible church here on earth tares and wheat grow together. We need never think to present a pure community of saints before the end of the world. Christ himself says: Let the children of the kingdom and the children of the devil grow together. Herein there are several important lessons for us. 1) It is not ours to judge; the Lord knows his own; he and none other holds the fan in his hand. That the church is to debar from its Holy Communion them that are manifestly wicked is another matter (1 Corinthians, 5). 2) You shall not take offense, though it come to your notice that there are hypocrites and wicked men in the church. You shall not, on this account, secede; else you assist the enemy in rending asunder the church of God. Conquer such temptations to pride by calling to mind your own littleness; and pay attention to the lesson which the Lord teaches in this text: Where there is wheat there always will be tares; it would not be a true wheat field, if the enemy did not care to sow tares in it. 3) Do not rely on your being a Christian in name, or on your fellowship with the faithful; examine yourself earnestly before God, and bring forth good fruit unto the Lord. 4) For the sake of his pious children God spares the world. The great and haughty men of the world in the Christian lands are indebted to the despised saints of God for his long-suffering patience. The believers carry the world and the world’s culture on their shoulders. 5) An eternal separation is coming, and the angels shall make no mistake as to who the saints are. Then the present order of the universe shall of necessity cease to be, and every human society on earth shall be dissolved; for all their roots shall then be torn apart. 6) Then the church of Christ shall be purged of all hypocrites, and shall consist of saints only. — Now, are you prepared for the day of judgment? Have you the earnest of the Spirit that you are of the elect? Do you keep yourself undefiled of the mind and life of the worldly-minded Christians? All who offend and do iniquity shall be cast into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear!

Lord Jesus, protect us from the evil enemy; preserve us from carnal security, from spiritual pride, from coming with undisciplined and unclean hearts to thy communion table; from sects and schisms, and from judging without charity. Keep us watchful and prepared for the judgment, and let us stand before thee with honor on that day. Amen.*

Our Hope and Expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
Arise, thou Sun so longed for,
O’er this benighted sphere!
With hearts and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth’s redemption,
That brings us unto thee.

[TLH 72 (listen here); or LSB 515, ELH 543 (listen here)]

---

93. Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. II.

Lord, give us the Spirit of truth,
love, peace, and joy. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, Colossians 3, 12-17. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

❦

This is a statement of what we should be as good plants in the Lord’s field, his church on earth. Such as here described is his wheat. From within, from the holy life of love, the flower and fruit develop; exhale their fragrance, which is pleasing to the Lord; and are sweet to the taste of men. Than an epistle like this there certainly is no better correction for our vain, separatistic ideas. Let us take this lesson to heart, and practice it with sincere obedience; then shall we surely dwell together in brotherly unity, wash one another’s feet, bear one another’s infirmities, and never repulse one another, saying: “Keep your distance; I am more holy than you.” Look at yourself in these words of the apostle as in a glass. Are you really, yourself, a true grain of wheat? If so, this admonition lays hold of your innermost heart, and awakens in you a living desire to be such a one as the apostle here describes. But you also see that you are as yet a long distance in the rear, and that you are far from following all the way to the end the footsteps of Jesus. O, how grand and beautiful Christianity is, when it is genuine. It is the life; and without there is nothing but death.

God, give us thy Holy Ghost, that he may sanctify us and make the church ready as a pure and perfect bride of the Lord. Thou wilt do this for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Give to our God immortal praise!
Mercy and truth are all his ways.
Wonders of grace to God belong:
Repeat his mercies in your song.

Give to the Lord of lords renown;
The King of kings with glory crown.
His mercies ever shall endure,
When lords and kings are known no more.

[Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal 360; 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.

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.

❦

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.

90. Friday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

Psalm 2. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

❦

“The world suffers and tolerates every kind of false, ungodly doctrine and all manner of idolatrous ways; but it cannot endure the Lord in heaven and his Christ.” (Luther). The kings and rulers of the earth who now take counsel together against the Lord’s anointed are the scholars, the kings in the world of letters and oratory. In their eyes the Christian religion is obsolete. Our age has long ago outgrown the faith of our childhood and the God of the Bible; and above the grave in which they have buried creed and dogma the scholars are now singing their song of triumph, as did the rulers among the Jews after the crucifixion of Christ. Too soon! The counsel of these rulers in the world of intellect is mere vanity. “But this,” says Luther,

was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. For that which is written of Christ is true of all Christians. Every upright Christian shall have his Herod and Pilate, who rage, speak many vain things, and take counsel together against him. Therefore every Christian must arm himself. If these assaults on him are not made now by men and devils and his own conscience, they will be made when he is in the agony of death. Then it will be highly necessary that he apply to his heart the comfort contained in scripture passages such as this: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.” On this hope he must stand fast and let nothing in heaven or hell persuade him to depart from it. — No matter how strong and mighty the enemies may appear to human eyes, their speech is so vain and their counsel so little to be regarded that God does not even deem it worthwhile to oppose them, as would be necessary in a matter of great and serious importance; but he laughs at them and derides them as persons engaged in a little, contemptible foolishness, not worth his notice. But O, how strong a faith is not required by these words! For who believed, when Christ suffered and the Jews triumphed, that God laughed at them? And when we suffer and are oppressed, do we not find it extremely difficult to believe that God laughs at our enemies, and has them in derision? For we, indeed, seem plainly to see and feel that we are derided and oppressed by God and man.

He, however, that sitteth in the heavens speaks judgment to the enemies and salvation to his believers. He “cares for us; and he dwells secure, without all fear. Though we be troubled and tempted, he who keeps watch over us is entirely serene. We are tossed hither and thither; but he is firm and shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But all this takes place in such a secret and hidden manner that you are unable to understand it; you could not, indeed, unless you were in heaven. On earth you must suffer, and no creature can help you. You must not expect comfort in your trials and tribulations, before you have left all else behind and reached him who dwells in heaven. Then you, also, dwell in heaven; though, as yet, only in hope and faith. We must, therefore, in our every need, temptation, trial, and adversity, fix our heart on him who dwells in heaven; then shall the misfortunes, anguish, and distress which we must bear in this world not only rest lightly on us, but become a source of great joy.”

Blessed be thou, Lord, our strong fortress. Give us the grace of the Spirit to believe, and to place our whole cause in thy hands, to serve thee, and to obey thy voice only. Amen.*

Lord, keep us steadfast in thy word;
Curb pope and Turk and all that horde
Who fain would hurl from off thy throne
Christ Jesus, thy beloved Son.

Lord Jesus Christ, thy power make known;
For thou art Lord of lords alone;
Defend thy Christendom, that we
May evermore sing praise to thee.

O Holy Ghost, our comfort, thou
With unity thy church endow,
Support us in our final strife,
And lead us out of death to life.

[Christian Hymns for Church, School, and Home, No. 3; 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.

89. Thursday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

Hebrews 11, 23-27. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season: Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

❦

To the eye of faith the invisible is as real as is the visible world; and infinitely more great and glorious, true and enduring. To be sure, the believer still lives in the visible world, but he lives yet more in the invisible; his heart belongs to the Lord, whom he does not see. In him he trusts, and him he loves with his whole soul. It is in the word that our faith finds and holds fast the Invisible One. They of old time had the promise of a Savior who should come; in this promise they trusted, and waited, and suffered affliction, and despised all things for his sake. Their faith was a power in them which governed their whole life. Look at Moses. He could have become a great man in Egypt, but he dwelt with One who was greater than Pharaoh; he saw greater splendors than those of Egypt. In exchange for the spiritual riches belonging to the people of God in the promise made to them concerning Christ, he was willing to give all temporal greatness, endure hardships, and do the will of God only. — Were the men of old disappointed? Were the parents of Moses put to shame in their faith, do you think? Who had found the rock; Moses, who clung to the Invisible One; or the king of Egypt, who trusted in his own earthly power? Never, at any time, has any man believed in the Lord, and been disappointed; none shall ever be put to shame who holds fast the word of the Lord.

Now, this word proclaims to us salvation in Christ from sin and death, and gives us promise of life eternal. By baptism and faith we have already entered the kingdom of God; “we who believe are come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem and the many thousands of angels.” We are passed from death unto life, and are already with God. But we do not and shall not see it as yet; we walk in faith, not seeing, but believing. We are pressed and worried by sin and the devil; the church is in distress, and the children of the world are in places of authority. We feel anguish and pain, have afflictions of body and soul, suffer persecution and reproach; but we obtain the victory by holding to the invisible and present God and Savior. We cannot, will not, shall not, fail to cling to his word; for he will hold us to it. Let the heaven and earth, then, pass away; the word remains forever.

Faithful God, give us grace to believe, in order that neither any affliction nor pleasure may drag us away from thy word. Keep us in and by this word while life endures; keep us in the word and faith until we die. Amen.*

In the faith, O make me steadfast;
Let not Satan, death or shame,
Of my confidence deprive me;
Lord, my refuge is thy name.
When the flesh inclines to ill,
Let thy Word prove stronger still.

[TLH 226, ELH 438; 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.

88. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, let our soul wait upon thee. Amen.

Matthew 14, 24-33. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

❦

Our Jesus is now up in the mountain praying. He is at the right hand of God, and makes intercession for us with the Father. But he is among us, also, as he has been glorified and is omnipresent. He has said: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” When we are in trouble he knows all about it. While Israel was being vexed in Egypt, it seemed as if he took no thought of the matter; but at the proper time he says: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their crying by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.” For “we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4, 15). Still, we are often besieged with care and tossed with waves in the midst of the sea all night until the fourth, that is the last, watch; and when he comes we do not know him, but are frightened by the manner of his coming. This is the case with the church of God, and with the individual believer. It appears to us as if the word and the church of God must go down. Or you, yourself, are enveloped in such darkness and stormy weather that your eyes are dimmed with weeping, and you do not know the Lord, but are troubled and cry out in fear. — This episode with the disciples on the Sea of Gennesaret is very instructive and edifying. It surely seemed to them that he waited too long; but he came at the right time. They were afraid, but he said: “Be of good cheer; it is I.” Let us hear this. It is our Lord Jesus who is in the storm; it is he who walks on the troubled sea, and does not sink. Remember that the sea represents the great ocean of humanity, through which the ship of the church plows its way. If you do not know him; if his ways seem strange to you, then do you note that he says: “It is I.” — As the disciples had gone out onto the sea in obedience to the Lord’s command, they could not sink; but when Peter chose, of his own accord, to walk on the water, his faith fell short; and yet the Lord stretched forth his helping hand, because Peter cried to him. There is no difficulty in understanding what we are to learn from this. But make the application yourself!

Is not our Jesus in truth the Son of God? Is he not the Lord of glory? His wisdom and power are unsearchable, and likewise his lovingkindness. Neither the church nor you shall sink; but your faith shall increase, and you shall worship him, and joyfully confess: Lord Jesus; of a truth, thou art the Son of God.

Give us to this end the light and grace of thy Holy Spirit. Tell us when we are to go out onto the sea together with them that are thine; never, never alone; and give us courage, and save us, when the tempests blow. Increase our faith, reveal thy glory to us and through us. Rule the world, and bless our people. Amen.*

Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer!
Great Captain, now thine arm make bare;
Fight for us once again!
So shall thy saints and martyrs raise
A mighty chorus to thy praise,
World without end. Amen.

[TLH 263, LSB 666, ELH 375; 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.

87. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

Psalm 46. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder: he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

❦

The waters spoken of in this psalm are the peoples of the earth; and the mountains in the midst of the sea are governments and rulers. There have been many great revolutions in the world; kingdoms have been overthrown, and dynasties destroyed; mighty princes have fallen, and the great sea of humanity has been lashed into foam. Storms yet more severe shall come; and the heathen shall rage, kingdoms be moved, and the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. At last all will unite in making war on the city of the Lord; that is, on the people of God, the Christian church on earth. But God is our reliance and strength; we have no reason to feel fear, no matter what terrors seem to threaten us. God is in the midst of his city; the great, almighty God is with his people; and in his means of grace, the word and sacraments, he gives them comfort, peace, and joy. The human sea is seething and troubled, and all manner of filth is ever rising to the surface. However, the church of God, which dwells among the peoples, enjoys rest and peace by the rivers of water. Out of the throne of God in the midst of the church issues the river of life spoken of in the 47th chapter of Ezekiel. This is the life of grace and love by the Holy Ghost in the means of grace committed to the care of the church. This river shall never be swallowed, nor turned out of its course, nor lose itself in the waters of the world; but shall keep itself pure and fresh, and shall exert its influence in all the earth. — The prospect that presented itself to Israel at the Red sea was far from bright. They had been made sore afraid by the proud and powerful king who had asked: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” But “in the morning watch” God came and delivered them (Exodus, 14, 24). Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem, and said: “What Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” But in the morning his soldiers were all dead corpses (Isaiah 36, 20; 37, 36). — The Lord, the God of hosts is with us. Neither could we be saved by anything or anyone less mighty. For our enemies are principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. We need the very Lord Zebaoth for our protector. And he is, in truth, our mighty fortress. “Therefore distress can be our guest for a night, only; in the morning the Lord sends another, a permanent guest, namely salvation.” That which this grand psalm says concerning God as the help of Israel is valid for all time. “There is but one church of God through all ages.” To this you belong, Christian friend; you dwell in the city of God. Let the concerns of this city be your concerns; then shall you behold the salvation of the Lord, and learn the glorious truth that he is God.*

A mighty fortress is our God,
A trusty shield and weapon;
Our help is he in all our need,
Our stay, whate’er doth happen.
The old malignant foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

With might of ours naught can be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One,
Whom God himself elected.
Ask ye who this may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Zabaoth is his name,
From age to age the same, —
He holds the field forever.

[TLH 262, LSB 656, ELH 250; 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.

86. Monday after Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord of hosts, blessed is the man
that trusteth in thee.
Give us grace to do this. Amen.

Exodus 15, 1-11. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together: the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

❦

Pharaoh and his whole army were buried in the Red Sea, and Israel was delivered from bondage. The Lord had redeemed them, and betrothed himself unto his people. Jehovah is faithfulness. As his name is, so is he in very truth. He had promised the fathers to be the God of Israel; and how more than grand is his fulfillment of this promise! How great a God he is, and how mighty to save! What enemy can make headway against him? But a moment ago the situation of his people seemed absolutely desperate. The enemy was behind and on either side of them, and the sea in front of them. Every way was closed save the one leading upward to God. And, worst of all, their faith was very far from being as strong as it should have been. They cried to God; but it was the cry of despair, rather than of faith. However, they had a leader who believed. Moses said: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” But his soul, also, was filled with sore distress. — Now the situation is changed, and they sing in a way to shake the gates of hell. The sea, which had threatened to swallow them, becomes the means of their deliverance and the grave of their enemies. On the enemy that wished to crush them the Lord has, by the waters of the sea, made manifest his power and the glory of his name. Their faith is strengthened, their hearts are full of gratitude, and songs of joy are on their lips. They have barely started on their way to Canaan, and the journey through the wilderness is before them; yet they already sing as though they had reached their destination: “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed; thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.” Even if they yet must meet their enemies before the land shall have been won, they have no fear; for “fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” (Verses 16-18).

Every obstacle which threatens to impede the onward march of the Lord’s people, the church of God on earth, shall be removed in due time, and they shall find an open way before them; but their enemies shall be overwhelmed. Thus it shall be in the case of the individual Christian also. When you see no way of escape save the one that leads up toward heaven, then it is as it should be. Follow that way; speak to the Lord, as did Moses, whose heart called until God said: “Wherefore criest thou unto me?” Do likewise, and the Lord shall surely save you, even though your faith be weak. You have a better advocate than Moses was. Put your trust in the Lord; this is what he wants to teach you. Then, though it be your lot to go through deep waters, you shall see his all the more glorious salvation. For “all his enemies shall perish; but they that love him shall be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.”*

Lord, thou canst help when earthly armor faileth,
Lord, thou canst save when deadly sin assaileth,
Lord, o’er thy Rock nor death nor hell prevaileth:
Grant us thy peace, Lord!

[TLH 258, ELH 439 (listen here); or LSB 659]

* 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.

84. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. I.

Lord, take us with thee,
and let us abide with thee alway. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 8, 23-27. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

❦

The disciples around the Lord Jesus are the Christian church. It is exposed to storm and danger. The devil, with all his hosts, rages against it; for Jesus is to destroy the kingdom of the devil. By his means of grace, which the church administers and uses, Jesus rescues the souls from the prince of darkness, and lays waste his kingdom; therefore the evil enemy makes turbid the great sea of humanity, and attempts to bury the church under its waves. How badly have not the people of God many a time seemed likely to fare! They were persecuted with fire and sword, and the mighty men of the world had firmly resolved to eradicate “the sect of the Nazarenes” from the face of the earth. The devil invented false doctrines, with which he made people drunk to such an extent that they thought they were serving God when they shed the blood of his saints. For the church of our own times the outlook seems still more threatening; for mighty intellects are conspiring to dig for it a deep and safe grave beneath the riotous masses. Philosophy, the natural sciences, the art of poetry, the press, all are incessantly fanning the flames of unbelief in the hearts of men; and thus the Christian peoples are, in truth, like a sea that is stirred from the bottom up and runs high in waves of atheism, materialism, liberalism, socialism; and it looks as if the church might no longer be able to weather the storms, but must be filled with unbelief, and go to the bottom. However, this is nothing new. In the very earliest days of the church the devil thought to crush it by assaults on the part of learned men, and by the intermixture of strong delusions with the pure word of God. In reality there is, after all, no danger whatever that the church may perish. But there is danger for each individual believer that he may be swept away by the temptation to infidelity. The ship of the church shall always emerge uninjured out of the angry waves, and keep its proper course; for Jesus is on board. Let each of us, however, watch and pray, that he fall not away in time of temptation. Abide with the Lord; O, abide with him! Accept the correction which he administers for the weakness of your faith; hear his word wherein he chastens you, and it shall calm your troubled heart; then shall you be strengthened, and your eye shall behold the glory of God. Make diligent use of the means of grace in the church; then shall you remain with the Lord in the ship. Be assured beyond a doubt that the almighty Lord Jesus shall save the humble and faithful, who willingly let themselves be disciplined for their want of faith, and who cling to him in all their distress; while the sleepy and the conceited and the foolhardy shall surely be swept away by the waves.

Faithful Lord Jesus, preserve us in faith unto the end. Let none of us tempt the deep without thee; and when the danger comes, be thou our refuge and deliverance. “When compassed about with dangers sore, When the waves run high and the tempests roar; Do thou, O Lord, our captain be, And give us faith to trust in thee.”*

I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me!

[TLH 552, LSB 878, ELH 561; listen here]

---

85. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. II.

My God, give me the love of Christ
in my heart. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, Romans 13, 8-10. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

❦

When the world hates, we love all the more; and we return love for hatred. And when the world assaults us, and attempts our overthrow, this shall, by the grace of God, have no other effect than to unite us more closely, and to strengthen the fraternal spirit among us. Love one another. This is the law in the kingdom of Christ. It is our bounden duty to love one another; and the Lord has given us grace to do it. It is a blessed debt. We cheerfully pay it; but, at the same time, we do not wish ever to be rid of it. We strive to fulfill this our obligation, and are happy in being able to do that which is our duty; but we also desire to feel more and more deeply what we owe one another.

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” What a kingly commandment this is; and how rich and precious life would be, if the commandment were obeyed! And in Christ this is possible. When he says to us: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another;” he gives us at the same time power to do what he commands. If we believe his words, they work in us that which he speaks. It is owing to the weakness of our faith that we neither love as warmly as we ought, nor prove our love in deed and truth. You have love in your heart, my Christian friend; use it in faith. You are in Christ; and the living vine is not wanting in sap or in life. The perverseness of your nature, which caused you to hate the law, has by the death of Christ been conquered for you and in you, with the result that you now love the law; and it is quite certain that in Christ you have power to live the life of love. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Go, then, and live your whole life in love; let all that you do be done in love. O, how happy you are! What a blessed thing it is to be with Christ in his church when tempests roar on every hand.

Lord, again we pray thee: Pour out thy love into our hearts by thy Holy Spirit. “Give me, O Lord, this greatest bliss I know, A heart that with thy love doth overflow.” Amen.*

O gentle Dew, from heaven now fall
With power upon the hearts of all,
Thy tenderness instilling;
That heart to heart more closely bound,
Fruitful in kindly deeds be found,
The law of love fulfilling;
No wrath, no strife, then shall grieve thee;
We receive thee:
Where thou livest
Peace and love and joy thou givest.

[TLH 235, LSB 913, ELH 27; 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.

83. Saturday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, convert us; and in thy light
let us see light. Amen.

Matthew 4, 12-17. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee: And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light: and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

❦

The Galileans were despised by the other Jews; but Jesus makes his home among them, and there reveals his glory with preaching and miracles. For the Galileans were more ready than were the others to receive the grace of God. It is a blessed change when a man comes out of darkness into the light, and when the sun of righteousness, Jesus Christ, rises on them which sat in the night of death. If you are unconverted, dear reader, it is dark in your heart. For sin then reigns in you; and sin is darkness. In our land the light is shining; thank God! The sun of righteousness is risen over our people. The gospel is preached; Jesus is here; out of his name proceed knowledge of God, forgiveness of sin, charity, and peace; and it has a ray for each and all of us, like the sun in the sky. However, its purpose is to shine into our heart. What does the light of the sun profit the blind man? He walks in darkness nevertheless. Thus it is in your case also, as long as you continue with unconverted heart in the service of sin. You neither see your unhappy condition, nor do you see the great love and grace of God. Life is here, and you do not know it; the pearl lies before you, and you tread it under foot. The table is laid which satisfies the wants of the soul, and the fountain flows which forever slakes our thirst; you go by, and grope about after the allurements of sensual pleasure, and allow the devil to lead you to the poisoned waters of death. And what a dark brood it is that lives within you! Yet you dream in the sleep of sin. O, that you might give ear to this, which the Spirit of God speaks to you: “Repent; awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Verily, he is here, and preaches to us. This is his voice: “Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And by the power which is in the word it is possible for you to repent and believe. For what purpose has he given us the light, do you think, but that we may see? The sun rises over our hills, in order that we may walk by its light. The kingdom of heaven is come to us, in order that we may repent and believe. If we regard not this time of our visitation, the verdict will be: “Thou, Capernaum, wast exalted to heaven, but thou shalt be thrust down to hell.”

O, dear, tender God; turn thou us, and we shall be turned; save thou us, and we shall be saved. Show us our sin, and reveal to us thy grace. Take away from us all self-righteousness and every manner of dead faith; give us humility in our heart, and a true, living, saving faith in thee. Amen.*

Forever with the Lord!
Amen! so let it be!
Life from the dead is in that word,
And immortality.

Here in the body pent,
Absent from him I roam,
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent
A day’s march nearer home.

[TLH 616, listen here; or ELH 552, 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.

82. Friday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

Blessed are they that dwell in thy house;
they will be still praising thee! Amen

Isaiah 25, 6-9. And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

❦

Could anything more beautiful be said concerning the glory of our Lord Jesus and the salvation of his people than that which the prophet says in this text? “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” The feast shall be prepared for all people. All nations shall be there. The Lord of hosts, our Jesus, does not do anything on a small scale. What a feast, what a meal it will be! There the wine is without dregs, and the fat things are all marrow; there is nothing but pure, unmixed joy and bliss, nothing but love, nothing but God himself, who at this feast is all things in all. For the covering that still is cast over all people is taken away, and we know God face to face; we see him in Christ as he is. Then death is wholly and utterly destroyed forever; it is swallowed up in victory, is gone, has disappeared, even as night with its darkness disappears before the sun. And with death there is an end of sorrow, and crying, and sighing, and wailing. Dishonor and ignominy have been buried out of sight forever. — These things has the Lord promised to his church; the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. We still await the fulfillment in its entirety; but in faith and hope we already possess salvation. Thousands upon thousands of the gentiles sit at the table of God in his church on earth; eat his flesh; drink his blood; live of his life; taste his love; and see him with uncovered face, though still as through a glass, darkly. And who shall number the multitude of those already at home in heaven? But these two, the saints on earth and the saved in heaven, are one people, and stand together in one place, around the same Lord; the only difference being that the saved in heaven see that which we as yet only believe. Who, then, can doubt that the Lord shall do that which he has spoken, and that he shall gather us as one people in the consummation of glory?

Praise be to thee, Lord Jesus! Do thou soon gather into thy church of all peoples as many as can be saved, and as shall furnish thy wedding feast with guests, in order that the glory of the perfect church may come quickly. Amen.*

There is a home of sweet repose,
Where storms assail no more;
The stream of endless pleasure flows
On that celestial shore.

There purity with love appears,
And bliss without alloy;
There they that oft had sown in tears
Shall reap eternal joy.

[Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal 455; 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.

81. Thursday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

Purge me with hyssop,
and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow.

Leviticus 14, 2-8. This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper, then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

❦

The lepers were excluded from communion with the people of Israel, and were regarded exactly as though dead. They were incurable. It was not until the leprosy had covered the whole body, leaving no sound spot to be seen, that the lepers were cleansed and were to be readmitted as members of society and into communion with God. — The two sparrows are to be regarded as one, and represent the leper. The cedar wood signifies incorruption, scarlet is the life­-color, and hyssop represents purification; and the sparrow dies in the man’s stead. The blood is mixed with fresh water in a vessel, and into this the living bird is dipped, together with the cedar and scarlet and hyssop; the man is then sprinkled, and the sparrow let loose. The leper is then regarded as having died and been brought to life again, and is clean.

Sin has made us unclean; nay, even dead. In our sin and unbelief we are separated from God and his people. Not until we acknowledge ourselves as wholly sinful, with no part untouched by disease, can we be cleansed. Christ died in our stead, and lives again; he has united his atoning life and blood with the water of our baptism, and lives alway to make intercession for us. By being sprinkled herewith we are cleansed of the foulness of sin, admitted into a covenant with God, and are of his people. For he stepped into our place when he became man, and died, and rose again, and went home to God; and we become one with him in baptism. The little children who receive baptism are cleansed of the leprosy of sin, and are quickened; for they do not resist the grace of God. But when one who has been baptized reaches years of discretion, he must make the grace of baptism his own in conscious faith; and this faith cannot be born in our heart, unless we recognize the fact that we are altogether sinful and have no righteousness of our own, and unless we have no hope of life and purity save through Jesus. If you are wholly sinful and altogether lost, you will cling to him as your only and perfect Savior; then you are pure in his sight, and you are of his people. Then you shall wash your clothes, and shave off all your hair, and wash yourself in water; that is, you shall put away your sinful life, and prove yourself a new creature in Christ.

Lord, teach us thy way of grace, and lead us in this way. We are covered with leprosy; do thou cleanse us. We are dead; do thou quicken us. We are lost; have mercy on us, and save us. Make us to see our corruption in all its hideousness, and give us healing in thy life and in thy death. Amen.*

Nothing in my hand I bring;
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace,
Foul, I to the Fountain fly:
Wash me, Savior, or I die!

[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.

80. Wednesday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, increase our faith!
Lord, make our faith strong. Amen.

Hebrews 11, 8-12. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

❦

The Lord said unto Abram: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” And Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him. And he came into Canaan, and passed through the land (Genesis 12). Abraham had only the word of God by which to go, and on which to rely. The word led him to go forth. He had not seen the land, nor did he have any geographical knowledge of it. The land had no existence to him save by reason of what the Lord had said; but the word sufficed him. Neither did the land come into his possession while he lived; he dwelt in it as a stranger, and even bought there a burying place. Yet he firmly believed that his seed should inherit the country; and so did Isaac and Jacob also, though not a foot of it became their property while they lived. The word of God was their only pledge; but to them this was a better certificate of ownership than any deed duly witnessed and recorded. And after the earthly Canaan they desired an heavenly country, and expected an everlasting, imperishable city. The faith of Abraham is like that of the centurion in last Sunday’s gospel lesson. Even Sara is praised for her faith, although for a long time it certainly was no stronger than it should be. She tempted Abraham to take Hagar to wife; and she laughed at the promise of God concerning Isaac as at a fairy tale. But herein we may find much of comfort; for we are more like Sara than like Abraham. She was, after all, honest and open to conviction; and faith did obtain victory over unbelief in her heart. I hope that this may be true of you, also. We have the promise of eternal life. Let the heart leave Mesopotamia, and enter Canaan. Tear yourself away from everything on earth. Forsake all that is dear to you, and devote your heart to the life in the Lord, to the eternal treasures of love in Christ, in his church. God himself has told you that you shall inherit everlasting life. He has promised this to you by name, and placed the pledge in your hand, at the time when you were baptized. You are a stranger here on earth; then live as a stranger here, and hold fast the gift of God. Surely, his promise is more to be relied on, than are any and all human bonds and pledges. Of his grace in Christ Jesus it has pleased him to give you life; at the proper time you shall see that it is as he says, and as you, persuaded of his promises, believe. Or how was it? Did not the seed of Abraham inherit the land? Or the children of Abraham in faith, have they not become a great multitude? Lord God, help us to believe, in order that we may not make thee a liar. Thou hast promised us everlasting life as distinctly as thou didst promise the land of Canaan to Abraham. Give us grace to believe, even as thou didst give such grace to Abraham; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Faith in meekness, as is meet,
Sits and learns at Jesus’ feet,
Nestles closely to the Lord,
Happy in the Master’s word;
Cleaves to it, defends it then:
This to faith is Yea, Amen.

Faith is sure, where sight is blind:
While lost sense may nowhere find
Hope, to stay a sinking soul
When the billows o’er it roll,
Faith directs its saving quest
To the cross, and there finds rest.

[suggested tune: Dix, TLH 127; 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.

79. Tuesday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, do not relax thy hold on me;
but make me humble and save me. Amen.

John 4, 15-26. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

❦

The woman said to Jesus: “Sir, give me this water.” This prayer he began to answer by saying to her: “Go, call thy husband.” Knowledge of sin is what she needs. He has spoken to her of the water of eternal life, and has awakened in her a longing after this water; and he has won her confidence, and thus prepared her to hear the penitential sermon which he now preaches to her. For that heart only which truly knows its sin and humbles itself can accept the grace of God. In a few words Jesus shows this woman what her whole life has been; and the picture is so striking that it terrifies her, and she tries to evade it by asking a question concerning the place where men ought to worship. Peter said on one occasion: “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” And David says, in Psalm 39: “O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.” Such feelings as these now filled the heart of this woman. And her situation becomes no better when she asks whether God is to be worshipped on Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem; for now the Lord speaks to her in such manner that she cannot avoid hearing him, and he tells her the truth about her heathen blindness and her soulless worship. She, the obscene Samaritan woman of Sychar, the city of liars, to talk about the worship of God, who is a Spirit, the Spirit of truth and holiness, the God of believing Israel! However, these words of the Lord are also an invitation, and they inspire in the poor woman some hope that she may receive light. She knows, — O blessed knowledge of the Bible! — she knows that Messias is to bring salvation to both Jew and gentile; and now, when the Lord says, “I that speak unto thee am he,” she believes on him; and the light of grace from his countenance shines into the night of her sin, with the result that she confesses him, and leads others to believe in him. Certainly, her light is as yet very feeble, but it is true and living; and therefore she becomes a new creature. Did she continue in her former lascivious life, do you think? — Here we learn that the only way to Christ leads through knowledge of sin. Furthermore we learn that Jesus is near when man knows his sin and in all sincerity makes the confession: “It is true; all these things have I done.” Then is salvation at hand.

Lord, give us in our hearts a true and living knowledge of sin. Reveal thyself to us as the Savior of lost sinners; and draw many souls to thee out of the night of sin, that we may walk together in the light before thee. Amen.*

My lips with shame my sins confess
Against thy law, against thy grace:
Lord, should thy judgment grow severe,
I am condemned, but thou art clear.

Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord,
Whose hope, still hovering round thy word
Would light on some sweet promise there,
Some sure support against despair.

[suggested tune: Windham, TLH 612; 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.

78. Monday after Third Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, thy river is full of water;
we pray thee, give us to drink.

John 4, 6-14. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

❦

Jesus was wearied with his journey. He well understands our weariness. As the omniscient God he knows how we feel, we who are tired in body and soul; but he also knows it as one who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. The woman of Samaria, also, was weary, weary of her worldly and sinful life; but she did not know herself, and did not quite understand what it was that ailed her sick heart. Many, alas, who call themselves Christians, as well as many downright infidels, walk the treadmill of worldliness and sin, and are at bottom heartily tired of it; but they have put the yoke on, and do not see their way clear to shaking it off; and so they give up trying, and sink to a still lower level. From the depths of the soul a sigh for freedom continues to rise up many a time and oft; but it dies aborning, and nothing comes of it. Here it is the business of the church with its word in the service of the Lord to come to the aid of the soul, offer it deliverance, touch the proper heartstrings, wake the soul out of its torpid state, and bring its yearnings out into the light of day. This is what the Lord does in the case of the woman of Samaria. He forgets his bodily thirst in the stronger desire to awaken in her the soul’s thirst after righteousness. Does he not say, with reference to the salvation of the Samaritans, that his meat is to do the will of his Father? He takes the condition of this woman into careful account. This we also should do when we have to deal with the heathen or with heathenish Christians. He asks her to give him to drink; and then he speaks to her these heavenly words concerning the water of life. Words such as these, every syllable of which is a gem of paradise, are not by him regarded as too precious to be spoken to this wretched heathen woman, sullied by foul sins. Then there is awakened in her a sense of the weariness of her soul, weariness with her miserable life in sin, weariness with the emptiness and soullessness of the world; a sense, however, in which there is more of accusation against God and against others than against herself, more of defiance and despondency than of humility and hope. For there is as yet but little depth in her knowledge of sin. Therefore she says to Jesus: “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” But the Spirit of God has begun his good work in her, and he shall perform it.

Lord Jesus, speak to our hearts, also, of thy thirst and of thy water of life; and give us grace so to hear that we may thirst; and give us to drink of this water, that it may be in us a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Amen.*

See, the streams of living waters
Springing from eternal love,
Well supply thy sons and daughters,
And all fear of want remove.
Who can faint while such a river
Ever flows their thirst to assuage?
Grace which, like the Lord, the giver,
Never fails from age to age.

[TLH 469, listen here; or LSB 648, listen here; or ELH 214, 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.

76. Third Sunday after Epiphany. I.

Lord Jesus, let the cleansing
and healing power of thy blood
come upon us. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 8, 1-13. When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

❦

Both these men, the leper and the centurion, had humble hearts. They judged themselves unworthy of all grace and honor; it never occurred to them that they were destined to become great and win undying fame. Though the hand of God is heavy upon him, the leper does not repine; and he is willing to continue to bear his affliction, if it be the Lord’s pleasure. And the centurion; — what a keen sense he has of his own littleness! Yet, moved by his love of the word of God, he had built the synagogue in Capernaum, and had always been diligent in doing good. But this does not make him great in his own eyes. He feels his heathen origin and his sinful condition with deep humility, and he is entirely sincere in declaring himself not worthy that the Lord should come under his roof.

Both these men are also remarkable for their faith. The leper does not doubt that the Lord can make him clean, if he deems best. No human being can cure a leper; but still, this leper feels certain that Jesus is able to do it. He had heard of his power and grace; and the word had found lodgment in his soul, which by means of his affliction had been opened to receive it; and he now firmly believes that the Lord can heal him. And now, the centurion! How must not the Lord himself marvel at the childlike faith of this man! There is beauty in the speech of the leper: “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole.” But still more beautiful are the words of the centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” He has unbounded confidence in the word of Jesus. “For I,” reasons he, “am but a man, a man of little worth; yet even my word has power over my servants. What, then, must the power of thy word be! If thou but sayest to the disease that it shall be gone, and to health that it shall come, they will at once obey thy command.”

Beautiful twins are these: Humility and Faith. Submit willingly, O thou soul, to the Lord’s discipline. Know your poverty; in truth, you are both sinful and diseased, and of no account, but deserve to be thrown out and lost. Admit this truth; confess in your innermost heart that the Lord is right; by his grace you can do this. Then you have in his own word the power to believe. Jesus says to your sin, “be thou wiped out, and cast into the depths of the sea;” and he commands death saying, “be thou annihilated.” And it is as he commands. In like manner he says to you, “live, and be saved;” and it comes to pass. He is Lord of life and death. Even as your servant obeys your order, so must sin and death give way, and life and salvation come at the Lord’s command. Do you not believe this? Is not Jesus able to do this? Surely, you do believe it. Then, though the Lord may not have occasion to marvel at the greatness of your faith, yet he shall not quench the smoking flax. But you shall marvel in all eternity at his lovingkindness to the upright of heart, and at the power of his grace over the weak, as well as the strong, in faith.

Dear Lord Jesus, thou who alone givest all good things; give us humility, and give us faith, that we, also, may experience thy power to save, that we may be sanctified in spirit and soul and body, and live with thee forevermore. Amen.*

For thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without thy grace our life must fade,
And wither like a flower decayed.

To heal the sick stretch out thine hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.

[TLH 63, LSB 344, ELH 106; listen here]

---

77. Third Sunday after Epiphany. II.

O that my ways were directed
to keep thy statutes, my God!

Epistle Lesson, Romans 12, 17-21. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

❦

Christ has saved you, Christian believer, from sin, death, and the devil; has healed and cleansed you; and this should appear in your conduct. By the power of his grace in your heart you shall obtain victory over the evil influences which tempt and entice you from within and without. The strength to do this you have in your God; now make diligent use of it in faith.

If anyone does you wrong, you must by no means repay him in kind. To do evil is the business of the devil and his servants; to you it is given of God to do good toward all men. In the heart of God you have an unfailing well from which to draw. Make generous use of it; enjoy in full measure the goodness of God, and make some return by practicing without stint deeds of kindness to all men. The most covetous miner cannot be as diligent in burrowing for gold as you should be in doing good to all men. No sower has a field so fertile and seed so precious; and your diligence should, therefore, more than equal that of the most tirelessly industrious husbandman in the busy springtime of the year. And now, is it to be so in your case? It is a good resolution, and by the grace of God it should be carried into effect unceasingly. — When justice or the true welfare of your neighbor demands it, you must willingly bear his enmity; you are not to live peaceably with any, if this works harm to him or to others, or if it curtails the honor of God. But in matters of merely personal concern it is neither right nor necessary for you to stir up a quarrel. If you really wish to live peaceably, you will find it possible to do so. Suffer injustice, and remember that, in the end, you will be the gainer by it. If any man who has wronged you be in trouble, come to his assistance. If your neighbor be angry with you, quench the fire that makes him so unhappy; quench this fire from hell by doing good to him out of a good heart. Shall not your love be stronger than his hate? Shall not your gentleness, which is of God, gain the victory over his anger, which is of the devil? To the heathen way of thinking it is a mean and pitiful thing to bear an insult or injury without seeking revenge. But viewed in the proper light, it is pitiful to be the slave of one’s own anger. In Christ we are free and able to forgive our enemy, disarm the wicked, crush anger out of existence, and shame the devil. Let no Christian allow himself to be overcome. Jesus says: “Love your enemies, and bless them that curse you.” Thereby he has done with our anger what he did with the leprosy of the leper and with the palsy of the centurion’s servant. When he has said it, shall it not come true? Have a care, that you make use of the strength which you have in his word, and you shall not be shamed; that which is evil shall not make you evil, but your love shall make the evil men good.

My God, how sweeter than honey is thy instruction, and how great are thy power and grace! Give me a deep and overpowering knowledge of sin, in order that thou mayest melt my soul in love and make me a victor over all wickedness.*

We give thee but thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be:
All that we have is thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from thee.

May we thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as thou blessest us,
To thee our first-fruits give.

[TLH 441, LSB 781 (listen here); or ELH 445 (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.

75. Saturday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

Psalm 143. A psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground: he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me: my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

❦

“Thou art my God, and I am thy servant.” This is the foundation on which the afflicted and lamenting psalmist builds his hope. “I am a sinner, and this is the cause of all my misery; but thou must take pity on me, as thou art wont to take pity on all who are thine. No man is justified in thy sight, yet thou hast ever helped thy servants; this I remember from the experiences in my own life as well as in the lives of others. My enemies treat me with injustice, and they persecute me in order to satisfy their malice. This thou canst not permit, thou my God of righteousness. I have hid myself in thee; save me for thy name’s sake.” Great humility and a strong, trusting faith meet us out of the depths of his soul. — Dear reader; when you are in distress, cry to the Lord in the same manner, and he shall hear you for the sake of his truth and his righteousness. In his day of trouble the Christian says: “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me and help me. Remember that I am thine, thou most gracious God and Savior. I am a wretched, needy sinner, altogether corrupt, incapable of that which is good, deserving of wrath and punishment; and thou couldst with justice cast me out forever. But still thou hast loved me, and bought me with thine own blood, baptized me, called me, and destined me to salvation. I am thine, and all who are mine belong to thee; thou hast taken us into thy house, and thou art our hiding place. But now, O Lord, my soul is like a thirsty land. Do not hide thy face from me; refresh me, and keep me alive for thy name’s sake. Thou hast promised to deliver me, if I call upon thee; hear me for thy truth’s sake, and do not let go thy hold of me. All is well, if I but have thy grace; thou art also my Savior, and I am thy servant.”

It is the nature of the children of God, that the more they suffer, the more do they yearn after the Lord. The others are embittered, or they harden their hearts, or they despair. Where there is no humility there is neither any trust in God, nor is there any heartfelt longing after him. But the lowly in spirit, the true believers, thirst after God all the more by reason of their sufferings.

Stretch out your hands to him; tell him that your soul thirsts after him and cannot let him go. Cling to his gracious promises. He has never thrust anyone away who has done this. All the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.

Lord, give us humility and a childlike trust in thee. Make with the temptation also a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. Give us victory, to the glory of thy name. Amen.*

What our Father does is well:
May the thought within us dwell;
Though nor milk nor honey flow
In our barren Canaan now,
God can save us in our need,
God can bless us, God can feed.

[TLH 571; 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.

74. Friday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

God, thou hast done all things well;
teach us to know thy love. Amen.

Genesis 2, 18. 21-24. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

❦

Here we learn that of his goodness God created man, “male and female created he them,” and ordered that they live together in wedlock. Of his goodness toward us he still continues to lead to each man the woman destined for him; and every man shall receive his wife, and every woman shall receive her husband, as a gift from the Lord. The woman is created to be an helpmeet for man, and the man is to provide for her temporal wants. Each is to promote the temporal and eternal happiness of the other. But it is only through love that this object can be attained. Love unites the hearts and wills of the two, and together they become strong to fight the battle of life and bear the day’s burden. In love they gladly serve each other, each of them happy in the happiness of the other, and both having their troubles in common. Then wedlock is a glorious estate, full of trials of all kinds, but rich in grace also, and having an ennobling, refining, and sanctifying influence on man and woman alike. “Out of the harmony of their natures will then spring a new common will, of which the quiet home, with its duties, its occupations, and its joys, shall be the evidence. But, alas, how this most beautiful relation is being desecrated on every hand! The man and woman have their separate opinions and are at cross purposes after their marriage as well as before it; sometimes one has the upper hand, and sometimes the other; and in their secret hearts both are speculating on the question whether or not the advantages of married life balance the loss of one’s dear personal liberty. At last each becomes the torment of the other, and in the contemplation of the cold necessity which ties them to each other, love’s fire is quenched.” No; self-love never has founded a happy marriage. How could selfishness unite hearts in the Lord? But let the husband and wife be united in the love of God in Christ, and they will become a blessing to each other for time and eternity. Even the frailties which both of them still have shall not prevent this consummation. On the contrary, if they have all things in common, they shall be blessed even through their very infirmities. “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.”

God, give us happy marriages and happy homes in which love is the bond of union; in which love is the fire; in which love is the strength, and the riches, and the life. Amen.*

O blessed house, the joys of which thou sharest,
And never art forgot in scenes of joy;
O blessed house, for whose sad wounds thou carest,
Where all the sick thy healing power employ;
Until at last the day’s work fully ended,
All finally in joyful rapture fly
To that blest house to which thou hast ascended,
Unto the blessed Father’s house on high.

[TLH 626; 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.

73. Thursday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

The way of the righteous is made plain.
Lord, let me be found among them.

John 1, 47-51. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

❦

Nathanael was not only one of those of whom the Bible says that “blessed are they in whose spirit is no guile;” but there was in him a peculiar simplicity of soul, which the Lord cannot give to all, even if they are upright and true Christians, but which is especially precious and pleasing to him. The Nathanael-souls are pearls among God’s people. However, uprightness there must be in all disciples of Jesus. Only the pure eye is bright enough to see God. But this really does see him. Sarai’s maid called the name of the angel of the Lord that spoke to her: “Thou God seest me; for she said: Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” (Genesis 16, 13). The eyes of the Lord were upon Nathanael, and his ears had marked his prayers. “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” Then Nathanael answered and said to him: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” And he saw heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. First God comes to us, then we to him. First he sees us, and descends; then we see him, and ascend. “This ascending and descending of the angels,” says Luther, “is precisely the mystery, that God and man are in one and the same person. It is the great and unspeakable glory of the human race, which none may utter, that, by this wonderful union, God has united the human nature with himself. Hence we are by faith carried up, and become one flesh with Christ. We ascend to him; but, before we can do this, he descends to us through the word and sacraments, instructing and training us in the knowledge of him.” God give us the light of faith, the single eye, which sees things invisible; then shall we see that the hills around us are covered with mighty heroes, more numerous than all our enemies; that the eye of God watches over us night and day, and that soon we shall be in heaven. God give us a simple and childlike heart, and increase our faith. Amen.*

Faith is wisdom from on high,
Hearing ear and seeing eye;
In the soul a higher light
Than the ken of mortal sight;
Lively trust and hope serene,
Evidence of things not seen.

Faith, in childlike trust, is wise:
Trusting him who never lies,
By whose grace the weak grow strong,
Change their sighing into song.
Praise be thine, O Lord of might!
Faith shall end in glorious sight.

[American Lutheran Hymnal 126; 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.

72. Wednesday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

The God of patience and consolation
grant us to be likeminded
according to Christ Jesus. Amen.

James 1, 2-12. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

❦

Afflictions always come to them in whose heart and house Jesus reigns. It is necessary that we be tried in suffering; for by this means, only, can our hearts learn not to put their trust in the things of this world. I have a hundred times read and thought that I must not expect a quiet, easy time on earth; but before I am aware of it, I have again found myself dreaming that when this or that thing is over, or when such or such an object has been reached, then I will have an earthly paradise, and will take my ease and enjoy myself. Yes, precious soul; you certainly shall receive ample riches, complete rest, and unmixed enjoyment; not, however, before you reach heaven. In order that you may attain this end, it is necessary that you suffer here on earth, and learn to rejoice and glory in your tribulations. You could, were you so disposed, cut loose, depart from the Lord, and seek enjoyment in the pleasures of the world. You might, possibly, find some sort of happiness herein for a short time; but then, you do not know what tomorrow may bring forth. For what is your life? It is even a “vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Earthly wealth and splendor wither like the flowers of the grass. Patience is the only road to daily happiness. As a Christian you must needs have trouble and pain, in order that the old Adam may die with his love of fleeting riches and honor, his craving for sensual pleasures, his unclean lusts, and all his variety of idolatrous ways. You must learn to trust in God alone; you will need to believe in him with your whole heart in order to obtain the victory over your terrible enemies, Satan and death. But such a whole heart you neither have nor can receive except through tribulations. For whether we be rich or poor, we are fond of having some of the good things of this world in reserve; whether we be gross sinners or fine and pious folk, we are prone to trust a little in ourselves. Patience, only, produces a perfect work. The Lord gives, and takes away; leads into the fire, and out of it; permits the devil and the flesh and the world to tempt us. The rich must learn to rejoice in that he is made low; and the one of low degree, in that he is exalted. Thus shall the heart belong wholly to the Lord, and he alone shall be the rock of our reliance. He has promised us wisdom; that is, knowledge of his ways and purposes, in order that we may rejoice and thank him for all things; and he has promised to give us at last the crown of life. Blessed is he that has him alone as his God. To this end he helps us by means of our sufferings. Count it, then, all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. The filled waterpots are vessels full of wine.

Dear heavenly Father, give us true wisdom; give us grace to believe in thee with whole hearts; give us patience, that we may honor thee by rendering thanks to thee for our sufferings; and finally, when our trials are done, give us the crown of life. Amen.*

What our Father does is well:
Blessed truth! his children tell!
Though he send, for plenty, want,
Though the harvest store be scant,
Yet we rest upon his love,
Seeking better things above.

[TLH 571; 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.

71. Tuesday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, unite our hearts to thee
in the fellowship of love. Amen.

Ephesians 5, 22-33. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular, so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

❦

Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. He left everything for the sake of his church, and gave to this his whole heart; he forgot his divine glory, the heavenly hosts, and all creation; and he came to us, became a man, and sacrificed himself in death, in order that he might win his bride. In baptism he sets her apart from the world, makes her pure, and adorns her with the mantle of his holiness, the proper and becoming ornament of the bride who is to stand at his side before the face of God the Father; and in the Holy Supper he nourishes her with his body and blood. She is sprung from him, as Eve from Adam; she is of his flesh and bone, and in the union with him she lives and grows. He thus wins her undivided love; he tolerates no rival in her affections, but must have her whole heart. And thus the church is in an indissoluble, everlasting, holy marriage covenant with the Lord. It is his work, and on his part everything necessary has been done; therefore the apostle speaks of the holiness of the church as already perfect.

Of this mystery the Christian marriage between man and woman is not only a symbol; it has its root in the union of Christ and the church. If this were not true, how could the apostle, as he does in our text, treat these two unions as one? The union of the Lord with sanctified mankind is the deep and eternal social idea in which all true forms of human society have their origin; and of these the marriage institution is in every respect the first. — How much of encouragement and admonition is there not in this conception of the nature of the union between the Christian man and woman! With the self-denying and self-sacrificing love of Christ the husband shall live with his wife, and help her to grow in holiness; with the tenderness and gentleness of Christ he shall carry her in his heart; and there he shall keep her, not with unclean desire or mean jealousy, but with that unselfish love which, for the sake of her own happiness, wishes her heart to be his. And the woman shall trustfully and gladly give herself into her husband’s keeping; esteem him highly for Christ’s sake, in spite of his human infirmities; be his faithful helpmeet; and “in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,” let her make of his house a home of peace, the place of all on earth the best, for the husband. It is a great problem, but it will pay well to work it out. Let none lose heart who believes in Christ. You dwell in the same house with him; he is your wedded husband, who nourishes and strengthens you with his life.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank thee for thy great grace. Give us thy Spirit, that we may believe; and quicken and sanctify us in thee. Amen.*

Renew my will from day to day,
Blend it with thine, and take away
All that now makes it hard to say,
Thy will be done!

Then, when on earth I breathe no more
The prayer oft mixed with tears before,
I’ll sing upon a happier shore,
Thy will be done!

[TLH 418; 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.

70. Monday after Second Sunday after Epiphany.

As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.

Genesis 24, 1-7. And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh; and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou, that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

❦

It would be well, if many parents were as solicitous for the welfare of their children as Abraham was for the welfare of Isaac, so that they would do everything possible to secure for them a Christian and happy marriage. But is this the case among us? Many parents show great zeal in helping their children to marry money; but the question whether the daughter-in-law be a pious or wicked woman is one with which they are not concerned. Even such a man as the pious King Jehoshaphat forms an alliance by marriage with the ungodly Ahab, and takes the wicked daughter of this man as a wife for his son. It often seems that even Christian parents are more interested in marrying their child to one that is rich, than to one that fears God. Parents should not force upon their children a marriage that is distasteful to them; but they should possess the full confidence of their sons and daughters; in order that they may place experience, wisdom, and Christian judgment in the balance, and give the young people valuable assistance in making their choice. Parents should pray for their children, as Eliezer prayed when he went forth to do the bidding of Abraham and find a wife for his son Isaac; and they should do like Rebekah’s parents, who said: “Let us call the damsel and enquire of her, if she will go with this man.” Then it cannot fail that the Lord will send his angel, and bring bride and bridegroom together according to his own good will. — A happy marriage between a believer and an unbeliever is possible, and it is also possible that the believing husband or wife may be so fortunate as to win the other for the Lord; but there never can be a complete unity of heart between the two while they go their several ways. And “what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” The scriptures contain no promise that a woman of heathen mind shall be a blessing to the house of an Israelite. The very opposite is true. Christian parents and their sons should remember the daughter of Beeri, and the daughter of Elon, and the daughter of Ahab. They are mentioned in the Bible as a warning to us. (Genesis 26, 34. 35. 2 Chronicles 18, 1; 21, 5. 6). Be assured that God will give to your sons pious wives, and to your daughters god-fearing husbands, if you appeal to him in prayer, and guide them with kindness. “The price of a virtuous woman is far above rubies. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”

God, give our young men and women piety and love in their hearts; bless them with good sense, and make them industrious in their vocations. Preserve us from unhappy marriages, and let the bond of perfection unite man and wife in the palaces of the rich and the cottages of the poor. This is our heartfelt prayer. Hear us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

O blessed house, where man and wife, united
In thy true love, have both one heart and mind;
Where both to thy salvation are invited,
And in thy doctrine both contentment find;
Where both, to thee in truth forever cleaving,
In joy, in grief, make thee their only stay,
And fondly hope in thee to be believing,
Both in the good and in the evil day.

[TLH 626; 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.

68. Second Sunday after Epiphany. I.

Lord Jesus, come to us, and abide with us;
unite our hearts in thee,
and sanctify our homes. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, John 2, 1-11. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

❦

Jesus did his first miracle before the eyes of his disciples on the occasion of a marriage; and it consisted in turning water into wine, and transforming the sadness of the bridal house into gladness. The marriage relation is the root of human society, planted by God at the creation, and holy from the beginning. But it was corrupted by the fall of man, and the devil continues to rage against it; for he knows that when he destroys the marriage institution, he undermines all social order, and makes us like unto Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the purpose of the doctrine of free love, in the preaching of which the evil enemy is now busying himself. — As many as wish to follow the Lord Jesus must heartily hate this invention of the devil, and maintain the sacred integrity of the marriage tie. Why did the Lord choose a wedding for the first manifestation of his glory? Why was his first miracle done to assist this young bridal pair? He is come to drive the devil out of the house, and to create for himself not only individual saints, but a saintly, or holy people. He takes the children into his embrace by means of their baptism; educates the young people by the instruction of the word to fear God; is with them in their wedded life, and makes it a holy estate; and sanctifies their children. In this way the Lord prepares unto himself a bride on earth (Ephesians 5). He watches over the wedded pair with especial solicitude. It is he who brings the bride and bridegroom together. It is in accordance with his decree that they find each other, often in a wonderful way, and directly contrary to all human calculation. Most assuredly there will come many trials of various kinds into the married life of all pious people; they will have temptations and troubles of many sorts; but in the Lord’s own good time this water will be turned into wine. Very thin wine, and a too scanty supply, and only the waterpots filled to the brim; — this is the condition of affairs where Jesus is one of the wedding guests; but in the end this poor cheer becomes the choicest wine. However, Jesus will himself fix the time; and even his mother must submit to his decision. — Let us, then, have Jesus with us in our wedding and in our everyday life. He transforms the water of our sinful wretchedness into the wine of holiness and glory. By the wondrous power of his Spirit he renews and elevates our family and social life, and makes us a happy people that shall sing his praises and be perfected at last as the blessed bride of the Lamb, the bride who shall drink of the new wine with him in his kingdom. — Lord Jesus, teach us to pray thee to be a guest in our weddings; and do thou come to us, and sanctify our home life. Be our guide and ruler, and help us, thou who alone canst help. Amen.*

O blest the house, whate’er befall,
Where Jesus Christ is all in all;
Yea, if he were not dwelling there,
How poor and dark and void it were!

O blest that house where faith ye find,
And all within have set their mind
To trust their God and serve him still,
And do, in all, his holy will.

[TLH 625, LSB 862, ELH 190; listen here]

---

69. Second Sunday after Epiphany. II.

Blessed is the man
whose strength is in thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Epistle Lesson, Romans 12, 6-16. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

❦

What glorious exhortations! May they be followed in our daily life. Let our hearts be full of unfeigned piety; holy abhorrence of that which is evil; genuine delight in that which is good; hearty affection, brotherly love, and true respect for one another; burning zeal in the service of the Lord; joy in hope, patience in tribulation, and perseverance in prayer. Let us distribute to the necessity of the saints, exercise hospitality, bless them which persecute us, rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep, and be joined together in the same mind and judgment. Let these virtues, with humility, modesty, and a holy contempt for the pride and greatness of the world, adorn our walk, fill our houses, and characterize the Christian homes. Jesus is here, and will work this in us, dear friends. Let us have faith in his miraculous power, live in it, and make use of it. Miraculous power is required, no doubt of that; natural piety will fall short. You have yourself and the devil and the whole world against you; you must all the time sail against the stream, and must not give way to self-will, unbelief, sloth, and the wickedness which you see in the world about you. However, the miraculous power of Jesus is here. He says only: “Fill the waterpots with water to the brim, and draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast;” and there is in his words a power which causes the servants to do as they are ordered, though it seems utterly unreasonable; a power which likewise has the effect that the water which they draw is wine. He works in us that which the apostle says that we must do. Command, Lord, what thou wilt; and do thou also work in us that which thou dost command. This is our sincere prayer. Help us to obey the exhortations of thy apostle. We hunger and thirst after this blessing; let us receive it by the mighty power of thy rich grace. Amen.*

O that the Lord would guide my ways,
To keep his statutes still!
O that my God would grant me grace
To know and do his will!

Make me to walk in thy commands;
’Tis a delightful road;
Nor let my head, or heart, or hands,
Offend against my God.

[TLH 416, LSB 707, ELH 441; 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.

67. Saturday after First Sunday after Epiphany.

Teach me, O Lord, the way
of thy statutes;
and I shall keep it
unto the end. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 11, 9. 10; 12, 1. 2. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened; nor the clouds return after the rain.

❦

Young and healthy trees are luxuriant; young and healthy-minded people are happy. It is a disease, and contrary to nature, when young people mope, see everything in dark colors, and feel life a bitter mockery. Can a child, a healthy and unaffected child, go about mourning? Is it not the child’s lot and privilege to be happy? Be they poor or rich, the children are merry and cheerful. This is true, also, of the children of larger growth, the young people, as long as they preserve their childlike disposition. We do not wish our young people to be childish, nor given to levity, nor callous to sorrow, nor unmindful of the serious things of life; but we do wish that, while their understanding is being developed, and they feel the burdens from which not even youth is exempt, they yet may keep intact their childlike disposition, their roseate view, and their cheerful courage. This cannot be, however, unless true piety and fear of God govern in the soul from childhood. Otherwise all manner of wickedness holds sway in the heart; and then, farewell to the child’s buoyancy of spirit and brightness of eye. When the young man walks before his God, and daily renews the covenant of his baptism, not by a mere perfunctory repetition of the formula of renunciation and the creed, but with sincere prayer and true faith; when he flees youthful lusts, but trains himself in self-denial and piety, and follows charity, purity, and an unfeigned faith; when the name of Jesus is the sun that lights his way, and the word of God is his loadstar which he always consults in order to learn how to act and what to do; — then the glad spirit of childhood can be preserved through the time of youth, be shaped into the firmness of manhood, and give happiness even in the gloomy days of old age. This is what the Preacher means in our scripture text. But, alas, how difficult a matter this is, especially in our times. Children ripen too early, and hence the young people become peevish children. Vexations and wickedness fill their hearts; their minds are full of vanity and bitterness and foolish dreams of ambition, and they are a long way from remembering their Creator. What, then, must their old age become! Lord, have mercy on us. Enlighten old and young with thy Holy Spirit, and give us true fear of God in our hearts.*

Father of eternal grace,
Glorify thyself in me!
Meekly beaming in my face,
May the world thine image see.

Happy only in thy love,
Poor, unfriended, or unknown,
Fix my thoughts on things above;
Stay my heart on thee alone.

[suggested tune: Höchster Priester, TLH 507; 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.

66. Friday after First Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord Jesus, give us
thy love and obedience. Amen.

John 4, 30-34. Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

❦

“Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Thus spoke Jesus in the temple, and thereby wrote, as it were, the superscription over his whole life. The words of the Father were his delight; obedience to the Father was his life. In our scripture text for today he says: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” He is so entirely resigned, and even devoted, to the will of his Father for the salvation of sinners, that his body, also, is refreshed and revived when he fulfills this purpose, and souls hereby are rescued from death. Hungry and thirsty he sits at the well of Sychar; but to save the Samaritans with the word of life is his meat and drink. The work which his Father had given him was to be accomplished through the most bitter suffering and the keenest agony of death; yet his Father’s will was his meat. How unspeakably great, how entirely complete is his loving obedience to the Father, and his loving desire to save us! He goes to his death with such willingness, that he says concerning this will of his Father: It is my meat; it refreshes me, and gives me strength.

What a wealth of life there is for us herein! How full and complete is the righteousness in which we stand clothed before the Father; and what a shining example has been given us for our guidance!

Lord Jesus, we thank thee for all that thou hast done; but we feel that our thanks are nothing as compared with thy boundless love. Thou blessed and glorious God; praise be to thee for thy precious name Jesus, and for all the salvation for us which is contained in that name. Give us thy righteousness, and let thy mind be in us. Give us this grace, that thy will may more and more be our meat, our delight, and our strength, so that we willingly, yea gladly, take up the cross and carry it after thee. Amen.*

My God, my Father, while I stray
Far from my home, on life’s rough way,
O teach me from my heart to say,
Thy will be done!

Though dark my path and sad my lot,
Let me be still and murmur not,
Or breathe the prayer divinely taught,
Thy will be done!

[TLH 418; 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.

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.

❦

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.

64. Wednesday after First Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord our God, from thee
have we received our children,
and we return them to thee;
let them be thine
in time and eternity. Amen.

1 Samuel 1, 20. 24-28. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh; and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

❦

Do like Hannah: Grant your children to the Lord as long as they live. He will receive them, and employ them in his service for some good purpose, and he will take them home to heaven. We may certainly hope that the children whom their parents give to the Lord with believing and persistent prayer, shall become blessed and happy men and women. There are countless possibilities before the little child. Many of the grandest men in the world have been nursed in poverty, and the parents never dreamed that the little boy in their humble cottage was destined to become a blessing to thousands. But the men and women who fill our prisons for criminals, and who fill their own hearts with falsehood and the poison of hell; they, also, were at one time little children; Cain and Judas, as well as Noah and Isaac, were the hope of their parents. Still, God creates no one in order to destroy him. There is no inexorable evil fate hanging over any of our children; there is no necessity which compels them to become vessels of wrath. God gives to reprobation only such as give themselves to reprobation and refuse his mercy. It is to such as these that God says: “Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee.” Do you think that any have become the children of perdition whom the parents carried often to the Lord in prayer, and whom they gave into his keeping? Most certainly not. Nevertheless, pray for grace to bring your children as an offering to the Lord, even as Abraham made an offering of Isaac, and as Hannah made an offering of Samuel. Your own heart, also, must be a part of the offering; “every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” To be sure, we often see that the children of godly men go wrong. The sons of Samuel, Absalom, Ahaz, and others had pious fathers, and still became ill-fated men. But is it certain, after all, that their parents prayed sedulously for them? Have not even the saints shown, in many matters of grave importance, that they were far from being perfect? Can the promises of God fail, do you think? Shall a child of prayer perish? Impossible! Whatever the will of God in regard to the worldly estate of your sons and daughters, whether it is to be high or lowly; they shall become a blessing, if you early and unceasingly give them to the Lord, and pray for them, trusting in God’s promises. He gave them to you, and you gave them back to him in their baptism; continue to give them to him in sincere faith and devotion, regard them and treat them as belonging to him. In truth, they are his own. Shall Satan, then, have power over them? Nevermore! Is this not a blessing of blessings? God be praised for his mercy! We and all ours shall be saved. And not this alone, but they shall also serve the Lord here. Help us, O God, to believe, and gladly to give ourselves and our children as offerings to thee, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Tender Shepherd, never leave us
From thy fold to go astray;
By thy look of love directed,
May we walk the narrow way;
Thus direct us, and protect us,
Lest we fall an easy prey.

[TLH 627, listen here; or ELH 367]

* 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.

63. Tuesday after First Sunday after Epiphany.

Lord, let our young people
take heed according to thy word,
that they cleanse their way.

2 Timothy 3, 14-17. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

❦

We do not doubt that the Spirit of God has through the baptism of our children created a new life in them. All life must, however, be nourished, if it is to grow and not die. The word of God is the nourishment of the spiritual life, for the little ones as well as for those of larger growth. Children do not, themselves, know enough to feed their souls with the bread of the word; hence it is the duty of the parents to care for this matter. Eunice had done this with her son Timothy, and thus Paul can write to him: “I greatly desire to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that it dwelleth in thee also.” This is a grand thing to say to a young man. From a child Timothy had known the holy scriptures, which are able to make one wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. — It should be thus in the case of our children and young people, also. Let this be a burning question in our mind and soul. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and grace in this matter, ye Christian fathers and mothers! It is necessary that your own hearts live in the word of God; for only that which comes from the heart makes its way to the heart. You must not trouble your children with the dead letter of the scriptures, but give them the spiritual and sincere milk of the word. Neither must you seek to cast their manner of life in your moulds, nor measure their experience of sin and grace according to your measure, nor overload them with instruction or admonition. The flesh must be brought into subjection, and in this work you must help your children by exercising Christian discipline; but the growth of the new life itself cannot be forced by a surfeit of spiritual nourishment. How prone we are, alas, to step aside from the path in one direction or in the other! Many neglect to teach their children the word of God, and this is directly contrary to the Lord’s command. They shift their duty over on to the schools, and let the home be a place of heathenism. Others surfeit their children with the word of God at all times and seasons, thereby creating aversion instead of love for the word, and closing the young hearts to the Spirit of God. Again I say: Pray earnestly to God for wisdom to give the children proper instruction, in order that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. For Jesus’ sake, do not neglect this! God will surely give you all the grace necessary to the performance of this duty. Read James 1, 5.

Lord, give to us parents the Spirit of wisdom and understanding and the strength of love, that our children may, by the instruction and discipline of thy word, be regenerated, sanctified, and saved. Amen.*

O blessed house, where little children tender
Are laid upon thy heart, with hands of prayer,
Thou friend of children, who wilt freely render
To them more than a mother’s loving care;
Where round thy feet they gather, to thee clinging,
And hear thy loving voice most willingly,
And in their songs, thy hearty praises ringing,
Rejoice in thee, O blessed Lord, in thee.

[TLH 626; 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.

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.

❦

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.

60. First Sunday after Epiphany. I.

Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
and thy glory unto their children.

Gospel Lesson, Luke 2, 42-52. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

❦

Jesus grew up in the same way as do other children. But his heart was pure, and his development was undisturbed by sin. “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” These words, — the first recorded for us from his lips after he was made flesh, and the only ones that we hear of all that he spoke as a child, — are very significant. He was about his heavenly Father’s business; always obedient, and doing his will.

Our children are baptized into Jesus, and they, also, shall by him grow up, and increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. The good Spirit of God, which is given them in their baptism, shall surely accomplish this in them; but we parents are to be the servants of the Lord in furthering this work of grace. Here four things are especially important. 1) Be diligent in prayer for your children. Speak with God about them early and late, from their conception and birth until your death. When they weep, and when they smile; when they are well, and when they are ill; when they sleep, and when they are awake; let your prayers for them ascend with thanksgiving and faith to the Father in heaven; moisten and refresh them with your tears of supplication, and thus place them in the arms of the Savior. Follow them with your intercessions for them to the school, to their confirmation and holy communion, out from the home into the world full of dangers and temptations; let your prayers everywhere encircle them like a chain of mountains. If your child be poor, yet it is rich, if many prayers for it have been lodged with God. This heritage the child could not afford to exchange for all the gold of the multi-millionaire. 2) Begin early to teach your children the word of God. Jesus has said: “Baptize them, and teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Tell your children about Jesus; about his birth, childhood, obedience, love, suffering, death, and resurrection; about the glories of heaven, and the happiness of the blest with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; about the saints of God, and his pleasure in them; about Adam and paradise, Cain and Abel, Joseph and Daniel. Teach them the Ten Commandments, the Articles of the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and other prayers; do not leave this to the school; let the home be the temple of the Lord, and let this instruction in the word of God be the mother’s sacred privilege. Alas, what is to become of the unfortunate children who do not learn the word of God in their homes? 3) Administer correction to your children with good judgment and in love. The Spirit of God will strive against the evil which is in them, and which early comes to the surface; but their new life is like a tender plant needing support, and this you must give it by administering timely correction, and thereby helping them to practice self-denial and obedience. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes,” says the wise Solomon. For willfulness, lying, obstinacy, and similar sins you must punish your child, but never in wrath and bitterness; always calm, loving, suffering with the child, and zealous only against its sins. Do not scold or threaten, or exasperate; be firm, and true to your word; never effeminate and cowardly, never capricious and partial. 4) Set them a good example in holiness. Take care that you, yourself, walk before God as his child; let your children breathe the atmosphere of true piety in their homes. Keep up your faith and courage by the grace of God, in spite of all your infirmities; live in the covenant of your baptism, and renounce the devil, and all his works, and all his ways. God, who loves both you and your children with everlasting love in Christ, shall certainly strengthen you herein. It is a sorry condition of affairs when children are exhorted to that which is good, and punished for doing wrong, and at the same time see that their parents and teachers themselves live in sin. Woe to him that offends one of these little ones!

Practice these four things. Then if a strong and conscious growth of the new life does not appear in your children in their early age, it shall nevertheless not fail to appear later on. You and your house shall be saved. God himself has said it.

Help us hereto, heavenly Father, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

O blest the parents who give heed
Unto their children’s foremost need,
And weary not of care or cost:
To them and heaven shall none be lost.

Blest such a house, it prospers well,
In peace and joy the parents dwell;
And in their children’s lot is shown
How richly God can bless his own.

[TLH 625, LSB 862, ELH 190; listen here]

---

61. First Sunday after Epiphany. II.

We will hear what the Lord
has commanded thee to speak to us.

Epistle Lesson, Romans 12, 1-5. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

❦

Christ has, once for all, brought the sin- and guilt-offering for us, when he sacrificed himself. Shall we, then, not make any sacrifices? Yes, certainly, Christ sacrificed himself; we, also, shall give ourselves as an offering. We shall give God our heart, and present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, unto God. There is no more room for any atonement-offering, but we shall gladly bring to the Lord our thank-offering and our meat-offering. The children of the world give their bodies to the service of sin, and make them instruments of the devil. The believers shall use all their members in the service of Christ, and perform all their work on earth for him. We belong to him, and he employs us in the several vocations in which we are called to labor, as father, mother, child, servant, laborer, teacher, magistrate, etc. It is his will that we use all our faculties in deeds of charity, and employ our tongue in praising God, our hands in helping our neighbor, and our means in promoting the happiness of the poor. The world makes progress in that which is evil, and places an ever increasing distance between itself and God. The serpent in the wicked is nourished by their evil deeds, and grows from day to day; but the saints become more good every day; they reach a better understanding of the ways and the will of God, the humility of their heart increases, Christ takes a more pronounced shape in them, and their whole walk becomes more pleasing to God. The lower a level they reach in their humility, the deeper do they also penetrate into the sacrificial fire of Christ, into God’s holy love; and the more tenderly are they united as members of one body. They understand that they live for the purpose of serving one another, and being sanctified with one another, until the whole church, the most pure, most glorious, most precious body of the Lord Jesus, becomes perfectly holy and pleasing before God.*

Give me a calm, a thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessings of thy grace impart,
And let me live to thee.

Let the sweet hope that thou art mine
My path of life attend;
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey’s end.

[Common Service Book 406; 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.

59. Saturday after Epiphany.

Lord, lay bare to our soul
the glorious mysteries of thy word. Amen.

Romans 10, 4-10. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

❦

Yesterday we impressed on one another that portion of this text which teaches that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Closely connected with this truth is the one which we will particularly consider today; namely this, that Christ, by means of the word, is in the mouth and the heart of the believers. The righteousness which is of the law has its scriptural text: “This do, and thou shalt live.” The righteousness which is of faith has its scripture text also: “Say not, Who shall ascend into heaven, and bring Christ down? or, descend into the deep, and bring him up? The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart.” This passage is taken from Deuteronomy 30, 11-14. Paul here teaches us to find Christ everywhere in the scriptures, even in the passages in which we might least expect to discover him. Truly, this is a wonderful lesson in the proper manner of reading the Old Testament. In the word Christ is nearer to us than tongue can tell. You shall not trouble yourself to ascend and descend, or to go hither and thither, in order to be justified. The law places upon us the burdensome duty of doing the deeds commanded; but here, in the gospel, there is no room for any deeds as a means of obtaining righteousness. Do not attempt the irksome task of bringing Christ up from below, or down from above; he came to us long ago, is risen from the dead, has obtained victory over the kingdom of death, has taken away the curse of the law, has torn down the walls of our prison, and has been glorified, so that his power and his presence have no limit. Such he is in the word, in that word which his church preaches. When you have this word in your mouth and in your heart, then are you righteous; for then Christ, who became man for you, and died and is risen for you, is with you and in you, and every demand of the law has been satisfied. The glorified Savior is in the word; the very Christ, not merely his teaching and spirit and power; himself is in the word, and thereby he is in me, and I in him. I have long enough imagined that I must rise up to heaven on the wings of the spirit and of devotion in order to find him, or bury myself deep in the anguish of hell in order to become worthy of him. My soul flitted hither and thither. I knew the teaching of the gospel concerning justification of grace by faith alone, and my heart hungered after peace with God, but I thought that Christ must reveal himself to me from on high or from the deep; until, at last, the Spirit of God in the word succeeded in teaching me that Christ is there, there in the word. And now I want to say to you, my honest reader: Christ is near to you in the word. Do you not believe the word of God? Do you not credit the testimony of Paul? May the Spirit make this clear to you; else you will grope about in the dark, trying to find him who is with you already, in your mouth and in your heart. — Confess him in word and deed, as far as your knowledge reaches, and call upon his name; then shall affliction, sin, and distress teach you to find him in the word.

Do, dear God, let the scales fall from our eyes. Amen.*

Abiding, steadfast, firm, and sure,
The teachings of the word endure:
Blest he who trusts this steadfast word,
His anchor holds in Christ, the Lord.

We have a sure, prophetic word,
By inspiration of the Lord;
And though assailed on every hand,
Jehovah’s word shall ever stand.

[TLH 290, ELH 234; 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.

58. Friday after Epiphany.

God, teach us to know our nakedness;
and do thou clothe us with
the garment of righteousness. Amen.

Romans 10, 4-10. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

❦

We note two things in this text: 1) “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth;” 2) Christ is in the mouth and the heart of the believers by means of the word. Today we will consider only the first of these points: “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” This means: The law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, has him as its goal; and, then again, Christ has fulfilled the law. Whosoever believes in Christ is justified from the curse of the law, and the love of the law is perfected in him. Paul is exceedingly zealous for the justice of God. There can be no abatement of the law’s demands; there can be no haggling with the holy and just God. Do all that the law demands, all in its full sense inwardly and outwardly; have love in its true intensity, and let it govern your every thought and word and deed; then shall the law justify you; but if you fall short of this, the law condemns you. Whosoever will recognize this, and earnestly strive to do it, shall feel the severe might of the law; he becomes a sinner, and is chastened to Christ. For Christ alone has fulfilled the law. — But he that in this way comes to Christ and believes on him, is regarded of God as being one with Christ; what Christ has done I have done, what Christ has suffered I have suffered; I have kept the law, because Christ has kept it for me; I have atoned for my transgressions, because Christ has suffered death for me. I have really come to the end of the law, and am rid of it and dead from it by the body of Christ; I no more belong to the law, but to him that died for me, and lives for me. The law is not destroyed, but fulfilled. Now it is being fulfilled in me, also; for now I love God and my neighbor with all my heart; and Christ in me shall perfect this love in my heart, until finally, at death, all my evil flesh and blood, which still is under the scourge of the law, shall be utterly destroyed.

The second lesson that is emphasized by our text, and that is equally as precious as is the first, we will by the grace of God consider tomorrow. Let your thoughts dwell on Christ today; and understand, that he is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

O God, give us the open eyes of the Spirit to see the just demands of the law; and give us hearts which feel our sin with sorrow and believe in Jesus Christ, that we may in truth have part in his righteousness. Amen.*

Christ, the life of all the living,
Christ, the death of death our foe,
Who, thyself for us once giving
To the darkest depths of woe,
Patiently didst yield thy breath
But to save my soul from death:
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Blessed Jesus, unto thee.

[TLH 151, LSB 420, ELH 333; 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.

57. Thursday after Epiphany.

Blessed be the Lord God,
the God of Israel;
and let the whole earth
be filled with his glory.

Isaiah 45, 22-25. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come: and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

❦

It is the will of God that all people shall come to him and be saved; and when he wills a thing he wills it earnestly. Our Bible text for today is another of those faith-creating and faith-strengthening passages whereof the scriptures have so many, and wherein the Lord assures us that he will reach the end at which he aims, in spite of all obstacles. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth,” says he; “for I am God, and there is none else.” When the mouth of the Lord has spoken it, shall it not come true? Most certainly, there are many in all parts of the earth who resist his call; many who turn away from him, instead of turning to him, and who are lost, instead of being saved. Whosoever refuses to accept the love of God and be saved shall, of necessity, perish. But this shall not prevent the Lord from gathering unto himself a congregation of the saved from all the ends of the earth. There is none other God than the God of Israel, none other God than this one, whom we see and know in Jesus Christ. Before him every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that in him only is there salvation. And as many as believe in him shall glory in him; for they are justified and quickened in his name, and drawn together into a holy and glorious congregation. In what manner it shall come to pass that every knee of “things under the earth,” that is, of them that are lost, shall bow unto the Lord Jesus, we do not know exactly; neither do we wish to know. God preserve us, dear readers, from ever learning it of our own knowledge and experience! But this we do know that all who are saved shall be saved in Jesus; and we do know that all believers, all true children of Israel, shall be saved, and that every nation shall form a separate branch on the olive tree of Israel. When there shall be one fold and one shepherd, all the blessed shall be knit together into a unity in the Lord, and sin shall divide them no more. And yet every person shall preserve his individuality, and every people its identity; the glorified people of God shall consist in a unity of the multitude of nations (Matthew 28, 19; Revelation 21, 24). Note that the Lord says: “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return.” The object at which our mission work aims is certain and glorious.

Quicken our faith, O God, and make us feel assured that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. Amen.*

O Spirit of the living God
In all thy plenitude of grace,
Where’er the foot of man hath trod,
Descend upon our fallen race.
Give tongues of fire and hearts of love
To preach the reconciling Word;
Give power and unction from above.
Where’er the joyful sound is heard.

[TLH 504; 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.

56. Wednesday after Epiphany.

God hath concluded all in unbelief,
that he might have mercy upon all.
Lord, help us to believe thy word.

Jeremiah 31, 1-4. At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

❦

Surely, the people of Israel is not in its entirety cast away; there are many prophecies which encourage the hope that many Jews shall be converted. Such conversions are always a cause of great rejoicing to the church of God. It is to this people that the Lord has said: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Let us labor zealously for the conversion of pagans and Jews, and let us earnestly pray: “Thy kingdom come.” Then “shall they come with weeping, and with supplications will he lead them; he will cause them to walk by the river of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for he is a father to Israel, and Ephraim is his firstborn. He will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth.” Is it possible that the people of Israel continue to live only that they may be a curse and a sign of wrath? No, the Lord has loved this people with an everlasting love; his bowels are troubled for Ephraim, and he surely shall continue to perform his saving work upon him.

However, these words are true of you and me also, who by baptism and faith have been made members of Israel. Let this truth come home to you today, and do you never forget it. Your God says to you: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Could anything more glorious than this be spoken to you? Your heart must be harder than stone, if this does not cause it to melt. If you would but hear and believe these words of the Lord to you, it could not fail that you would be unspeakably happy in the midst of the troubles and sorrows of this earthly existence. God holds you in his heart from everlasting to everlasting. Pause in your reading for some moments, and let your mind dwell on this: God loves you with an everlasting love. Verily, this is almost beyond belief; but God is such an one; his love for us is greater than we can understand. — “Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee,” says he, and brought thee near to me. This I have, indeed, experienced, and do experience every hour. I would never have come to thee, my God, hadst thou not drawn me. This was lovingkindness on thy part; for I had deserved something entirely different. Now, however, I shall surely be saved. God is my God; his love and mercy govern me, he forgives me my sins, he turns my sorrow into joy, gives me rest and happiness, and places songs of gladness on my lips. His eternal love shall obtain victory, and I am eternally saved.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his holy name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.*

Jesus, my truth, my way,
My sure unerring light,
On thee my feeble soul I stay,
Which thou wilt lead aright.

My wisdom and my guide,
My counselor thou art;
O let me never leave thy side,
Nor from thy paths depart.

[TLH 433; 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.

55. Tuesday after Epiphany.

Verily, God is good to Israel,
even to such as are pure in heart;
Lord, let me be of them.

Isaiah 45, 4-8. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me: I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I the Lord have created it.

❦

This is spoken to Cyrus, whom the Lord called to lead his people home from Babylon. Everything that happens in the world is done by the Lord for the sake of his people; this he teaches us clearly in our text. All kings and nobles, all men of rank and learning, all the rich and great, have by the Lord been given the positions that they hold, and been equipped with all that they have, in order that they may serve his church. He is the Lord, and there is none else. Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar do not know it; Julian and Voltaire refuse to believe it; Alexander and Napoleon regard themselves as lords, and imagine that they can do whatever they like. But all of them are compelled to serve the Babe in the manger, the Man on the cross, the Lord at the right hand of God. Cyrus is also, in his way, a prototype of Christ in making arrangements for the return of God’s people to Canaan. He is also called the anointed of the Lord, for the reason that God made him a mighty ruler, and called him to this work. The counsel of God for the salvation of the world governs the whole history of the world. Christ is the root on which all rests; therefore historic branches, reminding one of him, have been put forth even in the pagan world. — There are not, as the pagans have supposed, two original forces, light and darkness. There is but one God, and all things that come to pass are under his direction. There is, to be sure, a prince of darkness, also called the god of this world, by whom all sin came; but the evil that he does and the mischief that he causes, reach no farther than the Lord permits, and must in the end serve the cause of God’s kingdom. Therefore every Christian shall feel firmly assured that Satan cannot touch us without the permission of God, and that he cannot, through his instruments, accomplish anything but that which God has ordained, as in the case of the Jews who murdered Christ. This is a most important and comforting truth. Hold it fast, and do not let the evil one delude you into the belief that he can do anything to you without permission of your heavenly Father. If you harbor this belief, it is merely a lie by means of which the tempter wants to lure you away from the rock on which you stand. No; Satan is powerless to harm a hair of your head without the permission of the Lord. — That Cyrus is a prototype of Christ is clearly indicated by the closing words of our text: “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.” This is the blessing in Christ; it shall fill all the earth.

The name of the Lord be praised! Give us for that purpose a firm and childlike faith. Amen.*

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord of all!

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
And crown him Lord of all!

[TLH 339, LSB 549, ELH 49; 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.

52. Epiphany (January 6). I.

O, praise the Lord, all ye nations,
praise him, all ye people!
For his merciful kindness
is great toward us;
and the truth of the Lord
endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 2, 1-12. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet; And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem; and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed: and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

❦

The wise men are servants and worshippers of Christ, do his errands, and spread abroad the perfume of his name; while in Herod and the scribes we have his enemies. The true people of Christ’s kingdom look upward, and see what others do not see, their hearts belong to the invisible world, and they follow other laws than those followed by the children of unbelief. Jesus Christ is their king, and their effort is in all things to promote his honor. When they understand that it is his will, they leave home and country, and journey to strange peoples. For him they willingly sacrifice gold and treasure and all that they have. Him they worship, and to him they seek to gather souls from far and near. The countenance of God in Christ, the sun over our earth, has burst upon their sight. The things of eternity and heaven have become real and present to their hearts; and hence they no longer live unto themselves, but unto him, who died for us, and gave himself for us. In other words, they believe without seeing; they follow the star; that is, the light of God in his works; and they follow the word; that is, the holy scriptures. The wise men followed the star, and it led them to that which was written by the prophet. The prophecy pointed to Bethlehem; they accepted its guidance, and the star again attended them on their way to Christ. — The case of Herod and the scribes is entirely different. They have the word; but they see only its letter, and care nothing for Christ as the king of the souls. The world is their all. They live only for that which is of the earth. The eternal and divine things are nothing to them. Therefore they will not give themselves the trouble of going to Bethlehem. Herod reasons in this wise: “Should it prove that there is some truth in what these men say, I will in good time adopt the measures necessary for my own safety.” For this reason he asks the wise men to return to him. — This is the exact position taken by the children of the world among us. They know the word, and most of them do not deny its truth; but Christ, the heavenly and living substance of the word, has no real existence in their hearts. Therefore they do not worship him in truth, do not give themselves to him, do not sacrifice their treasures in his honor. Some of them may support the work of mission societies and the charities of the church, but their heart is not in it; and when it comes to a real test, they prefer to deny their Savior.

However, our gospel lesson also teaches that all must serve the Lord’s cause whether or no, and that he saves his own from the snares of the wicked. The stars of heaven and the highways of earth, astronomy and natural science, the railroads and waterways, the gold and frankincense, Herod and the scribes; all things and all men are made use of by the Lord for the extension of his kingdom. Who was victorious, Herod or Christ? Who accomplished their purpose, the wise men from the east or the scribes of Jerusalem? Thou humble child of Bethlehem, who afterward didst become the despised and crucified Nazarene, and now art the glorified king of heaven; thou sun and magnet of my soul, draw us to thee; make us feel assured of this that thy right hand shall obtain the victory; and show us as much of thy glory as we can bear to see, that we may walk with joy on the paths which thou hast appointed. Draw us, Lord, after thee, make us thy servants, extend thy kingdom, let the forces of the gentiles and the abundance of the sea make haste to come unto thee. Amen.*

As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright:
So, most gracious God may we
Evermore be led to thee.

As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly manger-bed,
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore:
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek thy mercy-seat.

[TLH 127, LSB 397, ELH 168; listen here]

---

53. Epiphany. II.

Lord, speak; and grant that we
give ear to thy voice. Amen.

Isaiah 60, 1-6. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.

❦

Was Isaiah an over-sanguine fanatic, do you think; full of foolish dreams and vain expectations, so that his words are not to be relied on? Not at all. Read his book entire, and you will see that he takes a sober view of the situation, and sees its dark as well as its bright features. He prophesies of punishment as well as of salvation and glory. His speech is not fable; he speaks moved by the Holy Ghost. But this being so, the people of God have great things awaiting them, in spite of the troublous times now at the door. Do let the word of the Lord govern our thought, and decide what we are to expect; — the word of the Lord, and not our own gloomy forebodings. If we have begun to open our eyes, do we not see that the scripture is being fulfilled? Is not the light come, and the glory of the Lord risen upon Israel? And, again: Does not darkness cover the earth, and gross darkness the people? Yes, it is as Isaiah has said. But then the remainder of what he says shall come to pass, also: The gentiles and kings shall come to the light of Israel; the Jews shall return, and the multitude of the gentiles shall be converted and become the Lord’s people. In accord herewith is the royal command of Christ: “I have all power in heaven and in earth; go ye therefore, and make all nations my disciples.” This does not mean that every individual of the heathen shall be saved; but that the light shall travel around the earth, and all nations be saved, so that there shall be a complete human family, including all races and generations of men, on the new earth. You, also, shall see it, my Christian reader. Your hearts, Christian people, shall beat and tremble in joyous astonishment; shall be enlarged, become spacious as the heavens, and hold an everlasting fullness of love and joy. Make yourselves ready; the light, our Lord Jesus Christ, is come to you, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Lord Jesus, anoint our eyes, that we may walk in thy light; give us grace to believe thy word, to hold thy standard aloft, and to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope, firm to the end. Amen.*

O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear thy voice
And in thy fold with us rejoice.

Fill with the radiance of thy grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze,
And all whom in their secret minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.

[TLH 512, LSB 839, ELH 198; 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.

54. Monday after Epiphany.

Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
who walk in the law of the Lord.

Genesis 17, 1-6. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

❦

Out of his love God has chosen Abraham, and made a covenant with him in the faith. This is pure grace. He says: “I am thy God, and thou art my servant. I bless thee; do thou with full confidence give thyself to me. I make my face to shine upon thee; do thou walk before me in this light.” But this is a covenant with us also, if we believe; for it is an everlasting covenant with all the children of Abraham; that is, all who believe unto the end.

It is a covenant with each one of us, a precious and blessed covenant between God and my heart. The almighty God has promised to protect me, and has said that I shall walk before his face; and hereby he effects that I do according to his word. He is my commander, and he orders me to be perfect; that is, thoroughly honest of purpose, with no wish to cater to any sin, or to compound with the flesh. He has given me grace to believe; and hence I trust in him, and love him, and find happiness in walking before his face. The covenant is not one in the spirit of bondage, but in the spirit of the adoption of sons, and in a good conscience.

It is a covenant with all Israel. God promises his church that it shall be extended to embrace all peoples; which promise is implied in the change of the name Abram to the covenant name Abraham. Say to Sarai, who was childless, that she shall become the mother of great multitudes. “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth with singing, and cry aloud, that thou didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the gentiles, and make the desolate places to be inhabited.” (Isaiah 54).

Abraham had been kept waiting until he was 99 years old, and Isaac was given him by a miracle; afterwards he sacrificed him, and was again given him by a new miracle. Herein there is a valuable lesson for us; study it, and let it edify you.

Gracious God, give us faith, and increase our faith. Help us to walk before thee. Confirm us in thy covenant, that against hope we may believe in hope and await the fulfillment of thy promise. Amen.*

When tempests shake the world around,
The rock-built Church secure is found;
The gates of hell may here assail
Whom Christ defends, but not prevail.

To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Be praise: do thou, whom we adore,
Teach us to praise thee evermore.

[ELH 68; sheet music here, 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.

50. Sunday after New Year. I.

Lord, remember thy congregation
which thou hast purchased of old,
which thou hast redeemed to be
the tribe of thine inheritance. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 2, 19-23. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judæa in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

❦

Our Lord became an exile and was despised here on earth. He was persecuted by that instrument of the devil, Herod, and compelled, shortly after his birth, to depart into Egypt; and on his return he was not permitted to grow up in the city of his father David, but had to become the despised Nazarene. In this connection we note three things: 1) This came to pass, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. The people of Israel, who are called the firstborn son of God, were strangers in the land of Egypt, and took possession of Canaan; and this was a prophecy concerning Jesus, as the Lord says: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” The Glorious One was to grow up in despised Galilee, the land of Zebulon and Naphtali (Isaiah 9, 1-7). The Lord was to be a tender plant, a little root, called Nezer in the Hebrew, despised and rejected (Isaiah 11, 1; 53, 2. 3). Herod and Archelaus were obliged to assist in causing these prophecies to be fulfilled. 2) It was a part of the atonement for our sin that the Son of God became not only a poor, but an exiled and utterly despised man on earth. For not only did Adam deserve to be driven out of paradise on account of sin, but all of us have richly deserved to be driven from our country and from all that we have; yet, by the grace of the sojourn of Jesus in a strange land, we now dwell in our own land in peace, and in his church with every blessing, and at home in heaven with eternal bliss. We lost the glory of God, and we had incurred the penalty of everlasting shame. From this Jesus now has delivered us by becoming the despised Nazarene, even to the point of dying the death of a malefactor; and we are now honored with the name of the children of God and the sons of Israel, and we shall inherit the crown of glory­ in heaven. 3) We here learn that our path to glory with Christ leads through contumely, persecution, and tribulation. Let it be our honor that we become like Jesus; let our comfort be that he has preceded us on this path; and let this be our strength, that in this wise are fulfilled on us, also, the holy scriptures.

Help us, Lord God, our heavenly Father, that, saved by the blood of Jesus, we may reach our home in the eternal fatherland. Amen.*

He whom the world could not enclose
Doth in Mary’s arms repose;
He is become an infant small,
Who by his might upholdeth all.
Hallelujah!

He came to earth despised and poor,
Man to pity and restore,
And make us rich in heaven above,
With angels equal, through his love.
Hallelujah!

[TLH 80,  LSB 382, ELH 136; listen here]

---

51. Sunday after New Year. II.

Lord, instruct us;
teach us the path
of true righteousness. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, Romans 3, 19-22. Now we know, that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.

❦

It is your bounden duty to keep the holy law of God; for God created you with ability to do this, and the demands of the law are just. It cannot be altered, and there can be no abatement of any part of its claim. But as soon as you make a serious effort to keep the law, you find that you are not competent to do it. Many do not know that they are transgressors of the law, and do not feel that the law condemns them; they have never seriously tried to keep it. When we honestly obey the commandment without any sort of compromise, its demands begin more and more to touch our hidden springs of action and our innermost self; we did not know how thorough and exacting the law was, until we seriously began to obey it. When we have done everything which we thought that it demanded; when we have lived piously, shunned evil, and done good to God and man, the law still demands much more than this; it demands the whole heart full of pure love, and does not tolerate even one selfish or unclean desire in us. It promptly pronounces us guilty, and we must admit that the verdict is just. It stops our mouth and puts us under the judgment of God as criminals deserving of condemnation. No man is justified before God by the deeds of the law; the law works wrath; it shows us our sin, but does not take it away. The law demands love, demands it by right and with authority; but it can only demand, not give; it can give nothing at all. But the gospel can; it shews forth the grace of God in Christ. He has fulfilled the law in our stead; and God has ordained that all who believe this and trust in Christ shall be partakers of the benefit of his fulfillment of the law and of his suffering. The gospel says: All is finished, and all things are given you. Thus faith is born in the poor heart that has been troubled by the law; and we then take refuge in Jesus, are covered by the mantle of his righteousness, and in him we stand justified before God. And behold, when you thus had been loosed from the bands of the law, you became heartily attached to it, and began to love it as a revelation of the will of your heavenly Father, your most precious rule of conduct; and the demands of the law are fulfilled in you, for now you love both God and your neighbor. But your righteousness is not that of the law, but that which is of faith in Jesus Christ. It is of the utmost importance that you have this experience.

Enlighten us by thy Holy Spirit, O Lord, that we may understand the office of the law, be moved to sincere knowledge of sin, be driven to seek Christ, and truly be justified by faith. Amen.*

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death, was all my own;
All that I am, I owe to thee,
My gracious God, alone.

The evil of my former state
Was mine and only mine;
The good in which I now rejoice
Is thine and only thine.

[TLH 378, listen here; or ELH 451, 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.

49. Epiphany Eve.

Lord God, let thy tender mercy
be known in all the earth,
and let it become mighty
in our hearts. Amen.

Isaiah 12. And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

❦

You that really live in the church of Christ have infinitely great reason to thank the Lord. You were a child of wrath, but are one no more. He surrounds you with nothing but love and grace; goodness and mercy, only, follow you all the days of your life. I am not speaking of what your feelings may say, but of what really is. God himself, the Eternal and Glorious One, is your strength and your life; God, the very fullness of salvation, is your salvation. Can he be moved? Can the rock of your salvation totter? Can the well of your salvation run dry? You may yet have to bear the brunt of many a fight before you shall have achieved your last victory; but the Lord Jehovah is your strength, and, surely, none shall be able to strike him down. Incessantly you shall receive new grace, and new love and new joy; for in this kingdom all things are new; a new and fresh life pours out from the Father and the Son in the Holy Ghost, flows through the whole church and refreshes and nourishes the hearts. With joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation. “Whosoever drinketh of the water of Sychar shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that Jesus giveth shall never thirst; but the water shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.” “But this living water, what is it but the life in God, which is given us in our baptism? What is this water but the life of Christ, which nourishes us in the body and blood of the sacrament of the altar? What is this water but the life of the Holy Ghost, which is given us in the gospel? Yes, this water it is that wells up out of the heart of God the Father, is a flood of glory in all the angels, is the lifebeat of the elect; and on the bosom of this river all who drink of it are carried forward to the boundless sea of the Divine Being, the universal and eternal mother, whence the rivers come, and whither they return.”

Praise the Lord, ye members of his church; declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Let his saving glory shine over all the earth. Is not your Savior set for an ensign to the peoples, that the heathen shall inquire after him? Cry out and shout, inhabitants of Zion; call the heathen by the thousands to come and dwell in the tent of the Lord. Why are you still silent? Is there not room? Is there not abundance of the water of life? Have you been forbidden to invite the peoples, or is your voice too weak, or your strength too little? The Lord, who commands you to make his name known in all the earth, is himself your strength and your song. He has done excellent things for us; let this be declared throughout the whole earth.

Grant thy blessings herein, gracious God; glorify thy name, and give salvation to the heathen for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Put forth thy glorious power,
That Gentiles all may see,
And earth present her store
In converts born to thee:
God, our own God, his church will bless,
And fill the world with righteousness.

To God the only wise,
The one immortal King,
Let hallelujahs rise
From every living thing:
Let all that breathe, on every coast,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

[TLH 642; 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.

48. January 4.

The Lord is my strength and my song;
he also is become my salvation.
Teach me to believe in thee. Amen.

Isaiah 40, 26-31. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.

❦

This is a glorious text, and strikingly appropriate at the beginning of the year. What is to meet us during the course of this year? We know only that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God; — “through much tribulation,” but “into the kingdom of God.” We know that each day shall have its evil, but, also, that “sufficient to the day is the evil thereof;” hence we need not today bear the ills of yesterday or of tomorrow. Lift up your eyes on high, says the Spirit of God through the prophet. Look upward! We have the habit of opening the eye when we look downward, and of closing it when we look upward. Then we see wretchedness in everything, and do we not see that, in truth, there is glory shining over it all. “Who hath created these things?” You know that it was he who is your God, your heavenly Father. Who brings out their host by number, and calls them all by name? Do you think that he will lose any by reason of infirmity or forgetfulness? Does he forget or neglect you? Does he tire of helping and providing for you? Or does his understanding fall short when you are in want of help and guidance? O, we fools; why will we not believe in the Lord, the almighty, everlasting, merciful, faithful God? He has called you by name, and you are his own. How, then, could he forget you? You Christian people, members of his needy, poor, and afflicted church; you are precious to him for Jesus’ sake. Do read the above text once more, and keep it in your heart. “Lift up your eyes on high,” etc.

Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. Amen.*

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen
Sound from his people again:
Gladly for aye we adore him.

[TLH 39, LSB 790, ELH 65; 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.

47. January 3.

Create in us clean hearts, O God,
and knit us together by thy holy love. Amen.

1 Peter 2, 1-6. Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

❦

Peter writes to you who are born again of incorruptible seed by the living word of God. Hear and obey his admonition. What yet remains clinging to you of malice, hypocrisy, and the like, must be laid aside; herein you must employ all diligence and zeal. Else these faults will grow and kill the true life in you. But the strength necessary for your sanctification you receive of our Lord Jesus in and through the word of God. Therefore, as newborn babes hunger after the mother’s breast, and very frequently demand nourishment, even so shall you desire the pure word of God. For himself is in this word, and of his love he feeds you with it; and this is the only means by which the new man in you grows, so that you become stronger and more courageous in the fight against the evil one. Desire this sincere milk of the word, says the apostle; desire it, “if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Here we learn that it is the Lord himself of whom we partake and whom we taste in the word. Should it not, then, be sweet to the taste, and must it not be strong meat? Let your soul absorb it, and when you read and hear it, then keep it; ponder it, take it into your heart, and make it a part of your life and your conversation; then there shall be no lack of sin or sorrow to make the gospel precious to you and enable you to taste that the Lord is gracious. But do not wait another day, nor even another hour; now, this very moment, the Lord is near. Drink of the fountain, and draw your weapon against all the viper brood of which any symptoms remain in you.

The apostle passes over to another figure of speech, which is taken from several passages of the Old Testament. He lived on the scriptures, he was nourished by the sincere milk of the word. Malice disunites the hearts, destroys the true fellowship, and causes death. The love from the heart of God in Christ is a living cement, which binds together the living stones on the everlasting, living foundation stone, the only begotten Son of God. He is the head stone of the corner, and he is the high priest; we are the walls of the building, and also the priests of the house. Hypocrites have no business in this house, and the offerings of unclean hearts are not permitted on its altars. Here must be living stones, an holy priesthood, and sacrifices acceptable to God.

Grant us thy grace, O God, through Jesus Christ. May we belong to the communion of the saints; and do thou sanctify us more and more each day, until we shall appear before thee without blemish, perfected in holiness. Amen.*

Correct, reprove, and comfort me;
As I have need, my Savior be;
And if I would from thee depart,
Then clasp me, Savior, to thy heart.

In fierce temptation’s darkest hour,
Save me from sin and Satan’s power;
Tear every idol from thy throne,
And reign, my Savior, reign alone.

[suggested tune: Rockingham Old, TLH 175b; 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.

46. January 2.

Lord Jesus, lead us
into the sanctuaries of thy word. Amen.

Luke 4, 16-21. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

❦

For us this scripture is, in truth, fulfilled. The Lord is here; the year of grace, the blessed time of the New Testament, is come. Hear the gospel, ye needy sinners; believe it, and rejoice. To be sure, you are miserably poor as to righteousness and holiness; but, in spite of this, you are now rich. In the Old Testament year of jubilee the law obtained, that every man was to have his inheritance returned to him. In the kingdom of Christ we receive anew the honor and glory of God together with sonship in him. You are sick; I understand very well how it is with you. But our Savior knows best what aches and pains there are in our sick heart and our depressed spirits; none understands us as well as he; for he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. We are sick, but he is our physician, who has a remedy for every ill. It is a good thing that we feel our sickness; for only the sick are willing to call the physician. Jesus is the anointed priest and physician of the soul; and do you think, that the Lord God appointed one who was not capable to this office? He is to be relied on as absolutely as is God in heaven; for he is the everlasting God himself. Come to him where he has made an appointment with you, namely in the gospel, that is, in the Word and in the sacraments of baptism and the altar. When he says to you: You, who are baptized into me, have put on my righteousness; you, who eat and drink my body and blood, abide in me and I in you; you are free, and you have power to believe and power to serve me; — then he is near to you, nearer than anything else whatsoever; for what he speaks comes to pass. Therefore, by his grace you actually have power to believe; for he gives sight to the blind. Do you not see that you are a lost sinner, hopelessly in debt, and without ability to pay a farthing? Do you not see that you are unclean, diseased, and entirely covered with leprosy, and sold under sin? You have begun to see this. Who was it opened your eyes? Did you do it yourself? Look, then, and you will also see, that he has paid your debt, which has, therefore, been wiped out. Do you not see, that he dies, the righteous for the unrighteous; and do you not see with what unmistakable clearness this is written by God’s own finger in the gospel? See, also, that he has taken you into his church, which is his hospital for the healing of the sick. Understand, that you are with Jesus, and that you no longer are in the power of the devil; then your eyes do not deceive you; for this is truth, and the Lord has given you light to see it. But, alas, how perverted is our nature! In self-righteousness or in a feeling of proud indifference the sinners that dwell in fancied security despise the gospel; while they that have experienced a spiritual awakening want to be assured of the truth by the evidence of their senses before they believe. God gives us true humility, that we may be affrighted at our unbelief, which resists a truth so clear and a grace so ineffable. Here we are; the year of jubilee is begun; Jesus stands among us; the gospel is being preached; the fount of healing is flowing freely; the fetters are broken; the bandage has been taken from our eyes; — and yet we act as if we were blind! We are free, and yet we do not give thanks, but continue to sigh and complain!

Precious Lord Jesus, thy name be praised forevermore! This song of praise shall not die away; but thou wilt perform that which thou hast begun in us, and we will glorify thee forever. Grant this, we pray, of thy great, great mercy. Amen.*

O Christ, who diedst and yet dost live,
To me impart thy merit;
My pardon seal, my sins forgive,
And cleanse me by thy Spirit.
Beneath thy cross I view the day
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
And thus prepare to meet thee.

[TLH 604; 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.

44. New Year’s Day. I.

In the name of Jesus.
Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion;
and unto thee shall the vow be performed. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Luke 2, 21. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

❦

Praise the Lord: the name Jesus is written in living characters on the gate through which we enter the new year. The name Jesus relieves us of all our sins in the past, so that we can look back with joy and thanks; and the name Jesus gives us courage to face the future with a heart full of hope. — If we believe, we all the time have trials and tribulations; and still we could not have a happier lot. We lived in the Lord during the year now closed; we enter into the name of Jesus, into his saving love, as we now begin the new year. Could anything better have met us at the dawn of our life than Jesus, the Savior, in our holy baptism? Could anything better meet us on the first morning of the year than the name of Jesus with its fullness of life and peace? Or could we wish for a more beautiful sunset, when our evening comes, than to die in the name of Jesus?

The merciful God has given us his Son for our Savior, and has let him take upon himself the curse of the law and all our sin. From the hour of my baptism I am in him, and out of the kingdom of Satan; in life, and out of death. Everything that Jesus became for all the world, by fulfilling all righteousness, is mine. In his name is included the whole grace of God unto salvation; he is the Savior, his name is Jesus; that is, he has atoned for sin, destroyed death, and bruised the devil. This he did by his death and resurrection. He has taken me out of the kingdom of Satan and made me his own by means of my baptism; he keeps me every hour, continually renews his grace to me and in me, lives alway at the right hand of the Father, and makes intercession for me, supports my soul by his gospel, and nourishes me with his body and blood. All this I have in the name Jesus. Himself, who was dead and yet lives for evermore, my King and my God, my Prince of Life and my Salvation, my Brother and my Bridegroom, is the first to meet me today; which means, that, with the beginning of the year, I come into closer communion with him, and that I shall live all the year in his saving, comforting, and blessed fellowship. Everything we have in Jesus; of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. Every concern of the year shall rest on him, my Savior, and all things shall work together for my salvation. I shall have the name of Jesus with me every day and every hour. In his strength I shall live through the year in holiness and patience, honor him and serve the brethren. O, my heart, you will not believe! Is it, then, not true, is it not right, that the name of Jesus is the entrance gate to the new year? Is it a false signboard? Or do you find yourself unable quite to believe it, because it seems too good to be true? Take a good look at the name Jesus, and what do you see? Do you not see, that the name is surrounded with a halo of grace, grace for needy sinners?

Glory be to thee, great God! I understand but little of the depth of grace in thy name. Give me thy Spirit and let him declare thee in my heart. Amen.*

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,
Name all other names above!
Unto which must every knee
Bow in deep humility.

Jesus! Name decreed of old,
To the maiden mother told,
Kneeling in her lowly cell,
By the angel Gabriel.

Jesus! Name of priceless worth
To the fallen sons of earth,
For the promise that it gave,
“Jesus shall his people save.”

[TLH 114, LSB 900, ELH 156; listen here]

---

45. New Year’s Day. II.

Thy name, O Jesus,
is as ointment poured forth!

Epistle Lesson, Galatians 3, 23-29. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

❦

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” “These words of Paul,” says Luther,

we should keep steadily in view, in order that we may defend the proper meaning and use of our holy baptism against the sect of the Anabaptists, who destroy the majesty and glory of baptism and speak blasphemously of this holy sacrament. Beware of such infernal scoffers; this is my earnest advice; it is much better to hear the grand and comforting words of Saint Paul, who calls baptism “the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3, 5). And here he says, that all who are baptized into Christ have put on Christ. It is as though he had said: You have not received baptism as a mere outward sign from which it may be seen that you are to be counted as Christians, — as the heretics have the habit of speaking in regard to this matter, when they make baptism out to be nothing but a livery, or simply a badge which does no good whatever; — for ye, as many of you as are baptized, he says, have put on Christ. That is, you have been released from the prison of the law, and have been born again in your baptism; you are, therefore, no more under the law, but have put on a new garment, which is the righteousness of Christ.

In very truth, then, the believing Christians are the children and heirs of God, as our epistle lesson says: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. “And now,” says Luther again,

let him that has the gift of finest speech and oratory elaborate in his very best manner on this passage concerning the unspeakable grace and glory which we have in Christ Jesus; and let him discuss this matter at length and as it deserves: this truth, namely, that we poor sinners, who by nature are the children of wrath, reach the high honor of becoming, through faith in Christ, the children and heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and lords of heaven and earth; — though, to be sure, no tongue of man or angel can do justice to this glorious truth. I therefore ask each and all to study this matter carefully; it is not in my power to voice it properly, or to understand its full meaning. Here we can only begin to spell our way through it, until we reach the home beyond the sky; then we shall see it, and have everlasting joy in it, and praise God for it, evermore. Grant us this, O God, of thy grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.*

Great God! we sing that mighty hand
By which supported still we stand;
The op’ning year thy mercy shows —
Let mercy crown it to its close.

By day, by night, at home, abroad,
Still we are guarded by our God;
By his incessant bounty fed,
By his unerring counsel led.

[TLH 119; 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.

43. New Year’s Eve.

Psalm 90. A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow: for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

❦

It is a sad thought, that the days of our life fly so fast. How soon, alas, do the flowers of our youth wither and die! The serious feature, however, the heaviest and weariest part of the consideration, is this, that sin is the cause. It would profit us little, at the close of the year, to indulge in melancholy speculations on the flight of time and the rapid revolution of the years; but it shall profit us much to meditate upon our life and to know our sins. Knowledge of sin is the keynote in this touching prayer of Moses. “For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. The strength of the days of our years is labor and sorrow.” Bow, as did Moses, in deepest humility before the Lord, and pray earnestly for mercy. Make up your account at the close of the year, or year will be added to year with unknown and unforgiven sins, and the amount will be appalling at the last; for sometime the day of reckoning will come. — During this year you have again received a thousand benefits from the Lord; all that he did was done with the kindest purpose. But you, how have you been minded toward him? How have you received his manifold mercies, and what manner of life have you led during these many days of grace? Make a clean breast of it! You have, mayhap, walked without God and served sin? Though you be old, you may, possibly, not as yet have experienced true conversion and given your heart to God? Or do you, perhaps, spend your days in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures or the pursuit of fleeting honors and wealth? However, let me assume, that you are a converted and believing soul; — how much more faithfully and diligently than you have done it, might you not have employed your time! Consider, how much better you might have thanked the Lord, and how much more you might have benefited your fellowmen; how much sin you have committed, and how much good you have left undone! Do, then, weigh this with care, and confess it with sorrow; prostrate yourself before the Lord and cry to him for mercy. And, behold, he spreads his hands above you, and forgives you, and blesses you. He takes away your shortcomings in all things, but crowns your work. You carry, then, no debt of sin over from the old into the new year, but only the grace and good will of God in Christ. Blessed be the Lord, who satisfies us early with his mercy; so that we, who have merited everlasting and voiceless sorrow, can sing and be glad all our days. The beauty of our God is upon us, and he shall establish the work of our hands. We close the year as we began it: In the name of Jesus.

Accept our poor offering of praise, most high and blessed God. Thanks for everything which we have received or suffered during the year. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord! Amen.*

For thy mercy and thy grace,
Faithful through another year,
Hear our song of thankfulness,
Father and Redeemer, hear.

In our weakness and distress,
Rock of strength, be thou our stay;
In the pathless wilderness,
Be our true and living way.

[TLH 121; 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.

40. December 30.

Lord Jesus, Word of life, draw us
to thee and to the Father. Amen.

1 John 1, 1-7. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

❦

In this text we again hear John speak of the union of the eternal Word with man in Jesus Christ. He and the other apostles have seen, and their hands handled, that which was from the beginning, namely, the Word, the Life, God’s only begotten Son, God himself. Clearly, it was the human nature of Jesus which they saw with their eyes and felt with their hands; but still he says, that it was God; hence the two natures are one person in Christ. Furthermore, it is the Word, the Life, the only begotten Son of God, whom we hear in the preaching of the apostles; and he it is with whom we are united when we believe and keep the word in our heart. We have fellowship with the apostles and are one body with them; but our fellowship is in Christ, who is the head of the church. His divine life courses through the whole body; the divine life, the divine love itself, the bond of perfection, unites all the saints in the Lord. By their preaching the apostles take us into their embrace and seat us with themselves at the Lord’s supper, and thus they and we have fellowship with the Father and the Son. But God is light; that is, truth and holiness. No one who lives in God can walk in sin and deceit. No one who lives in sin and deceit lives in God. This is not to be understood as meaning, that the children of God here on earth are without sin; but they do not live in sin, do not serve sin. They confess their sin and seek forgiveness, and by grace they advance in holiness, until they shall at last attain to perfect purity. For the blood of Jesus Christ is the blood of the Son of God; and how could this blood fail to cleanse from all sin? It gives us full forgiveness every hour, and it sanctifies us wholly. By its means I shall sometime be entirely without sin, and then I shall see him as he is.

Lord Jesus, thou hast given me, also, room in thy heart, — it thrills my whole being to speak of it; thou hast cleansed me, also, with thy blood and quickened me with thy love; thou hast drawn me, also, even me, out of the darkness into the light of life. I kneel before thy throne and bless and praise thy exalted name. Lord, I am wretched and poor, and I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. I am still sinful and unclean; cleanse me wholly; wash me with thy blood, that I may become perfectly pure. Then will I praise thee with clean lips out of a blissful heart. Amen.*

Thine forever! God of love,
Hear us from thy throne above;
Thine forever may we be,
Here and in eternity.

Thine forever! Lord of life,
Shield us through our earthly strife;
Thou, the Life, the Truth, the Way,
Guide us to the realms of day.

[TLH 338, LSB 687, ELH 515; 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.

41. Sunday after Christmas. I.

Lord, remember us
in our youth and in our old age,
and give us a blessed end. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Luke 2, 33-40. And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she, coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.

❦

“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to shew that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” These words of the Psalmist we see established in our gospel lesson. “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness,” says Solomon (Proverbs 16, 31). Old age brings much infirmity and many ills. In the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes this matter is spoken of metaphorically: “The keepers of the house shall tremble:” that is, the arms and hands; “and the strong men shall bow themselves,” that is, the legs; “the grinders cease because they are few,” the teeth, namely; “and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the streets,” meaning the eyes and ears. So it is with the several members of the body, and so it is with the mental faculties. Everything is being weakened and blunted, until “the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern;” that is, until the vital force is exhausted, and breathing ceases; and “then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” But such old people as Simeon and Anna are happy. The life of Jesus in them does not grow old. Let us be like them, whether our life is to be long or short; and may it shape itself like theirs at last. The Spirit has opened the eyes of Simeon, so that he sees the Savior in this child. The name Anna means grace, and Phanuel means the countenance of God. She remains always in the temple serving God; this is the beginning of the bliss in heaven. The same grace may be ours. Jesus is here and wishes to be known and embraced by our hearts in faith. He saves from all sin and gives the soul peace and joy. “He forgiveth all thine iniquities, and healeth all thy diseases. He redeemeth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies; he satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” You know where you may find him; he is where he has promised to be. None who earnestly seek him there, shall seek him in vain. In the present degenerate age we still know of old men with the words of Simeon in their heart, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation;” and we likewise know of aged women who, until at the very moment of their death, have the jubilant voice of Anna, the daughter of Phanuel.

Lord, Jesus, we thank thee for the life thou gavest us, which never waxes old and dies. Give to young and old the childlike faith of the venerable Simeon and the pious heart of Anna. Grant us, at the last, that we depart in peace and have a blessed end in thee. Amen.*

O draw me, Savior, after thee!
So shall I run and never tire.
With gracious words still comfort me;
Be thou my hope, my sole desire.
Free me from every weight: nor fear
Nor sin can come, if thou art here.

[TLH 349, listen here; or LSB 682; or ELH 372]

---

42. Sunday after Christmas. II.

Let thy mercies come
also unto me, O Lord,
even thy salvation,
according to thy word. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, Galatians 4, 1-7. Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

❦

Here we again learn from the Holy Spirit, through Paul, that the Son of God is born of a woman. Of whom does the Spirit speak but of the babe that was born in Bethlehem, of the man that died on the cross? That which is born of a woman is man. Christ really is very man, and yet the Spirit here says: “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.” Can this be understood otherwise than as meaning, that Christ is God and man in one person? The Son of God is the Son of Mary, the Word was made flesh, the only begotten of the Father became man. — He was made under the law, and he thereafter, of his own free will, declared himself subject to the law; for this reason he was circumcised, and for this reason he was baptized. He obeyed the law and fulfilled it in all things, its deepest spiritual claim and its every commandment, to the very letter. But though he fulfilled the law, yet he let the punishment for its violation fall upon himself in full measure; he placed himself under the condemnation of the law, and he willingly accepted the sentence: Because thou hast transgressed and hast deserved condemnation and death, thou shalt die the death of the accursed. The Son becomes a servant, the Holy One becomes the sinner, in order that we may become sons and stand acquitted before God. The life and blood of his only begotten Son are sacrificed under the judgment of the law on the accursed tree, that we accursed sinners may be free and have sonship in God.

All this has come to pass, and now the Son of God says: Believe in me, and all this is yours. It was not necessary for me to keep the law for my own sake; I am righteous from eternity; I had no sin for which to suffer punishment. I have never transgressed; but all has been done and suffered for you, and you shall believe it; all has been done, you shall not do it, but believe it. The fulness of time is come; everything which was then to be done has been done; you are redeemed from bondage; if you believe, you are a free and blessed child of God. Let the devil, then, no more deceive you with this lying invention of his, that you must satisfy the demands of the law in order to become a child of God. This is nothing less than to deny the perfect work of Christ. Verily, the law has been fulfilled, and you are a child of God when you believe this gospel. Now art thou mine, says our Lord Jesus; “thou art mine, and I am thine; and where I am, there shalt thou be; the enemy shall not part us.” God help us to understand this! And then, behold, how the Spirit of the Son of God in your heart cries, “Abba, Father!” and bears witness with your spirit, that you are a child of God.

Lord Jesus, blessed God and Savior, give us the simplicity of faith and the liberty of grace; give us the glory and bliss of the adoption of sons. Amen.*

Lord Jesus Christ,
My Savior blest,
My hope and my salvation!
I trust in thee,
Deliver me
From misery;
Thy word’s my consolation.

Most heartily
I trust in thee,
Thy mercy fails me never;
Dear Lord, abide;
My helper tried,
Thou Crucified,
From evil keep me ever.

[TLH 353, ELH 258; 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.

39. December 29.

My God, let thy grace sanctify me
wholly and entirely. Amen.

Titus 2, 11-14. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

❦

This is the grace of God that brings salvation, — the saving grace, — that Christ gave himself for us, in order to justify and sanctify and beatify us. This is grace: love for them that are unworthy of it; goodness, directly contrary to what we have deserved. O, that we might learn, that our salvation is wholly of grace; then we would enter fully into the blessed estate of freedom. — This grace brings salvation, for the Son of God has redeemed us from all unrighteousness, and has taken away our sin. He that is baptized unto him and believes in him, or, in other words, accepts this grace, is righteous, holy, and blest. And then the grace that brings salvation reigns in the heart; it constrains us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and causes us to lead a sober, righteous, and godly life. The ungodly turn away from the Lord in carelessness or in slavish fear; worldly-minded men cling to the world and care not for heaven. But he that accepts the grace of God loves God, rejoices in the hope of eternal life, looks forward to the coming again of the Lord; yea, yearns for his glorious appearing, and prepares himself for it in holy living and godliness. The things of this world, its riches and honors and pleasures, are not the desire and aim of the believers; they have something else, something much more grand and beautiful, awaiting them. Concerning this matter the apostle John writes: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

But if you hope for eternal life, of grace, for Jesus’ sake, without denying the worldly lusts, you take his grace in vain; and it is not the Spirit of truth, but the father of lies that is the author of your hope. He deceives so many, because the world wants to be deceived. They want to humor the flesh and be on terms of friendship with sin, until they imagine themselves as being at the gate of heaven when they come to die; then they want to bid farewell to sin, in order that they may enter heaven. However, you cannot enter life in this wise. The grace and salvation in Christ cleanses the heart and makes us zealous of good works. He that is not zealous against sin, and zealous for his own sanctification, has not accepted the grace of God and has no right to indulge in hope. See to it, that you read what our text says.

Preserve us, O God, from the wickedness of continuing in sin in order that grace may abound. Help us to receive thy grace in true faith, that it may cleanse our heart, make us free and sanctify us, and prepare us for bliss in heaven. Amen.*

Anoint me with thy heavenly grace,
Adopt me for thine own,
That I may see thy glorious face,
And worship at thy throne.

Let every thought, and work, and word,
To thee be ever given;
Then life shall be thy service, Lord,
And death the gate of heaven.

[TLH 336, listen here; or ELH 512, 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.

38. December 28.

Lord, let thy grace and truth
shine into our soul. Amen.

John 1, 14-18. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

❦

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; that is, the Son of God became man and lived, like one of us, here on earth. His divine nature assumed the human nature and was united with it in one person, without any commixture or transmutation of the natures. It is the Son of God, the true God, that is born of the Virgin Mary. It is the only begotten Son of God that grows to man’s estate in Nazareth, is baptized in the Jordan, goes about teaching and healing, is hated, and suffers, and dies. “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,” says Paul (Galatians 4, 4); and again: “God has purchased a church with his own blood” (Acts 20, 28). And John declares that the blood of Jesus Christ is the blood of the Son of God (1 John 1, 7). Christ is true God and true man in one person. The Son of God reveals himself in the man Jesus Christ. On this point John says in our text: “We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” To this high and holy doctrine we must cling with unswerving fidelity; for it is the rock of our salvation. Thank God, this truth is too firmly grounded ever to be overthrown by the attacks of the devil and of false prophets!

Because of the fact that Jesus is God and man in one person, he owns all the fulness of grace. Consider this: The eternal God has made himself subject to the law and has fulfilled it for us. Consider, that the very God died as a man. What a stupendous consideration this is! What are your sins as compared with the greatness of his merit? What becomes of a spark of fire thrown into the ocean? — Here is a sufficiency of grace for all; here all men might receive healing and salvation. Here is forgiveness for all your trespasses, and here is all the life needed by your poor heart, now dead in sin. Come, then, every sinner that is needy and athirst; receive of his fulness grace for grace. But do not ask to see these things. Believe the testimony of John and the apostles! You believe the words of the law, and it confirms itself in your conscience; you believe Moses, though you have not seen him. Should you not, then, believe the gospel? Should you not believe Jesus, by whom grace and truth came? Note what the text says: “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” This by no means implies that the law is not truth. But the gospel, which declares that we lost sinners are saved by the grace of Jesus, is the truth that eclipses all other truths. Will you not believe the truth? Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. The truth, then, confirms itself in your conscience; you have the witness in yourself that God is true; and then you have learned to know God.

Merciful God, give us thy Holy Spirit, which thou hast promised to them that ask thee. Amen.*

Faith feels the Spirit’s kindly breath
In love and hope that conquer death;
Faith worketh joyfulness in God,
And trust that blesses e’en the rod.

We thank thee then, O God of heaven,
That thou to us this faith hast given;
Preserve to us thy Spirit’s grace
Till we shall see thee face to face.

[ELH 361; 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.

37. Third Christmas Day.

Lord Jesus, thou eternal Word;
speak to us, that we may believe in thee. Amen.

John 1, 1-13. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

❦

Jesus Christ is the Life and the Light; he is God from the beginning. All others are but witnesses concerning him; while he is the life itself that quickens the dead; and he is the light that shines in all things having true brilliancy. He is before all things, and he needs no creature in order to be blest; he is himself the untold fullness of life that gives life and light to the whole creation. His glory radiates from the stars of heaven, from the flowers of the field, from the human soul with its admirable faculties, from the circle of angels and the sea of glass before the throne. His vital force throbs in the myriads of crawling creatures under our feet, in the countless fowls of the air and fishes of the sea, and in every living thing. But in a special sense and degree he gives his life and light to the human heart. He, himself, comes to them and abides in them. Though not in visible form, he was in the world from the beginning as the Angel of the Lord, the Prince of the hosts of Israel, the Spirit of the prophets, and the Soul of God’s people. He came to the world and became a man and revealed himself to his own people, but they would not know him; some few, only, received him with believing hearts. So it is now, also. He stands in our midst, and most of us reject him. But as many as believe, are by him made the children of God, made partakers of the divine nature, filed with light to know the Father and the Son in the unity of the Holy Ghost, filled with the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; he abides in them and they in him. The human heart was made for receiving life and light willingly. It is formed with the faculty of loving; but he is love and the proper object of our love, and his Spirit alone can teach us to love. Out of love for us he became a man; in love for us he lived, and died, and lives for evermore. He revealed this love to us, in order that we might accept it. Indeed, it was not possible for him to reveal himself otherwise than in love; for he is love. God is love; what else, then, can life and light be? Do you, dear reader, believe in the Son of God? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the true, eternal God? If you do, you have known this love; you have been born of God, and “child of God” is your name. By this name you are known in heaven. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name. Note this: To believe in his name is the one important thing, on which all depends. As many as believe, have thereby received him, are born again, and are in truth the children of God. This is a work of God; of the grace, the life, the light, which he gives. Let none say: “He would not come to me!” He has come to you already; but you would not receive him, because you loved sin. Do accept him; God will work this in you; then you are a child of God, and your heart the dwelling-place of life.

Lord, give us the grace of the Spirit to believe with a true and living faith of the heart. Create this faith in us, and preserve it, and increase it unto the end. Amen.*

O Jesus, Lord of heavenly grace,
Thou brightness of thy Father’s face,
Thou fountain of eternal light,
Whose beams disperse the shades of night!

Come, holy Sun of heavenly love,
Send down thy radiance from above,
And to our inmost hearts convey
The Holy Spirit’s cloudless ray.

[ELH 487; sheet music here, 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.

31. Friday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.

Lord, let thy word
enlighten us and lead us
on the right path.

Matthew 1, 20-23. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

❦

In holy modesty and sincere humility Mary had hid from Joseph the announcement which had been made to her by the angel. Therefore, when Joseph became aware of her condition, he naturally thought that she had been unfaithful to him. The saints of God have many gloomy thoughts. Now he might, according to the law, have dragged her before a public court of justice and put her to shame. But he could also give her a bill of divorce, as one who no longer found favor in his eyes; then it would appear as if she were innocent and he faithless. And the piety of Joseph is so great, that he is willing to be regarded as the criminal, though he is innocent, rather than bring disgrace on her, whom he must believe to be guilty. But the Lord solves all difficulties for his own. Joseph is informed of the blessed mystery, and he hears from the mouth of the angel that name which is above every name.

Joseph is called “a just man;” that is, a godly, believing, good and pious Israelite; it was necessary and proper that this should be the character of the man who was to become the foster-father of Jesus. However, he is only his foster-father. Our Bible lesson for today shows us again most plainly that Jesus is the Son of God: “That which is conceived in Mary is of the Holy Ghost;” she is espoused to Joseph, but is still a “virgin;” the son whom she shall bring forth is “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” What beautiful concord is there not among the evangelists on this point, that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary! What an exact agreement between the prophets of the Old and the evangelists of the New Testament on this point! If Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God, true God and true man, then there is not a word of truth in the Bible; for this is the central doctrine in all the scriptures, the one in which everything from Genesis to Revelation has its root. In the Old Testament this heavenly truth becomes more and more clear, while in the New it beams like the resplendent sun that floods everything with light. The creed of the church is most firmly established in God’s own word; the deeper I penetrate into the scriptures, the more thoroughly am I convinced of the truth of our creed. I there find myself in a sanctuary in which Jesus Christ, the eternal God and precious Savior, fills everything with his glory and his grace. God help us to be right-minded and just, as Joseph was, and obedient to the truth, however much it may conflict with our own will and our way of thinking. Then shall we experience, with Joseph, that a righteous man is not shamed, but learns to solve the enigmas and is taught the mystery of godliness. For the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. This is, indeed, Christmas joy.

Lord our God, give us this grace by the Holy Ghost for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.*

Come, thou Savior of our race,
Choicest gift of heavenly grace!
O thou blessed Virgin’s Son,
Be thy race on earth begun.

Not of mortal blood or birth,
He descends from heaven to earth:
By the Holy Ghost conceived,
Truly man to be believed.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child!
Of the Virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in heaven enthroned.

[TLH 95, LSB 332, ELH 90; 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.

35. Second Christmas Day. I.

Lord Jesus, gather us by thy word
under the wings of thy grace. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 23, 34-39. Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them, which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

❦

We have been most profoundly corrupted by sin. The enmity toward God, the wickedness from the kingdom of darkness, which came into the world by the malice of the devil, has a terrible power and may, on occasion, develop appalling size and strength in the human heart. And this is especially true of those who have felt the call of God, but have hardened their heart against it. In these the devil has sevenfold power. This is true of the individual and of the people. One illustration of this is furnished by the Jews, and another by the apostate Christians. The Savior stands in the midst of them; but they are enraged, and crucify him. — Did not the Lord know this, before he came to us on earth? Certainly he did; it is even declared in advance by the prophets. But his love is greater than all the might and power of hell; he was determined to come and offer his saving grace to all men. After all, Jesus loves more than the devil hates; the malice of Satan is great, but the love of the Lord is greater. The fire of life in him burns a thousand times more fiercely than do the fires of hell. Man is so precious and dear to him, that he wanted to come to the world, become a man, and die for us, although he knew how many there were who would disdain his love. — That this divine power of grace does not conquer every human heart, is a dark and deep mystery which we are unable to fathom; but this mystery, also, shall some day have a glorious solution. What pity it is that Jerusalem will not let herself be gathered by the Lord Jesus under the wings of his grace! Jerusalem, Jerusalem; there is, then, no hope for you! He that rejects the Lord Jesus rejects himself; for there is not salvation in any other. But all who believe on him shall learn that he is great and rich; they shall receive of his Spirit and be allowed to taste his love; yes, even in the communion of his sufferings, they shall have a better happiness than the highest rapture experienced by any child of this world. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” He shall destroy everything in you that has its root in the kingdom of darkness.

Our gospel lesson for today testifies with mighty voice to the power of sin and the devil in the world; but the voice rings still more strong in testifying to the unspeakable love and mercy of God in Christ.

We thank thee, Lord Jesus, that thou didst come to us and save us out of our deep fall, that thou didst enter into our misery and dost draw us after thee through sorrow and death to glory. Eternal thanks and praise for thy loving kindness, which prevails over everything that is evil in us. Enlighten us more and more to believe in thee, to know thy ways, to love and serve thee, in order that we willingly may suffer with thee and never tire in the exercises of charity and in bearing witness concerning thee in the teeth of resistance and hate on the part of all the world. Precious Lord Jesus, who didst mourn because of the blindness and the unhappiness of thy people; may we grieve thy Spirit nevermore. Thou seest how sorrowful we also are; but, alas, how much of the sorrow of the world is there not yet in us, and how little of the pangs of thy holy love! Our soul weeps over our wretchedness and cries to thee, merciful Savior; we have thee, we yearn for thee, we rejoice in thee, our joy and salvation; and yet our soul is full of sadness because we cannot, as we ought, believe in thee, love thee, embrace the foot of thy throne, and give ourselves entirely as an offering to thee. Alas, what a sad state of affairs obtains in Christendom, among the people which bear thy name! Lord, have mercy on us, have mercy on thy brethren, have mercy on our people, have mercy on all the world! Amen.*

Arise, O Lord of hosts;
Be jealous for thy name,
And drive from out our coasts
The sins that put to shame.
O Lord, stretch forth thy mighty hand,
And guard and bless our fatherland.

Thy best gifts from on high
In rich abundance pour,
That we may magnify
And praise thee more and more.
O Lord, stretch forth thy mighty hand,
And guard and bless our fatherland.

[TLH 580; listen here]

---

36. Second Christmas Day. II.

Lord our God, sanctify us while we live,
and save us when we die. Amen.

Acts 6, 8-15 and 7, 54-60. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

❦

Stephen is a glorious example, showing how happy is he that believes in Jesus. The Son of God came to the world, in order that we may go to heaven. None of us doubts that Stephen is there. Be as firmly persuaded, that everyone who believes in Jesus shall go to heaven. By the same grace and faithfulness you and I, also, shall be there. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” You shall not have the same high rank in glory which is accorded to Stephen, who was the first martyr after the ascension of the Lord; but you shall receive the rank that becomes you, and shall in no wise feel any envy. And, indeed, to reach even barely beyond the threshold of the heavenly abode of bliss is more than glory. Look forward to it with joy, let your thoughts dwell upon it, and do not, then, shrink from suffering with the Lord a little while. God, who has ordained how large a cup of suffering you are to drink, has also fixed the time and manner of your death, and he alone knows what is yet before you. He alone knows how much of suffering remains, and how your last hour shall be. But let this suffice, that he knows it; and do you give yourself no concern about the matter. If it shall be your lot to be sorely tried, you shall receive the more strength and see more clearly the coming glory; then, of a sudden, “all sin and suffering are past, and you are saved and free at last; your soul is filled with gladness.” — God, who does not lie, promised us his Son; and we have received him. The same God has promised us everlasting life; we shall as certainly receive this; indeed, we have it already in the Son. Stephen went to heaven, not because of his ability to work great wonders and miracles, but by faith alone. In bliss he now praises God for all his grace; but his power to work miracles and his courage to bear witness of the truth, even in the face of death, are included in the one great gift, Jesus Christ; and when, in eternity, he thanks God for salvation, he thereby praises the Lord for redemption by the blood of Jesus. Have not you, also, been bought by the blood of the Lamb? Is not, then, the same song of praise on your lips? Yes, Christian believer, you are saved, and soon you shall see Jesus by the side of Stephen before the throne. The same Spirit that was in him is in you also; you, also, love your enemies, pray for them which despitefully use you, and bless them that curse you. Such is the love of Christ; it is victorious over death and the devil; and in this love we say at last: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Lord, grant that our faith be true and living, in order that we may be rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, active in charity. Live thou in us, precious Lord Jesus, and let us die in thee. Amen.*

Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last!

[TLH 345, listen here; or ELH 209, 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.

30. Thursday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.

Lord, let our faith have its foundation
in thy word. Amen.

Micah 5, 2-5. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth; then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land; and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

❦

He is born in Bethlehem, but is from everlasting. The prophet here teaches, what the church confesses, that Jesus Christ is God and man in one person. Concerning this, the greatest of all wonders in heaven and on earth, the scriptures testify with clearness and emphasis. He who lies in the manger, this poor, little child, is the eternal God, who owns all things and upholds all things by the word of his power. He is wisdom itself, which gives to all angels and men all that they have of thought and understanding; yet he is become a child in swaddling clothes; his mind, like that of all other children, grows and develops from the dormant state to conscious knowledge. He is the Living One forevermore, but dies on the cross and is laid in the grave. In truth, his name is “Wonderful” and transcends all our wisdom. But such a Lord and Savior we were to have according to the gracious will and counsel of God. He was to be a man; for man had sinned, and the blood of man must of necessity be sacrificed in death for our atonement. He was to be true God, in order that the redeeming power of his death and blood might be without limit. The shepherd king David came out of Bethlehem; and in Bethlehem is to be born the shepherd of the soul and the true king of Israel, he who is David and Solomon and Melchizedek and Aaron, all in one person. The name Bethlehem means the house of bread. Out of it comes our Joseph with the bread of eternal life, which he gives to his brethren without price, — he who is degraded to the meanest prison, but also exalted to the right hand of the King, and is great unto the ends of the earth. Truly, out of Bethlehem comes the Shepherd who feeds his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

The scriptures call him “everlasting God,” “the only begotten Son of the Father,” “God over all, blessed for ever,” “the true God and eternal life;” they declare that he is eternal and almighty and omniscient and holy; they inform us that all things were made by him and subsist by him. They call him the Lord over all things, to whom we shall pray and in whom we shall believe. Himself says: “I and my Father are one,” “to me is given all power in heaven and on earth,” “I am that Son of God.” He died as the only begotten Son of God; he rose again and reigns as the only begotten Son of God. Verily, the Second Article of our creed is certain and sure; he that does not see this is blinded by sin and falsehood.

Give me, Lord Jesus, a heart that is obedient to the truth, so that I may believe on thee alway and rejoice in thy glory and grace. Amen.*

From highest heaven to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:

To you this night is born a Child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child of lowly birth
Shall be the joy of all the earth.

’Tis Christ, our God and Lord, is born,
To comfort those who weep and mourn;
He will himself your Savior be,
From all your sins will set you free.

[TLH 85, LSB 358, ELH 123/124; 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.

33. Christmas Day. I.

Lord, let thy tidings of joy
permeate our heart. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Luke 2, 1-14. And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David,) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

❦

The blessed angelic hosts praise God for that which he has done for us mortals. It is our joy with which the angels of heaven rejoice, our song of praise in which they join, our thank-offering which they bring before the throne. Therefore it is that they have come down to the earth and make it their temple. For God has given his Son to us; he is become our brother, our Lord and Savior; he is born on earth, he is become a man. That which was ordained in the eternal decree of the Trinity; that for which preparation was made through thousands of years, and which was promised throughout the whole time of the Old Testament, has today come to pass: The Son of God is born of a woman. We have allowed ourselves to be deceived, sold ourselves to the devil, and should of right have been eternally lost; but now we are redeemed and shall inherit eternal life. God himself has become our Savior. The earth shall no more be the kingdom of the devil, wherein anger, falsehood, and murder from hell are supreme; but shall be the home of saints, where God is worshiped in spirit and truth, and where love, peace, and God’s good will abound. For here is he who releases our conscience from the bondage of fear, opens our eyes to the truth, cleanses our heart, pours into it the love of the Lord, and unites us with the holy and blessed God. When we believe the love wherewith God loves us, it comes into our soul; we love him because he loved us first. In this way he makes for himself a dwelling-place in our heart.

The Son of God becomes a man for all men; he is born of a woman in order that he may give his life for all. Hear this, all men of whatever sort: The Son of God came for you, he wants to save you. Turn to him; seek him in the manger of the stable; that is, in the word and sacraments of the church. Seek him earnestly, in order to be saved from sin; then shall you find him and he shall save you. — Ye, needy sinners, who grieve on account of your sins, earnestly long for grace and follow after purity; fear not, but rejoice with great joy. You are of the people to whom the angel’s sermon is directed; the blessed joy that fills the heavenly host is in the strictest sense yours. For all who humble themselves and confess their sins and earnestly desire to be saved, are now saved; all the wretched and poor that hope in the Lord are his people, and they possess this “great joy.” None can describe your happiness, and none can rob you of your bliss. Love, the eternal and heavenly love, is yours; and as it is given you by him that has power to give it, so it is preserved in you by the same power and faithfulness. You have a glory which is greater than that of all angels. We speak of this in reverential fear; for Michael and Gabriel and the seraphim before the throne are so glorious and exalted, that we sinners cannot see them without terror. But God himself, before whom they hide their face, is our brother, and it is their greatest delight to look into the counsel of God for our salvation. These pure, radiant, heavenly spirits, which stand before God, delight in our delight, join in the joy that is given us according to the eternal good pleasure of God; and their blissful duty is to serve herein, to act as messengers between heaven and earth, and with us to praise the Lord. Are our glory and honor not great? They are stupendously great, and fill the heart with a blessed feeling of humility, and of elevation, and of rapture. For God so loved me from eternity and so loves me now and forevermore, that he gives me his only begotten Son; therefore I love him in return and shall love him forever in this heavenly love. God is my God, and my heart is his forevermore. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!*

The happy Christmas comes once more.
The heavenly guest is at the door.
The blessed words the shepherds thrill,
The joyous tidings: Peace, Good-will.

O wake our hearts, in gladness sing,
And keep your Christmas with your King,
Till living song, from loving souls,
Like sound of mighty waters rolls.

Come, Jesus, glorious heavenly guest,
Keep thine own Christmas in our breast,
Then David’s harp-strings, hushed so long,
Shall swell our jubilee of song.

[ELH 143; listen here]

---

34. Christmas Day. II.

Lord, give us grace to keep
thy words in our heart. Amen.

Luke 2, 15-20. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

❦

These shepherds believed what they had heard; therefore they went into Bethlehem and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe. Here the Spirit of God teaches us how we are to receive the Christmas gift and praise God for it. When we hear the gospel we must not wave it aside and forget it; neither shall we say: “No, it is not possible for me to believe this.” But we must ponder it, and speak one to another about it; then will the Spirit of God, which is in the word, help us to believe it. And when the life of faith begins to stir in us, we must encourage one another, search the scriptures, and seek communion with other believers who are farther advanced in their faith. For Mary and Joseph have the babe between them. Jesus is in his church on earth, and the saints have him in their midst. They have the word and baptism and the Lord’s supper, and through these he is with them. Do you think, that the believers can be gathered together without their having the word of God among them? But as surely as they have the word of God, just as surely do they have Jesus among them. He is the very one about whom they gather. There, in the means of grace in the church, you find the Lord. Say not in your heart: How shall I be able to lift myself up to heaven and reach Jesus? Or: To what place shall I make a pilgrimage in order to find him? Or: What works shall I do in order that he may come and reveal himself to me? In truth, he is much nearer to you than you think: he is in the Word. However, you must not expect to see the Glorious One with your eyes. But admit, that the truth is the truth; believe the Word, then shall you experience in conscience and heart, that he, in very truth, is there. For all things appertaining to the Lord are little to be regarded by the bodily eye and the natural understanding. What, indeed, did the shepherds see? They saw that which was told them: a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. But does it stand to reason, that this babe is the Savior of all people, God’s anointed, and the joy of the angels? The shepherds believed; therefore they found that which the Lord had made known to them, and this was enough for them. They did not doubt, that this babe was the promised Savior of Jews and gentiles. You, also, find in the church of God that which himself has said; namely, the tidings concerning him, going out into all the world; the sacrament of baptism in the name of the triune God; the sacrament of the altar, under the bread and wine, which he instituted the same night in which he was betrayed. You shall not ask to see more than what himself has said. The announcement made to the shepherds was this: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” They believed the word, found it true, and praised God. To us the Son of God has said: I died for you, and rose again, and am with you alway; and this is the sign: The gospel shall be preached, and the sacraments of baptism and the altar shall be administered. Do you not find it true? Have faith, then, and make known to others the presence and love and grace of Jesus; and when others speak to you of these things, then follow the example of Mary, who “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” — Then, again; praise God in word and deed. Begin in earnest, dear Christian, to bless and thank the Lord during this Christmastide, and continue doing it all your life. Do you not owe God this much? He has given you his Son; and you do not thank him for it! Away with this baneful unbelief, with sloth, with the tormenting bondage under the law, and with the whimpering and whining of the perverted and sick heart! By the grace of God’s Spirit you can believe with that simple and childlike faith which enables you to bless and praise the Lord in the midst of the griefs of this life. I know well enough, that you must feel sin and sorrow, but I also know, that the joy of the Lord shall prevail over all our sin and sorrow. For God loves you and has made you his child. Obey his Spirit, and he shall answer in your heart: Saved, — saved and blest. Glory be to God! Say we with one another: God be praised for his unspeakable gift!*

To David’s city let us fly,
Where angels sing beneath the sky;
Through plain and village pressing near,
And news from God with shepherds hear.

The lowly Savior meekly lies,
Laid off the splendor of the skies;
No crown bedecks his forehead fair,
No pearl, nor gem, nor silk is there.

O holy Child, Thy manger streams,
Till earth and heaven glow with its beams,
Till midnight noon’s bright light has won,
And Jacob’s Star outshines the sun.

[ELH 143; 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.

29. Wednesday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.

Let thy word, O God, lighten our eyes
and shine upon our path. Amen.

Daniel 9, 15-19. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken, and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God; for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

❦

There was a deep sense of sin and guilt in the holy man of God, Daniel. With all his heart he recognized that God had done all things well, but that he and his people had done evil. Daniel was a man of great piety, and he had feared God of a pure heart from his childhood, so that the scriptures do not even make mention of any infirmity in him. But he feels himself most intensely as a unit with his people, so that their sins are his and his sins theirs. We, we have sinned, says he. In humble contrition he bows to the judgments of the Lord; his whole soul confesses, that they are righteous. This is the true conversion to God; such hearts receive joy in the Lord.

Let us, also, view our lives in the light of God’s countenance. Has he not gotten himself renown over us? Could he have shown us greater love than this, that he gave his only begotten Son? Did he not adopt us as his children in holy baptism, and has he not since that time with unspeakably great patience sought us and borne with us? Try to place before your eyes in one heap, as it were, all the gifts which you have received from him, all the spiritual and bodily blessings which he has conferred on you, and then consider in what manner you have thanked and rewarded him; and you will be terrified because of your sin, and wonder at his grace and goodness. Every act of his providence in your life was love; even all his righteous judgments were the servants of his mercy; it was his purpose to enable you to recover yourself out of the snare of the devil, and to give you the peace and happiness of a new heart. For this reason he chastised you and let you taste the bitter fruit of your own sins and those of your fathers. But you did not understand it. “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” O, let the truth control your thoughts now! Do not think contrary to the word of God, but let God the Holy Ghost shape your thought after the word. Then will you have the disposition of Daniel; and he that prays as Daniel did is ready to hear the Christmas gospel.

Grant us this grace, merciful God. Let thy Spirit show us our sins and lead us to the fountain of grace. Amen.*

Show pity, Lord! O Lord, forgive!
Let a repenting rebel live.
Are not thy mercies large and free?
May not a sinner trust in thee?

Great God, thy nature hath no bound,
So let thy pardoning love be found.
O wash my soul from every sin,
And make my guilty conscience clean!

[suggested tune: Windham, TLH 612; 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.

32. Christmas Eve.

O dearest Jesus, holy Child, make thee
a bed, soft, undefiled, within my heart!

Isaiah 9, 6. 7. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

❦

Now we will rejoice with exceeding great joy before the Lord, according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the Lord has broken the yoke and the rod and the staff as in the day of Midian. Gideon has thrown down the altars of the idols, routed the enemy and made us free. This child is our brother, but also the only begotten Son of God; one of us, but, at the same time, the everlasting God. The Father has given us his Son; he is ours, he that is prince and lord over all, over heaven and earth, over law and sin, over death and devil; — he is born unto us. He is righteous and fulfills all righteousness for us; he is the Life, and he bruises the head of the prince of death; he takes our every concern upon himself, — for this purpose he is given us; alone he treads the winepress of wrath; he alone slays Goliah, and he destroys Baal and his prophets. God has not consigned us to our wretchedness, but he has had mercy on us and has given us his Son for our Savior, Counsellor, Father, Prince of Peace. We were lost; we were, but are lost no longer; we are saved and blessed. We were in prison, but are free. We were doomed to death, but now eternal life is ours. He has atoned for everything and has brought us righteousness, love, peace and salvation. O my Jesus, how shall I thank thee? My heavenly Father, how shall I thank thee? — “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Note well the expression, that he is born unto us and given unto us; it is wholly grace, and none shall be without help by reason of unworthiness. It is grace alone, purely and solely, so that every idea of merit or worthiness is excluded. It has come to pass; he is given unto us, unto us who were lost and damned; unto us the child is born, unto us the son is given. This is in very truth joy and salvation.

Truly, God has bestowed on us a great gift. God has done it and the devil cannot defeat it. He shall not succeed in defeating it; neither by the apostles of infidelity about us, nor by the suggestions of infidelity in us. We are saved; the devil is powerless to take away the work which our God has already accomplished. O, how I rejoice in writing this down before the very eyes of the enemy, to the honor and glory of my God! And you, my brother; rejoice when you read these words of God! Midian is defeated, though he deny it never so vehemently; all heavens and all the heavenly host assert it, and I declare it with a heart full of joy unspeakable.

Now, let Christmas, the children’s happy festival, make us childlike; then shall we surely have great joy. If you rightly believed this thing which God has done for you, you would leap up and stand, and walk, and enter into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. For verily, all your misery is turned to happiness; all your distress, to glory; all your sin, to righteousness; and death now is nothing but life. This is most certainly true; but God hides it from your senses, because he wants you to have faith. I, also, hide the beautiful Bible which my child received as a baptismal present, until he becomes old enough to use it. I have told him that it lies hid in my locker, and he does not doubt it, though he has never seen the book. Yes, blessed are you, if you believe. And now, may you have a most blessed and happy Christmas!

Heavenly Father, who gavest us thy Son; give us the light and grace of thy Holy Spirit, that we may believe; give us grace to believe and to accept the salvation of grace in Christ. Blessed be God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost forevermore! Amen.*

Thy little ones, dear Lord, are we,
And come thy lowly bed to see;
Enlighten every soul and mind,
That we the way to thee may find.

With songs we hasten thee to greet,
And kiss the dust before thy feet.
O blessed hour, O sweetest night,
That gave thee birth, our Soul’s Delight!

O draw us wholly to thee, Lord,
Thou dearest friend, to us accord
Thy grace; Thy faith to us impart,
That we may hold Thee in our heart.

[ELH 144; 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.

28. Tuesday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.

Lord, let thy work
wake us and enlighten us,
that we may believe on thee
in spirit and in truth. Amen.

John 3, 27-36. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

❦

John the Baptist is extremely lovable in his sincerity and humility. Here we again see how he makes himself of no reputation; he desires no honor for himself, and will not draw away the disciples after himself. He confesses that he is of the earth, but that Jesus is of heaven; he rejoices because the bridegroom has the bride, and he turns all men away from himself and directs them to Jesus. Truly, the Baptist is a man to be much beloved; but we would be acting quite contrary to his spirit if we were to rest satisfied and stop with him and become enamored of his beauty. Not John, but Jesus! John cannot give us life, but Jesus is come from heaven with life for us children of death. No man would have risen out of sin and death, if God had not shown mercy and let his Son become man. Before we had any knowledge of it, he had resolved to give us his only begotten Son as a savior. Who could have brought him down from heaven, if he had not come of his own accord? Now he is here, thank God, and has won the human race, the daughter of Adam, as his bride. For with his blood he has redeemed us all from the power of the prince of death, the devil; life has overcome death and is now present in the gospel offering itself to each and all. He that believes the gospel has this life in his heart. By this means there is already a new generation of the sons of Adam, a new and true humanity, the Christian church. And, through the means of grace in the church, God is ever adding to the number of them which believe. No man can believe by his own strength, but the Son gives us the Holy Spirit in the word and sacraments of the church, and creates faith in all who do not stubbornly resist him. You can no more believe or receive the Spirit by your own strength, than you could have brought Christ down from heaven. But as the Son came, sent by the Father, even so the Spirit came, sent by the Father and the Son. Therefore none can say: “I would believe, but I cannot.” Of yourself you cannot, but the Holy Ghost calls you by the gospel and enlightens you with his gifts; and by his grace you can believe in Christ with the true and living faith of a contrite heart. Be affrighted, then, at your unbelief, but ask God to give you faith. He that in sincerity and truth prays God to give him grace to believe has already begun to believe, and has received a portion in the kingdom of grace of Jesus Christ. There heavenly gifts are bestowed upon you; righteousness, peace, joy, life and salvation; all in Jesus Christ, who is himself the life of the believing soul, and is infinitely more precious than all other gifts.

O God, we fervently pray thee, give us faith, the true, living faith in our hearts, that we may belong to the church of thy Son and have life in his name. Amen.*

Faith is a living power from heaven,
That grasps the promise God hath given,
A confidence in Christ alone,
Whose grace cannot be overthrown.

Faith in the conscience worketh peace,
And bids the mourner’s weeping cease;
By faith the children’s place we claim,
And give all honor to One Name.

[ELH 361; 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.

27. Monday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.

Lord, open our ears, that we
may hear the admonition
and comfort of thy word. Amen.

Isaiah 40, 1-5. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

❦

Thy God, O Israel, is great in mercy. By your sins you deserve his wrath, and he gives you — his only begotten Son; double grace for all your sins. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,” saith he; it has received enough of chastisement and buffetings. Speak ye lovingly to Jerusalem; speak words of comfort deep, deep, into their hearts; let them hear, that for their abounding sin my grace is still more abounding, so that, as sin hath reigned unto death, even so shall grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is only in order that you may accept this glorious grace, that the Lord afflicts you and chastises you in sharp words by the voice crying in the wilderness and calling to repentance. “Every valley shall be exalted;” that is, the heart which is mired in worldliness and soulless degradation, the soul which is abased in ignorance, or is held captive in doubt and fear, shall be lifted up and learn to see and desire that which is true and eternal. “Every mountain shall be made low;” that is, the haughty and those of high degree shall be brought low, the great become small and humble in themselves. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; truth and uprightness shall supplant falsehood, hypocrisy and self-righteousness. In other words, “repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Wake up and know your wretchedness, confess your sins with remorse and pain, and humble yourselves before the Lord. He who hears the voice of the first John, the preacher in the wilderness, calling to repentance, shall hear the second John, also, the son of thunder, with his still more mighty preaching of the gospel of grace, in this wise: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Blessed preaching of repentance, which opens our ears to this gospel of life! Now I can and will keep these words in the depth of my heart: “Thine iniquity is pardoned, and thou hast received of the Lord’s hand double for all thy sins.”

Give us, O Lord, humble, simple, believing hearts. Give us grace to hear thy word of chastisement and of comfort. May we feel the power of that which thy mouth speaketh. Amen.*

Eternal Spirit, by whose breath
The soul is raised from sin and death,
Before thy throne we sinners bend;
To us thy quickening power extend.

Jehovah! Father, Spirit, Son!
Mysterious Godhead! Three in One!
Before thy throne we sinners bend;
Grace, pardon, life, to us extend!

[TLH 242; 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.

25. Fourth Sunday in Advent. I.

Lord Jesus, give us
thy Spirit in our hearts,
thy truth and thy humility. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, John 1, 19-28. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

❦

If we allow John the Baptist to teach us truth and humility, he prepares the way for the Savior, and we receive true Christmas joy.

It would not have been at all surprising, if the brilliant troop of priests and Levites, which were sent to John, had turned his head; and there was still more of a snare in their questions, which gave him honor as the Christ and might well have tempted him to represent himself as being the Messiah. But John confesses the truth here, as he did later before Herod, and does not deny his Lord and Savior. “I am not the Christ,” says he; “I am his voice,” neither more nor less. I myself am nothing, but Christ makes use of me as his voice. Do not ask concerning me, concerning my person, but ask concerning him. Why will ye not know him who stands among you? He is the eternal God, who alone gives power to my words and my baptism; I am an humble servant, not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoe. Everybody who has some little knowledge of himself, knows how prone a man is to seek honor, and he must extol the humility of John as a miracle of grace.

John is, indeed, truly great in his love of truth and in his lowliness. He, of all who lived before the Pentecost, sees Jesus with the greatest clearness of vision. And it is because of the fact that the glory and grace of Christ shine so brightly in his soul, that he is so humble. Again, because the Spirit of God teaches him to know himself so well and makes him so humble, therefore he sees the Lord so clearly, while the others do not know him.

And you, my reader; who are you? When you are to confess, and deny not, but confess the truth and say who you are; then, what is your name? What are you? What should you be? You, also, are destined to greatness, but are become of the smallest. It is only by knowing this, that you again achieve greatness and glory. Have you learned to know yourself? And do you know the One, unknown of the world, who stands among us? Has your eye followed the finger of John, as it points to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world? O, that we might obey the Spirit of God, which guides us into all truth, and become lowly of heart; then would we also become great before the Lord. In this wise the soul comes to love the unspeakable gift of the eternal Father.

Merciful God, who gavest John such deep knowledge of self, such truth and humility in his heart; we earnestly ask of thee this same grace. Give us this grace and teach us to receive our Savior aright, that we may have true joy and peace in him. Amen.*

Give deep humility; the sense
Of godly sorrow give;
A strong desire, with confidence,
To hear thy voice and live;

Faith in the only sacrifice
That can for sin atone,
To cast our hopes, to fix our eyes,
On Christ, on Christ alone.

[ELH 382; listen here]

---

26. Fourth Sunday in Advent. II.

Lord, satisfy us early with thy mercy,
that we may rejoice and be glad
all our days. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, Philippians 4, 4-7. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

❦

How can Paul say that the believers shall rejoice in the Lord alway? He, himself, had “continual sorrow in his heart” and suffered so much from the buffetings of the devil, that he complains: “O wretched man that I am; who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” We have his own answer: “We approve ourselves in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses; we are as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” But how can this be? Yes, “the Lord is at hand.” For this reason the overmuch sadness of believers is turned to joy, their sorrows are dissolved in prayer, their fight ends in that peace of God which passes all understanding. The Lord is at hand; at hand in the word, at hand in death, at hand in the judgment. In every respect this concerns you. In whatever sense you may take these words, “The Lord is at hand,” they will tend to open your ears to the apostolic admonition that here precedes and follows them. A little while, and you shall never shed another tear, never heave another sigh; you shall enjoy eternal peace. Have you not reason to rejoice?

Be comforted, believing Christian, and be joyful in the midst of your sorrow; joyful today, and joyful tomorrow; joyful in the time of gladness, and joyful in the year of affliction. You have reason to rejoice. God loves us and has given us his Son, who is with us alway. In him you are a child of God and heir to salvation. Your present estate is humiliation, but this is the way to glory; you now have many troubles which are hard to bear, but all things shall work together for your good. “Be careful for nothing,” for nothing whatever! There is no wrong for which Jesus has no remedy. The harder the struggle, the greater the victory; the fight itself will strengthen your arm. “In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Speak to God about all your concerns; whatever your trouble may be, take it to the Lord in prayer; then it is yours no longer, for the Lord has made it his own. Give him thanks for his goodness in taking your troubles upon himself. Do exactly what Paul here says; it is God himself who speaks through him and offers us this joy. Pray and give thanks; do not fail to let thanksgiving follow prayer. Submit to this commandment of God; grace to do this has already been given you. Do what God commands, then shall his peace be victorious in you. At all times and everywhere take your every need and care to the Lord your God in prayer. Even if he does not at once take away your outward tribulations or the sorrow and suffering of your heart, he still gives victory in your soul, so that you are able to thank God for your afflictions. Therefore: Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, rejoice! Let your moderation be known unto all men! The Lord is at hand!

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God; therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light. To this end give us thy Holy Spirit for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Jesus! Thou joy of loving hearts!
Thou fount of life! Thou light of men!
From the best bliss that earth imparts
We turn unfilled to thee again.

Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood;
Thou savest those that on thee call;
To them that seek thee, thou art good,
To them that find thee, all in all.

[ELH 318; 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.

24. Saturday after Third Sunday in Advent.

Lord, purify our hearts
by thy word and by faith. Amen.

Malachi 3, 1-6. Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

❦

The messenger of the covenant, whose coming was expected by Israel in the Old Testament, is the Lord Jesus Christ; he establishes a covenant between God and us. This is a covenant in holiness and righteousness, a covenant which unites a holy God and a holy people of God. But, alas, like the Jews, we, also, are reluctant to hear this, and many close their ears entirely to this truth. They are willing to be saved by Christ, but not to be cleansed from sin; they are willing to reign with the Lord, but not to suffer with him; not to crucify the flesh and forego the pleasures of sin. They wish to avoid the pain of repentance and sanctification. But the Lord comes to make us holy; he saves from sin and purifies unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. He refines them as silver and purges them as gold. If you are a true Israelite, you shall not escape the fire of Christ’s sufferings. Jesus is himself a refining fire, and our purification is from him. His life in abasement was unbroken suffering, for throughout his whole life here below he bare our sins and was the sacrificed lamb under the wrath of God. In obedience to the will of the Father he was always victorious, but the fire in the sacrifice of the altar was never quenched until he was able to cry: “It is finished!” This propitiatory suffering is ended, but the fire of purification burns; the sufferings of Christ continue in his body, which is the church (Colossians 1, 24), until the last Christian is perfected in holiness. This refining fire consists especially of internal tribulations of many kinds: Fear and dread of death; sad and heavy thoughts; the darts and buffetings of the devil; bitter pain by reason of the evil lusts of the flesh; cares and sorrows; remorse and sadness on account of old and new sins, a remorse in which “hope despairs and despair hopes;” — and the only support of the soul is the Spirit which makes “intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Dear Christian friend, do not allow yourself to be led astray by the circumstances, that you may, perchance, never have felt this very strongly. God adjusts the burden according to the ability of each to carry it. Continue to walk in the light and confess the Lord, and in his own good time he will purge you in the furnace of suffering.

The metaphor concerning the purification of gold and silver in fire is appropriately supplemented by the other figure: “He is like fullers’ soap.” Out of the heart issues the life; a clean heart means clean hands. The offering of pure hearts and hands is pleasant unto the Lord.

God grant that the messenger who goes before with his call to repentance may prepare the way for him to many hearts. Blessed are they which enter into the covenant of the people of sorrow with the Man of sorrows; for they shall also partake of the joy of holiness with the perfectly purged congregation, if they remain faithful unto the end.

Lord Jesus, thou knowest that our flesh shrinks from suffering. Teach us to know the blessedness of bearing thy cross. We feel that there is yet so much of uncleanness in us; cleanse us, faithful Savior; refine us, and purify us, and mold us to be like thee. Amen.*

My hope, my all, my Savior thou!
To thee, O Lord, my soul I bow;
I seek the bliss thy wounds impart,
I long to find thee in my heart.

Be thou my strength, be thou my way,
Protect me through my life’s short day;
In all my acts let Wisdom guide,
And keep me, Savior, near thy side.

[suggested tune: Tallis’ Canon, TLH 558a; 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.

23. Friday after Third Sunday in Advent.

Lord, keep us alive by thy word. Amen.

Psalm 13. To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

❦

When your soul asks, how long, O Lord? and again, how long, how long? when your heart is like a turbulent sea; when all manner of distracting thoughts and devices perplex you; when you search in vain on every hand for an escape out of your difficulties; when you cry and the Lord does not hear, but hides his face, so that it seems to you to be almost certain, that for you the light has been put out forever; — then you become like the other saints in the imitation of the Son of God, and taste something of the Long Friday. But still, the true Christians hope and wait for the Lord’s salvation. How many of the groanings which cannot be uttered do not then rise up from the depths of the soul: “O my God, hear my cry; let me again see thy face. Remember not my sins, but according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake. I am thy own, bought with a price; thou must not reject me forevermore. Save me, save me, for Jesus’ sake!” We feel our sin, and acknowledge that the Lord would be just, if he should condemn us; but how dreadful it would be! And what a sad and bitter thought it is, that the enemies of the church of God will rejoice, while the name of God will be mocked for my sake, if I fall into despair and become the prey of Satan. The cry comes, therefore, from the depths of my being: “Lord, surely thou must not, thou canst not give me up. Mine enemy shall not be exalted over me. Thou art the God of forgiveness; all my great sin is but a spark as compared with the bottomless sea of thy grace, and all my wretchedness is as nothing in comparison with thy power to deliver me.” — The day dawns; the night disappears; the morning comes; a new flood of light is shed on the glory of the grace of God; the name of Jesus becomes tenfold more beautiful; and the gospel of life and salvation in the blood of the Lamb has created a sounding-board in the heart which delights God and his angels. My adversary is thy adversary; he shall not triumph; “but I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.”

Lead thou us, Lord Jesus, into the fellowship of thy sufferings, and clothe us with the power of thy resurrection. Amen.*

When sorrows rise,
My refuge lies
In thy compassion tender;
Within thine arm
Can naught alarm;
Keep me from harm,
Be thou my strong defender.

I have thy word,
Christ Jesus, Lord,
Thou never wilt forsake me;
This will I plead
In time of need;
O, help with speed,
When troubles overtake me!

[TLH 353, ELH 258; 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.

22. Thursday after Third Sunday in Advent.

Lord, lead us into
the sanctuary of thy word,
and let us abide there alway. Amen.

Isaiah 42, 5-10. Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein; I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

❦

Ye who know the Lord and his grace shall bless him and sing praises to his name. We were blind and walked in the darkness of death; our heart served strange gods, loved the creature rather than the creator, was without peace, and yet knew not its own unhappy state. Jesus came, however, and opened our eyes; we, who were blind, now see. He led us out into the clear daylight of grace, set us free from the fetters of idolatry, and taught us to know the only true God. Now we love him, and he gives our heart peace. Our joy is great; things more glorious still await us: “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” Therefore, sing unto the Lord a new song; that is, give him sincere thanks for a new revelation of his glory, for a new, ever new look into the depths of his grace. For he ever leads us into new regions of his kingdom, into new mansions of his house; more and more we become able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. At times it may seem to us that our knowledge becomes less, instead of more, clear; but every Christian who lives in daily repentance is ever advancing in the wisdom of God, even when he does not, himself, notice it.

Praise God, all his believers; praise him without ceasing; tell his wonders! Satan has no tongue with which to bless and praise God; he wants to tie our tongues also, but his bands are broken asunder, and our tongue loosened. Sing unto the Lord, ye who dwell on the rock of faith; who shall do it, if ye will not? Give God honor with humble heart; sound his praises, that it may be heard over all the earth. Over all the earth, I say. Your song of praise reaches farther, much farther, than the tones of the greatest musical artists. The thanksgiving of God’s people is not heard over all the earth only, but reaches heaven and is precious to the heart of the Lord our God.

Help us to know thee, Lord, and to praise thee with a song ever new, here and forevermore. Give us this grace for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

I know that my Redeemer lives;
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead,
He lives, my ever-living Head.

He lives to bless me with his love,
He lives to plead for me above,
He lives my hungry soul to feed,
He lives to help in time of need.

[TLH 200, LSB 461, ELH 351; 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.

21. Wednesday after Third Sunday in Advent.

Lord, establish our ways
in thy word. Amen.

2 Timothy 1, 6-12. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began; but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

❦

Even as John the Baptist saw the near approach of death, when, from the prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus, so did Paul know that his dissolution was at hand when he wrote this epistle to Timothy; but he meets death with triumphant confidence. Christ has brought us great things, and how happy are we who live in his church! O, that the Spirit might, in this church year, stir up anew the gift of God which is given us! Let our faith become healthy and strong, let our love become ardent, and let us willingly and gladly endure hardship with God’s people. Boldly confess your Savior; himself will give you the necessary spirit and grace. Indeed, he has given you them already in your baptism; the spirit of power and love is yours, if you will but make use of it; and if you do this, the fire in your soul will be fanned into flame. The secret is this, that you are not a servant, but a child in God’s household. Do good without ceasing, the fountain of love and power will not run dry; your heavenly father has riches without limit. Or are not we also saved and called with an holy calling? Did not Christ die, and does he not live for us? Are we not baptized unto him, do we not hear his gospel and partake of his Holy Supper? Shall we save ourselves anew by our own works, though we are saved already by the grace of God in Christ? Let us not by unbelief abolish what God has done, deny what God has said, and despise our heavenly calling. The death in our flesh, which threatens to palsy us, has been vanquished by our baptism unto the death and resurrection of Christ; for we are united with him in his death and in his victory over death; we are members of the Savior who died and is alive for evermore. Therefore the devil has no power over us and must not be permitted to subdue our courage. Hear how Paul speaks: “Christ hath abolished death, abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” But what Paul has that we also have, in the measure which we need in order to conquer the flesh and defy the devil when he tries to make us fearful and faint-hearted. You, also, Christian brother, know whom you have believed, and know that it is safe to build on him. Have you not entrusted yourself to him with your heart, your life, your all? Have you not placed your soul and salvation in his hand? I know that my Redeemer liveth; I know that it was not I, but he, who chose me, saved me, and called me; and that it is not I, but he, who keeps me; and I know of a certainty that nor devil nor death owns me, but that he owns me and dwells in me. Verily, he shall hold me fast and keep me in faith and love, through whatever of suffering it may please him to lead me, and though it may cost me all that I hold dear in this world.

Teach us, Lord, to immerse our soul in thy everlasting grace. Give us grace to live the life of love, to confess thee with ardent heart, and to win disciples for thee round about. Above all else, dear Lord God, let our faith be true and living, that it may prove itself in charity and in victory over our natural faint-heartedness and over all the power of sin. Amen.*

O that the Lord would guide my ways,
To keep his statutes still!
O that my God would grant me grace
To know and do his will!

Order my footsteps by thy Word,
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.

[TLH 416, LSB 707, ELH 441; 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.

20. Tuesday after Third Sunday in Advent.

Lord, let thy tender mercies come unto us,
thy salvation according to thy word. Amen.

Isaiah 61, 1-3. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

❦

In the 25th chapter of Leviticus the Lord ordains that every fiftieth year in Israel was to be a year of jubilee. Then all debts were to be cancelled, every man was to have his possessions returned to him, and all bondmen who were of the children of Israel were to become free. In the kingdom of Christ all our sins are forgiven us, so that no one in this kingdom has guilt and doom hanging over his head. No bondmen are there; all are freeborn, born of God. They are no longer in the prison of the fear of death; neither are they the slaves of Satan, compelled to do his will and walk in sin; for by baptism they have entered into the covenant of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the glorious message of the gospel which Christ has brought us, and which he announces to the world through his servants. Hear this, all ye mourners in Zion: in the church of Christ, of which you became a member by your baptism, to which you earnestly desire to belong, and to which you thus do, in fact, belong, — in the church of Christ, in which you live, the Lord has established the law, that sin is forgiven, so that nothing can condemn you. This is the covenant of God with us: I will forgive your iniquity, and I will remember your sin no more (Jer. 31, 34). Jesus has taken your sin upon himself and paid its wages. Will you not give him at least this reward, that you believe his message of pardon, and rejoice? He asks no more; do not, then, let this much be denied him. He came and established this kingdom and instituted this gospel by his blood. He appointed unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. He will ground you in his righteousness, that you may have your root in the perfect obedience of the Son of God and be able to stand against all the storms of Satan. In yourself you are utterly lost, sold under sin and made the prisoner of death; but in Christ you have liberty and life, righteousness and salvation. This is no dream, no idle words, but truth as certain and sure as God himself. All heavens answer: Amen.

Lord Jesus, we can hardly believe thy glad tidings, but do thou help us. It is a good thing for us that thou dost not break the bruised reed and dost not quench the smoking flax. We thank thee for thy great mercy; do thou help us to believe. Give us the light of the Spirit and grace to believe in thee. Amen.*

Enter his gates with songs of joy,
With praises to his courts repair;
And make it your divine employ
To pay your thanks and honors there.

The Lord is good, the Lord is kind;
Great is his grace, his mercy sure;
And all the race of man shall find
His truth from age to age endure.

[suggested tune: Old Hundredth, TLH 14; 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.

19. Monday after Third Sunday in Advent.

Lord, may our soul preserve
thy glorious testimony. Amen.

Isaiah 35. The wilderness, and the solitary place, shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped: then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there: but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

❦

What this beautiful chapter prophesies concerning the glory of the church of Christ and the riches of God’s grace to believers began to be fulfilled by the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. How many faint hearts have not become courageous, how many thirsty souls have not drunk of the water of life in the Word and the sacraments! How many blind, deaf, lame, and dumb have not been healed by Jesus! How many simple Christians have not heard the warning, “this is the way which thou shalt go,” when they were on the point of going astray to the right or to the left; and who shall number the redeemed who have already come home to the eternal dwelling places of joy in Zion? The words of Isaiah do not sound as though spoken concerning things to come, but as though he saw them already fulfilled; and such prophecies add strength to our faith. O, how true and how strong and safe to lean upon is the word of God!

However, these sublime words have not as yet been completely fulfilled. Time shall be, when the parched people of God shall blossom, rejoice unspeakably, and possess the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God without measure and limit; — when the first heaven and earth have passed away and the new Jerusalem comes down from heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Here our hearts easily grow faint and our hands weak, here there is yet evil every day and hour; but these things shall be done away with forever, when God himself shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and there shall be no more sin, nor sorrow, nor death. Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then we shall see face to face. We shall hear the heavenly harps, we shall sing a new song, and we shall drink without hindrance of the river of water proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. We are yet in danger. Brethren, here it is needful always to watch and pray that we fall not into temptation. But then, there is no more danger; everlasting joy shall be upon our heads; yea, we shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away from us. These sayings are faithful and true; the Lord hath spoken them.

Thou comest to us in our misery, Lord Jesus, for the purpose of bringing us into glory; blessed be thy name. Do thou lead us through the wilderness; thou art the fount of life and makest the desert become for us a meadow full of springs of water. Anoint our eyes that we may see thee, open our ears that we may hear thy voice, precious Savior. Do thou speak into our souls: Be strong and fear not. Hold us fast to thee and do not release thy hold on us, thou strong, faithful God. Amen.*

Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,
And sing thy great Redeemer’s praise;
He justly claims a song from me,
His lovingkindness, oh, how free!

He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me notwithstanding all;
He saved me from my lost estate,
His lovingkindness, oh, how great!

[TLH 340; 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.

17. Third Sunday in Advent. I.

Lord, give us grace, that we
may understand thy word
and believe in thee. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 11, 2-10. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And, as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

❦

Jesus, the son of God and of Mary, who was born in Bethlehem, is in truth the Christ, and there is no other king and redeemer of our souls. Neither do we want any other; we need none other, for he is that perfect savior who helps us out of every trouble. In him the prophecies of the prophets concerning the Messiah have been fulfilled to the letter. He is become the least, and is the greatest; the poorest, and the richest; the most despised, but the most glorious. He enters into our nature, but transfigures it into godlike glory; he dies, but death has no part in him; he is the living one in all eternity. Here is Abel and his innocent blood, shed by a brother’s hand; here are the wisdom, sale, imprisonment, and the royal splendor of Joseph; here are the high priest, the lamb, and the blood which is carried into the sanctuary; here is Samuel with his triple office; here is David in his humiliation and then in his glory; here is Solomon, the prince of peace, who builds the temple of the Lord; here is the son of the virgin, of whom Isaiah spake, the child which is the eternal wonderful God; here is the suffering and dying, but again living servant of the Lord, written of in the 53rd chapter of that prophet; the hunted hart of the 22nd psalm of David; here are all the Scriptures. The eyes of the blind are opened and the ears of the deaf are unstopped; the lame man leaps as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sings with joy. The year of jubilee is come, the prisoners of death are set free. John, whom prophecy calls Elijah, goes before and prepares the way; the greatest of all the prophets is the herald of him who became the least of all.

We also experience on ourselves that Jesus is the true Savior. He has opened our eyes, so that we see our sin and know his merit, which takes it away. We see the death in ourselves, but know the life which vanquishes death, and feel the victory of love in our hearts. We hear the music of heaven in the gospel, and the spirit within us answers amen. We feel the cleansing grace of the blood of Jesus and the victorious power of his life in our hearts, so that we taste the peace of God, love our enemies, bear our sufferings, and give thanks for the daily cross. Will you say that this is not the work of the true Savior? We, who of ourselves can only be offended because of his suffering, still love this crucified form with love unspeakable, a thousand times more than all else in the world. We are tempted, and we sin; but we fly to him, and we find in his wounds our city of refuge; we are victorious over sin and death; they cannot touch us at the horns of the altar.

Blessed be the Lord Jesus, who came to the world and became our Savior; who comes to us and saves us; who shall come and set us free. Dear Lord, man us with firm faith when we fight our last battle with the devil in the agony of death. Amen.*

Let the earth now praise the Lord,
Who hath truly kept his word,
And the sinner’s help and friend
Now at last to us doth send.

What the fathers most desired,
What the prophet’s heart inspired,
What they longed for many a year,
Stands fulfilled in glory here.

[TLH 91, LSB 352, ELH 165; listen here]

---

18. Third Sunday in Advent. II.

Lord, make us
thy faithful servants. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, 1 Corinthians 4, 1-5. Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment; yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

❦

John the Baptist was the servant and steward of Christ, and so are also all the legitimate and true preachers of the word of God; they are appointed of the Lord to administer his mysteries of the gospel. All who have been properly called to the office of the ministry are to be accounted servants of Christ, who have received the office from him and administer it in his stead. In themselves the ministers of the Word are only erring men, but their office exalts them, and the Lord makes them strong in their testimony concerning the truth. A servant of the Lord must go through many a conflict; the flesh is all the time weak and would like to be clothed in soft raiment. If he is a man of talent and has marked success in his work, he is tempted to fall into the sin of pride and vanity; if he is less richly endowed, or if his labor seems to have no visible results, he is prone to lose heart and sink into apathy. The Baptist calls himself the voice of Christ, and Paul says concerning himself: “I am nothing.” This is the spirit which is necessary, in order that a man may remain faithful.

Faithfulness is the one important requirement. The judgment of the Lord concerning us is of moment, but the judgment of men is not. The eye of God is true, while the eye of man is often deceived by mere outward appearances. On that day, when every man’s work shall be revealed by fire, much of what is regarded as gold will prove to be nothing but gilded hay and stubble. The Lord demands of us faithfulness, not brilliant exploits; diligence in the use of the talent entrusted to us, not splendid proofs of genius or of great talents. How beautiful are not those little flowers in the garden of God, which, instead of boastfully showing forth their loveliness, hide themselves beneath the others, but which can neither escape the eye of Heaven nor keep back their wealth of strong and sweet odors. Many an obscure country pastor and lowly teacher shall shine more brightly over yonder than famous bishops and scholars. Sincere love and genuine faithfulness count for more, than do any and all great talents.

Assist us by your prayers for us, ye believers, and by obedience to the word which we bring you from the Lord; in order that we may give account of our stewardship with joy, and not with grief. And do thou, Lord Jesus, help us by the light and power of thy Holy Spirit; give to us thy love, that we may serve thee with gladness and be in truth faithful stewards of the wonderful riches of thy house. Amen.*

O pour thy Spirit from on high!
Lord, thine appointed servants bless;
Thy promised power to each supply,
And clothe thy priests with righteousness.

And, when their work is finished here,
Let them in hope their charge resign;
Before the throne with joy appear,
And there with endless glory shine.

[TLH 490; 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.

16. Saturday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord, wake us and keep us awake
by thy Spirit and word. Amen.

Malachi 4, 1-6. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

❦

Should not the word concerning the day of the Lord wake us, make us humble, yea, even crush us and make us sincerely contrite of heart? When the Lord through Jonah spoke of doom and destruction to the people of Nineveh, it caused them to put on sackcloth and ashes, for they believed the word. Whosoever believes the word of God concerning the return of the Lord, bows the head in acknowledgment of sin, and is afeared and seeks grace. The ungodly despise the word; therefore they feel so secure, and haste without fear toward destruction. There is no lack of warning from the merciful God. Even as he sent Elijah to the apostate Israelites and chastised them with the fiery tongue of the prophet and with hunger and the sword; and as he sent the Baptist to the Israelites of a later day and by his powerful exhortation to repentance shook Jerusalem and all Judæa; in like manner he continues to send new witnesses who cry out, calling people to repentance, and start spiritual movements in this place and that; while unbelief is compelled to show its poverty, as was the case with the Baal-cult in the time of Ahab. And during the time yet to come he shall give his witnesses great power before the peoples and the tribes. (Rev. 11). All in vain! The many will continue in fancied security in their sins and will not repent. Therefore the day of doom must become a burning oven and burn them up, leaving them neither root nor branch. For they alone who have been born again and are holy can stand before him that cometh.

Christian soul; live in repentance day by day unto the last. Never feel too secure, be not puffed up, but walk in holy fear, and with David become all the time less worthy in your own eyes. You have learned to lay all your sins on Jesus and have found healing under his wings; never desert your first love. By the light of the Spirit you shall see yourself more and more clearly and feel more deeply your need of grace; neither shall there be any want of the trials necessary to your daily revival and your humiliation; you also shall be led with the Lord from the judgment hall along the path of pain to Calvary; still, push your way deeper into the fellowship of his suffering and deeper into the salvation of grace. The way leads to the Ascension hill, and soon you shall with unclouded eye see that sun which gladdens all the saints with eternal gladness, but sends the horrors of death through all who are puffed up.

Lord Jesus, give us god-fearing and humble hearts, and prepare our souls by thy grace, that we may await with joy the coming of thy day and be accepted of thee. Amen.*

Lord Jesus Christ, do not delay,
O hasten our salvation!
We often tremble on our way
In fear and tribulation.
Then hear us when we cry to thee;
Come, mighty Judge, come, make us free
From every evil. Amen!

[TLH 611, LSB 508, ELH 538; listen 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.

15. Friday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord, help us in the time of our adversity
by the power of thy word. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 1, 3-12. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power; that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

❦

The saints of God are purified through much suffering. The dross of sin in them is purged away by fire, the flesh is mortified, the lusts die, the soul is drawn toward heaven, their love is increased, their patience is trained. Then they learn to thank God for his grace in all things and to sing heavenly songs of praise to him in the midst of the dark prison. Such glory cannot be attained without suffering. Accept as the cross of the Lord all trouble that may befall you; then it also is, in truth, the cross of Christ. In other words, suffer as a Christian, bow to the will of God, accept chastisement from the Most High; then shall selfishness, stubbornness, the cares and the lusts, die. Then will God make you worthy of his call, and perfect his image in you. Thus is his name glorified in us, and thus are we glorified in him, even in this world. How full of grace is the path of suffering! Yet we shun it instead of loving it!

Especially, however, do our sufferings prepare us for the blessed estate in the future life, and to meet him when he comes with his mighty angels on that great day. Then it shall be seen, that our tribulations have not harmed us, but that they have, on the contrary, sanctified, purified and transfigured us. When the ungodly are consumed by the advent of Christ, then shall our glory shine in full lustre. The angels shall marvel and adore the Lord; new depths of his wisdom are opened to them and to us. We, who had fallen so low and were in such wretched case, are become so unspeakably glorious. Thereby the Lord receives his new name; forever new it is reflected from us; in this wise we have it written in our foreheads. His name Jesus shines with a splendor forever new throughout all eternity. Every knee bows to him, and all the saints praise him with new tongues.

Then is our time of tribulation gone by, and the eternal wedding days are come.

We are willing to suffer, Lord Jesus; but still, do thou help us thereto. Give us grace so to bear our sufferings, that thy name may be honored here and yonder. Amen.*

Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee.

[TLH 533; 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.

14. Thursday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord, give us grace to keep
thy word in our hearts. Amen.

Revelation 3, 7-13. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

❦

It behooves the church of God to be patient and remain steadfast through poverty and tribulation a little while, then shall it receive the crown. The church must keep the word of Christ’s patience; that is, it must practice patience and conquer by his word. It must submit to contempt, scorn, and oppression on the part of the wise and mighty of the world, it must suffer without complaining, bear anguish and sorrow, and find support in the word which teaches us, that such is to be the portion of God’s people here on earth, especially in these latter days. Though we have but little strength, the power of the Word is great; the faithfulness of the Lord will enable us to keep the truth and thereby vanquish all its opponents. “Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.” Through the trials of the latter days the church shall be made worthy of the crown of victory. The cross is the Christians’ coat-of-arms; the effeminate shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Man thy soul with courage, Zion; be undaunted in the strife; be undaunted always, looking forward to the crown of life. Though the enemy be mighty, life is but a fleeting breath; let thy heart be stout, O Zion, and be faithful unto death.

Faithful Lord Jesus, thou knowest that we can do nothing of ourselves; give us grace that we may confess thee and be willing to suffer for thy name’s sake. Grant us patience; keep our eyes directed toward the crown, so that we never may grow faint of heart, but thank and bless thee in our tribulations while life endures. Amen.*

Who will but let himself be guided
Of God alone, in all his ways,
Shall strength receive, be well provided,
And safely led through evil days;
Who trusts in God’s unchanging love,
Builds on the Rock that naught can move.

Think not, when in the stress of trial,
That God hath cast thee off unheard,
That he whose hopes meet no denial
Must surely be of God preferred;
God never will forsake in need
The heart that trusts in him indeed.

[TLH 518, LSB 750, ELH 205; 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.

13. Wednesday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord, teach us thy word, and help us
to walk in the light which it gives. Amen.

Matthew 25, 31-46. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

❦

Christ and his judgment seat separate us into two divisions. That which decides the eternal fate of each individual is the relation in which he has placed himself to Christ in this life. All who with humble hearts and true faith live in him and do good, shall stand acquitted over yonder and enter into the joy of their Lord. But those who have led a worldly life without Christ, whether it be in outward piety or in open wickedness, must depart into everlasting fire. Those who are saved inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world; they inherit it as the children of God in Christ; they have not themselves earned it by their works; they pretend to no merit of their own. When have we done any good to thee, our Lord? They served him unceasingly, but their left hand knew not what their right hand did. The fact, that they were able to do good, was pure grace; how, then, can it be their merit? And yet the Lord counts it as such; he remembers their good works and rewards them. It is he who does good in us, yet regards it as though we had done it of ourselves. The saints depend on his grace alone; there is, indeed, nothing else which has saved and does save them. They are imperfect in all their works, and deserve nothing but punishment; but the Lord disregards their imperfection, and he finds in them only glorious deeds. He sees, that what they have done, down to the most insignificant act, has been done for him, and he permits nothing thereof to lose its reward.

On the other hand we hear the blind, self-righteous spirit ask: When have we seen thee and not served thee? This is an impious question. Woe be to us, if we are so blind that, knowing neither ourselves nor the grace of God, we pride ourselves on having done well before the Lord! Woe be to us, if he alone is not our righteousness and our life, so that we serve him by doing good to his needy members on earth. O, that these words might cut through our very marrow and bones: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”

Holy and righteous God, who of thy mercy didst become the Son of Man, in order that we might have in thee a merciful judge; grant that we may live our life here on earth in true faith and charity, and that we may stand with all who are thine at thy right hand on the day of thy glory. Amen.*

Great God, what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear,
On clouds of glory seated;
The trumpet sounds; the graves restore
The dead which they contained before;
Prepare, my soul, to meet him.

The dead in Christ shall first arise,
At the last trumpet’s sounding,
Caught up to meet him in the skies,
With joy their Lord surrounding;
No gloomy fears their souls dismay;
His presence sheds eternal day
On those prepared to meet him.

[TLH 604; 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.

12. Tuesday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord Jesus, grant that we
may hear thy word and live. Amen.

Matthew 25, 1-13. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

❦

What shall it profit us to be called believers, if we be not such in fact? Or what gain is there in our having, at one time, been living Christians, if we do not remain steadfast to the end? What good purpose is served by having lamps, if we have no oil in the vessel? External works that give us the appearance of being true believers, so that we may mix with these and regard ourselves and be regarded by others as good Christians; — this sort of godliness which is not in truth the life of the Spirit in the heart, will, alas, prove a sad delusion at the last. By the oil in the vessel is meant the Spirit and life in the heart, the true life of faith and love; out of this proceeds the true light in deeds and conversation. Take heed that your fear of God be not an empty lamp. Do you in fact have the life of grace in your soul? Is it out of this, from within, that your deeds of piety proceed? Do you live in the Lord, and is his love in you? Does your heart beat with such tenderness for him, that you hasten to meet him with longing and joy when the cry is made: “Behold, the bridegroom cometh”? Is this your innermost thought: Lord Jesus, come quickly; thou, thou art he for whom I am looking and longing; my whole heart is thine in life and death; thou art my only own now and forevermore? — Even the wise virgins are affected in some measure by the drowsy breath of the times, and they slumber; but they are known herein, that, when their rest is disturbed, their hearts are with Jesus. He is their life, and his love is in truth the soul in all their deeds.

Lord Jesus, we earnestly beseech thee, that we may be among the wise virgins; suffer us never to fall into that sleep which is spiritual death. Make us whole and true in the faith; let it burn in our heart and be the light of our life until the end. Amen.*

Rise, my soul, to watch and pray,
From thy sleep awake thee,
Lest at last the evil day
Suddenly o’ertake thee:
For the foe, well we know,
Oft his harvest reapeth,
While the Christian sleepeth.

[TLH 446, LSB 663, ELH 253; listen 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.

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.

❦

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.

[TLH 449; 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.

9. Second Sunday in Advent. I.

Lord, let thy word rouse us
and keep us awake. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Luke 21, 25-36. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

❦

Many forget entirely that a judgment day is coming, and none remembers it with such vividness of thought and feeling as the gravity of the subject demands. Time flies, and every second brings us nearer to the judgment. Beware lest you forget this. Even though the many who are of the earth forget it, do not you forget it, Christian believer! Indeed, in your innermost heart you long for the second coming of the Lord. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” The children of the world refuse to believe this, but the event will put their wisdom to shame. They dream that there is no day of doom, the while they sail straight toward the judgment seat of the Lord and stand in the midst of death, the entrance gate to the place of judgment. Yes, the Lord has said that he will come again, and he will keep his promise. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall not pass away. Rejoice, ye Christians, for soon shall the Son of Man be revealed, the Glorious One, who loves you and whom ye love. Begin now to lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh. No terrible judge is he who cites you to appear before him; he is the Son of Man with the stripes and scars in his transfigured body. When you see the sign of the cross you shall know him and be of good cheer, while the proud and valiant men of the world shake with fear, and their hearts fail them in despair. Himself has said that whosoever believes in him shall not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.

Watch, however; watch! It is but a little while. Away with the cares of the world; away with the lusts of the flesh; away with all sleepiness and sloth! Watch, stand steadfast in the Lord, be manly, be strong. Do not let the mists of unbelief confuse you. Do not let the countless lusts of the flesh master you. Stand with loins girt about and with lights burning. Watch, for Jesus’ sake; watch! Lord Jesus, do thou help us always to watch and pray. Faithful Savior, preserve my soul and man me with firm resolve to abide in thee, in order that I may be found watching when thou comest, and that with the elect I may be a guest at thy wedding feast. Amen.*

That day of wrath, that dreadful day,
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
What power shall be the sinner’s stay?
How shall he meet that dreadful day?

When, shriveling like a parched scroll,
The flaming heavens together roll,
When louder yet, and yet more dread,
Resounds the trump that wakes the dead:

Oh! on that day, that wrathful day,
When man to judgment wakes from clay,
Be thou, O Christ, the sinner’s stay,
Though heaven and earth shall pass away.

[TLH 612; listen here]

---

10. Second Sunday in Advent. II.

Lord, give us devout hearts. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, Romans 15, 4-9. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.

❦

The human family has been torn asunder, hearts have been divided, and the world is full of strife. From Babel the peoples go their several ways; and since the time of the patriarchs the people of Israel have kept their independent course like a current through the sea, without assimilating with the others. But that which sin separated and which the wisdom of God long kept asunder, his mercy has again united. Jesus is become the Savior of all peoples. He has fulfilled the law, and he became the suffering servant whom the scriptures promise to the Jews as a redeemer. But he died for us gentiles also, so that the prophecies of the prophets concerning salvation by the mercy of God are fulfilled in him. Satan, the spirit of discord, the prince of death, shall rule no more. As yet we see, to be sure, only the beginning of the union of Jews and gentiles in one fold; there is yet much division in the Christian church; we still suffer sorely by reason of the cunning and power of the enemy. O, if Israel would but know its Savior, how much of added life and power would not be given to the Lord’s people! How strong would the church be, were there not, alas, so many parties among the believing children of God! It would capture the world and would soon attain to the perfect estate of glory. Nevertheless, we shall surely conquer through patience and comfort of the scriptures. The Lord, who bears Jews and gentiles in one heart and has redeemed both with one blood, will continue to unite the believing Jews and gentiles into one people. Or, shall not the prophecies be fulfilled which, from the beginning to the end of the Bible, promise a blessed unity of all who are saved? If the promise concerning the service to be rendered by the Son of God for both Jew and gentile has been fulfilled, shall not the promise concerning their union as one blessed people be fulfilled also? The word of God must come true. Our own hearts, also, tell us that we have communion with all the saints of all peoples; even now we live the life of love together in spite of all that divides us; we pray together before the throne; we sing the same song of praise; we labor in the same spirit; we are joined together by one life; — all of which points to the same glorious end as do the words of the Lord wherein he promises to gather all his own where there shall be one fold and one shepherd.

Lord Jesus, bless this church year; unite thy believers; give the Jews repentance; gather unto thyself the fullness of the gentiles; let thy love constrain us, that we receive one another, even as thou hast received us to the glory of God. Amen.*

Sing praise to God who reigns above,
The God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love,
The God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul he fills,
And every pain and sorrow stills:
To God all praise and glory!

The angel host, O King of kings,
Thy praise forever telling,
In earth and sky all living things
Beneath thy shadow dwelling,
Adore the wisdom which could span,
And power which formed creation’s plan:
To God all praise and glory!

[TLH 19, LSB 819, ELH 435; 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.

8. Saturday after First Sunday in Advent.

Lord Jesus, let thy words
of peace and grace force their way
into our hearts. Amen.

Revelation 1, 4-7. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so. Amen.

❦

Our Lord Jesus himself has redeemed us with his own blood, so that Satan has no right to hold us captive in sin. The kingdom which Christ founded by his death and resurrection is the kingdom of grace and peace; all who belong to it are kings and priests. The grace of the triune God rests upon them and reigns in them, and the Spirit sanctifies them by the blood of Jesus. In baptism right and access to this kingdom were granted us, and we have entered into it by faith. Therefore we dare to say with Saint Paul: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” We are, to be sure, weak in ourselves, but we are strong in him by faith; for we believe that we, baptized unto Christ, who died and arose from the dead for us, are dead from sin by his death, and quickened with him by his resurrection; and while we believe this, it is ours in very truth, so that we live and reign with him and have free access to the Father. Sin continues still to oppress us, but we dare to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Christ and come before the very throne of God, and we receive forgiveness and strength to win the victory. Make use of your kingly power, dear Christian, and of your priestly privilege for the good of yourself and the brethren. Come forward into the light always; confess your sin honestly before the Lord, and pray earnestly for mercy; then shall nothing condemn you, nothing rob you of your peace, and no sin rule over you. Even though you may, at times, feel so weak both in faith and life that you seem certain to succumb at last; yet, for the sake of the blood of Jesus, this shall not come to pass.

Let thy Spirit, O God, the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, keep us vigilant and pure. Amen.*

O for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe;
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!

That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod;
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God.

[TLH 396 (listen here); or ELH 364]

* 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.

7. Friday after First Sunday in Advent.

Lord, let thy word enter into
and quicken our hearts. Amen.

Romans 5, 17-21. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

❦

By the fall of Adam death became of force and should have ruled over us all, even though we had no further transgressed the law of God. The offense of one was the offense of all. But the like rule obtains also in regard to Christ and his righteousness; to accept this righteousness is to come into possession of the sovereign power of life. There one; here one. — The offense of one, the offense of all; the righteousness of one, the righteousness of all. By his obedience alone, not by his and ours; by his life, his victory, his fulfillment of the law, without the aid of any work of ours, are we saved. He alone has bruised the serpent’s head; the high priest alone entered in with the sacrifice for the sins of the world; David alone slew Goliah; there was none with our Lord when he trod the winepress of wrath. Furthermore, the obedience of one does not save from the one fall, only, in which we fell in Adam; many other offenses have been added to the offense of Adam, but no other saving obedience has been superadded to the one. The law works transgressions, and thereby offenses have become many. But by the obedience of Christ alone atonement has been made for every offense, so that there is no room for any other atoning obedience in addition to this. Sin abounds in the world; hence the terrible rule of death; but in the kingdom of Christ we have the glorious reign of grace through his righteousness. The unbelievers are the slaves of sin, but all the people of Christ are free. They are not as yet sinless; they feel their guilt with pain, and they could not stand before the judgment of God’s holy law; but in Christ they are under grace, not under the law. Than these words nothing can be more beautiful: “As sin has reigned unto death, even so shall grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Blessed be Christ!

May this gospel be painted before our eyes throughout our whole life and in our last hour. Grant us this, thou Holy Spirit, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Blest is the man, forever blest,
Whose guilt is pardoned by his God,
Whose sins with sorrow are confessed,
And covered with his Savior’s blood.

Blest is the man, to whom the Lord
Imputes not his iniquities,
He pleads no merit of reward,
And not on works, but grace relies.

[TLH 392 (listen here); or ELH 416 (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.

6. Thursday after First Sunday in Advent.

Keep us, Lord, in thy tabernacle,
hide us in thy pavilion. Amen.

Psalm 48. A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth; thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death.

❦

The earthly Jerusalem typifies, as it were, the church of Christ; and this psalm recites the splendor of the church.

The Lord is in his Zion; the great, eternal God is in the midst of his Christian people. He who is the first and the last and the living, who was dead and is alive for evermore, who has the keys of hell and death, he is in the midst of the seven candlesticks, in the midst of the church, with the sevenfold gifts of his Spirit. This is the glory of the church, that the Lord himself is in it, that it is the city of the Lord of hosts. For this reason are all its enemies put to shame, while its children are victorious over death and hell.

We who are baptized and believe in Jesus dwell together on that Mount Zion which is established forever; we abide within the walls of the city of God, where mercy and righteousness reign, where death and the devil are shut out, and with them all evil, so that bliss and life only are found therein. For our communion is with the Father and the Son in the Holy Ghost. We still have, to be sure, much sin and frailty, but we have full forgiveness of sin every day; Satan throws the darts of temptation against us and often wounds us, but we are continually healed by the blood of Jesus, and we walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. Outside of God’s church the devil rules, and all who dwell there are the children of death. Over us in Zion, in the community of true believers, Christ is king, and all his people are the children of life. Our removal from the church on earth to that in heaven shall in no wise harm us. For the same God is our God forevermore, and he will be our safe guide even unto death. This is truth. The word of God teaches it. We believe it and train ourselves always in this faith. We do not see it, neither do we feel it in such manner, that we make this feeling our reliance. But the word of God does not lie, in this word we trust. O, that we might have firm faith in the blessed truth of the word! Then shall we more and more know by experience, that all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ.

We remember thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple, and praise thee that thou so graciously dost save us. Keep us with thee and gather unto thyself the multitudes of thy redeemed from all the ends of the earth. Amen.*

Ye nations round the earth, rejoice
Before the Lord, your sovereign King;
Serve him with cheerful heart and voice,
With all your tongues his glory sing.

The Lord is God, ’tis he alone
Doth life and breath and being give;
We are his work, and not our own,
The sheep that on his pastures live.

[suggested tune: Old Hundredth, TLH 13; 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.

5. Wednesday after First Sunday in Advent.

Lord, give us thy word in our hearts,
for we are thine;
and do thou save us. Amen.

Psalm 72, 1-8. A Psalm for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

❦

Solomon is a type of Christ, and his kingdom of peace is a type of the Christian church. In this psalm God’s people pray, that the kingdom of Christ may come; and they sing of the splendors of this kingdom, its extension and its eternal duration. Christ is the righteous king who secures justice to the poor and needy, but breaks in pieces the oppressor. Them that love sin and live in unrighteousness he rejects and condemns, but he saves those that submit themselves to the law of God and seek his help against sin. He will surely save the needy who cry to him, and the poor who have none to help them. Admit that God is true in his judgments; acknowledge the justice of the correction administered by his law; but, at the same time, credit him with speaking truth in his gospel, also, concerning the obedience and atonement of the Son of God for you; then are you righteous and enjoy the peace of grace. The Prince of peace acquits you of everything brought to your charge; and you shall live with him, and reign with him. Faith is the one thing on which all depends. It is in faith that Christ is known. Exercise yourself in the faith; do not allow yourself to be led astray by your conceited reason, or by your own views and feelings. As God lives, the man who gives hearty assent to his word is just and accepted in his sight.

The proud children of the world, who resist the purpose and righteousness of God, hope to destroy the dominion of this king; but his throne stands, and he shall sit thereon until the sun and moon are no more. The kingdoms of gold and silver and copper and iron shall pass away, but the kingdom of peace is without end. Neither shall any be able to prevent its extension. Our heavenly Solomon shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. How good and glorious a truth this is! With holy joy and fear we accept it, and see all kings fall down before him and all nations serve him.

Lord Jesus, give us humble and believing hearts, so that in all our trouble and strife on earth we may taste thy precious peace. God, give the king thy judgments and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. Save thy people and bless thine inheritance; provide for them, and exalt them forevermore. Amen.*

Dear Refuge of my weary soul,
On thee, when sorrows rise,
On thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies.

To thee I tell each rising grief,
For thou alone canst heal;
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief
For every pain I feel.

[suggested tune: St. Agnes, TLH 361; 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.

4. Tuesday after First Sunday in Advent.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law. Amen.

Ephesians 1, 17-23. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

❦

Our Lord Jesus is greater and more mighty than all the angelic hosts, together with all powers above and below. The spiritual and unseen forces, the hosts of heaven, and the powers of the deep, and the might of death, mock all the wisdom and power of the world; but our Lord Jesus is greater. He vanquished and disarmed, yea even destroyed, death, and seated himself at the right hand of God the Father, a Lord of all things and over all on high and in the deep. But this his kingly power he uses for our salvation, namely in creating and preserving faith in our hearts, and making us partakers of his life. The new birth and the sanctification of a man are effects of this exceeding great power of God in the resurrection of Christ. May his Spirit of wisdom reveal this to us, and open our eyes, that we may know the greatness and the certainty of our salvation. It is the eternal God with his sovereign power who dwells in the Christian church. The power which is greater than that of the creation; the power which vanquished the prince of death; the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, — this power it is which the Spirit of God has given within you, Christian believer; and thereby he has turned you from death to life, and preserves you therein. The Spirit and life of Christ is in you; the church is his body, and he its head. “And he must protect, preserve, advance, bless, and glorify himself in his own. He continually relives his life, and reveals all the mysteries of his redemption, in his body, the church. He suffers in its persecuted, troubled, needy and sick members; as the meek, lowly, loving, and obedient one, he sighs and prays in them; in eternal and divine power he continually arises from the dead anew in his church. Blessed be the king, the bridegroom of the church, the prince of life! In him our salvation is not uncertain; he lives, and we shall live.

Lord Jesus, dost thou know me, also, as one of thine? Is my faith in thee a true and living faith? With all who are of my household I earnestly ask of thee this grace unspeakable. — Praise be to the Lord; he has attended to the voice of my supplications. Amen.*

The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor’s brow.

The highest place that heaven affords
Is his by sovereign right:
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heaven’s eternal Light.

[TLH 219, LSB 532, ELH 393; 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.

3. Monday after First Sunday in Advent.

Psalm 24. A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein: For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

❦

David wrote this psalm for the occasion when the ark of the covenant was removed up on Zion, whereby the King of glory himself went up thither; for the ark and the mercy seat were the throne of the Lord in Israel.

This king of glory is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who comes to us full of grace and truth, and enters into Zion, the Christian church, through his holy gospel. He is Lord of all the world; he has dominion over the mighty billows of the deep, and the hosts of heaven obey his commands. The prince of our salvation is the Lord Zebaoth. The gates of the world open themselves to him, and he marches onward with victory over death and hell.

Who shall ascend into his hill? Who has communion with the Holy One? Answer:— The children of Jacob, the true believers, none others; not such as are Christians in name only, not mere Sunday saints, but only sincere, true, and honest souls. Is it possible that Jesus Christ could be a king for hypocrites and liars, for heartless, cold, unclean men, or for proud, self-satisfied, self-righteous minds? Can such as these be the people of the Holy One? O, that ye would hear! Let none delude himself. But neither let any lose heart who sees his sin with sorrow and pain. The wretched who are willing to be saved receive righteousness from the king of glory himself, and are made pure. He who in sincerity confesses his sin and longs for holiness will in no wise be cast out. It is for such that God has built his Zion, and of such he fashions unto himself his holy and glorious people.

Try me, O God, and examine my heart, and find whether or not I am of the truth. Thou knowest how prone I am to delude myself. Preserve me from this danger, and give me an upright heart. Thou knowest that this is my sincere prayer. Let me in truth be of thy people. Amen.*

To him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown his head;
His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on his love with grateful song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name.

[TLH 511, LSB 832, ELH 193; 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.

1. First Sunday in Advent. I.

God, be gracious unto us, bless us,
and make thy face
to shine upon us. Amen.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 21, 1-9. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest!

❦

Jesus Christ is the king of the church. He governs it with meekness and justice, and defends it with divine omnipotence. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who took our sin upon himself, who died for us on the cross, and bought us with his blood; he is our king. What a wealth of joy and comfort there is in this truth! In the heart of every Christian is the prayer: Lord Jesus, rule thou over us. Thou, and none other, shalt own my heart. Do thou protect us; thou alone art our sun and our shield, and we will have none other beside thee. — Than the words which we hear today, “rejoice exceedingly, daughter of Zion; behold, thy King, the Lord Jesus, cometh unto thee,” nothing more glorious could be said to us on the first day of the church year; it is the best possible answer to the prayer of the Christian heart.

He is the king of the church. No enemy, then, however strong, shall prevail against it. No matter how threatening the outlook may seem, the church shall obtain the victory and be saved. With eternal fidelity he keeps watch over his bride, who has been bought with a price; and in his omnipotence he is able to defend her against the most terrific assaults on the part of all the hosts of hell. Beyond question the church will soon be called on to face great tribulation; all manner of lying attacks by false spirits, and bitter persecution on the part of the world. Let all who belong to the army of the Lord put on the true armor of the Spirit; but let none lose hope! Christ reigns in the very midst of his enemies, and his church is victorious even while the world rejoices over her destruction.

He is the Lord of the church by reason of his rule in the hearts of his own; and they, only, whose hearts he governs are of his people. But he is, in very truth, the king of your heart, you poor sinner, who believe in him and put your trust in him alone. Truly, he is the king of your heart; you are his, and he is yours; do not let the devil persuade you to the contrary. Have faith in the kingly name of Jesus, and trust in the power of his love. Give yourself wholly to him; you can do it by the grace which he bestows; and he will direct your mind and your conduct, protect you, and lead you in the path of righteousness. Serve him willingly, obey him alway, praise his name, extend his kingdom. You are blessed, and shall be a blessing. All things in him, by him, and for him!

In this church year you shall again, with all the saints, experience that he is the same faithful and mighty Savior that he always was. He shall keep you in the state of grace, strengthen your faith, increase your charity, purify your soul in tribulations, and give you victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. Beware of trusting in your own, or of doubting his strength. You are baptized unto Christ, you hear his voice, you eat his body and blood, you live and breathe in his saving grace and love; he knows you, and he has you in his eye and in his hand day and night. He is meek, and bears with our infirmity; just, and does away with our sin.

Praise be to thee, Lord Jesus, who didst make us thy people! Give us grace to believe in thee with our whole heart, to serve thee in all that we do, and thus to work with all our might for the extension of thy kingdom on earth. Let this year be a blessed one for us, and for all who are thine. This is our most earnest prayer; thou wilt hear it, and thus fulfill thy promises. Amen.*

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen.

[TLH 511, LSB 832, ELH 193; listen here]

---

2. First Sunday in Advent. II.

Lord Jesus, give us grace to hear
the rousing call of thy word!

Epistle Lesson, Romans 13, 11-14. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

❦

It is now high time to awake out of sleep; the Sun of righteousness is risen upon us; Christ is come to us with life out of death. None shall have occasion to say: “I must yet lie, yet sleep; night broods over us, the darkness will not permit me to rise.” No; the glorious day of grace is come; the acceptable year of liberty is here. Christ wakes us, and lets the light of his countenance shine into our eyes. Through the words of the gospel he is in our very midst, lying in the manger, hanging on the cross; eternal mercy, justice, and life proceed from him. In our baptism he is present as the very same Savior that is being baptized in the Jordan, fulfills all righteousness, dies for us, rises for us, and lives for us. In the Holy Supper I receive his very self; he, who is the resurrection and the life, abides in me, and I in him. O ye Christians, will ye sleep, and thus turn this glorious day of life into an awful night of death? God forbid! However, there is here yet more which should wake us up. Our salvation is now nearer than when we believed. The hours are flying fast, and soon we shall be at the end. Now Christ comes in the means of grace; but soon he shall come in the clouds, in the glory of his Father. How will ye then stand before him, ye sleepy Christians? Awake, therefore, and be vigilant hereafter! Let this new church year become a new life. Cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Arm yourselves, for a fight is to be faced! Enter into the holiness and love of Jesus Christ, into the lustre and purity of his being! Let the heart be wholly and entirely his! No lukewarmness and sloth, no cowardly shrinking from the fight! Self-denial and vigilance while the struggle continues; faithfulness to the end! Eyes fixed on the crown of life, and victory through him who loved us!

Wake us, faithful Lord Jesus. Wake them that are spiritually dead, that they may repent. Lord, wake them, that they may not dream themselves into everlasting death. Wake thy believers, and give us zeal, courage, and hopefulness in the fight. Let our sanctification increase, and our progress be manifest in all things. Give us faithfulness unto the end, and give us the crown of life. Amen.*

Assist my soul, too apt to stray,
A stricter watch to keep;
And should I e’er forget thy way,
Restore thy wandering sheep.

Make me to walk in thy commands;
’Tis a delightful road;
Nor let my head, or heart, or hands,
Offend against my God.

[TLH 416, LSB 707, ELH 441; 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.

467. Saturday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

Lord, let thy faithfulness stir us up
to penitence, and faith, and hope,
and joy, and thanksgiving. Amen.

Hebrews 13, 8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.

❦

Truly, a sublime declaration! A good text with which to close the church year. Everything changes, but he is ever the same; all things become more gloomy and difficult, but in him there is no shadow of change. His power and love continue unchanged; his care for the church and for each individual believer is as great as it always has been. Our teachers pass away; but he remains. The apostles are dead; the fathers are dead; they who were the props of our youth are dead; our faithful and pious old leaders are dead; the pillars are shaken; the foundations are laid bare; but he lives, and is the same, and never deserts his church. As he loved you from eternity, he loves you today, and shall love you forever and ever. His heart remains evermore unchanged, as it was when he burned with compassion, and became man, and gave himself to suffer the most agonizing death for us. John and Peter and Paul found him to be infinitely merciful and good toward sinners; and so he is toward us also. As you have yourself in faith experienced his mercy, when he translated you from death to life, cleansed you in his blood, gave you his peace, and comforted you with his love; as he has heretofore preserved you, supported you, borne with you, kept you, showered mercies upon you, and given you bread from heaven to eat; — so he shall continue to deal with you forevermore; he is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. His arm is not shortened, nor his wisdom restricted. He can and shall preserve his church, and protect it against all its enemies; and he knows how to guide it through all difficulties. “Fear not,” he says; “I am the first and the last; I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” The Lion of the tribe of Juda; the Lamb, which was slain, in the midst of the throne, has taken the book (i.e., the whole course of the world’s development), and holds it in his hand, and opens its seven seals (Rev. 5). Shall he ever, do you think, be found wanting in power? or shall he fall short in wisdom? “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.” (Isaiah 40, 28). He is “Jehovah,” who is and remains always the same. He it is, our Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, your high priest, your prophet, and your king, who has guided you and saved you during the past year; and he shall guide you and save you through the year that is coming. You are growing older, and more needy, and more weary; you see more clearly how dark it is on earth; and you look back with sadness to the early days of your Christian life. Alas, it is gone by, that golden age, with the simplicity, the humility, the brotherly spirit, the bond of fellowship, which so beautifully knit the children of God together as one in the Lord; and evil times are come, with dissensions and schisms; and you are tempted to sit down and weep over your own distress and that of the church. Friend, dry your tears; “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” Yet, why say that you must dry your tears? Rather will I say: Brother, let us weep. Let us weep tears of penitence on account of our sins during the past year, and tears of joy on account of the love and truth of our God! May the sorrow of repentance never die in our heart, nor the tears of joy be wiped away from our eyes; until we reach that place where there shall no more be any yesterday and tomorrow, but where it shall be said: “The day of eternity is here; and the marriage of the Lamb is come!”*

Wilt thou come soon, Lord Jesus? “Surely I come quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen.

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise!
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name.

Look unto him, ye nations; own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.

[TLH 360 (listen here); or LSB 528 (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.

466. Friday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

The Lord liveth;
and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God
of the rock of my salvation.

Hebrews 12, 1-11. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

❦

We are yet in the field of battle; but above and about us is a cloud of blessed witnesses, who have fought and won, and who now by their example and presence are to give us strength to strive lawfully and to hold out until we stand in their ranks as victors. Let us, then, “lay aside every weight” which impairs our strength. “All things are lawful for me; but all things are not expedient.” Cast from you whatsoever weighs you down and is a hindrance to you, or clogs your feet. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life,” says the apostle; “and if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” Those witnesses must give your faith good testimony. You are not as yet free from sin itself; purge yourself of it continually; for it continually seeks to ensnare you. Do not tolerate it in any way; or you may easily experience the truth of the saying: “Give Satan an inch, and he will take an ell.” — The faithful Lord God shall graciously help you with his fatherly chastisement; but shall not rebuke you otherwise than as a father rebukes his children. When you are chastised and suffer as a Christian, you become like unto Christ. To be free from suffering and chastisement is to be outside of his kingdom; for all his people bear the cross. But you must remain with him; and you must above all things look to him in order to become strong in the fight. He saw before him at the end of his suffering our salvation as his joy and the prize of his victory; us there awaits at the end of our weary way an imperishable crown from his hand. Thus he became the author of faith, and is gone before us; thus he is its finisher also, and gives us strength. For his suffering is ours; and his victory, ours. It was in our stead, for our sin, he suffered, and it was our enemy whom he vanquished; and we are united with him as the members of his body. To look unto the cloud of witnesses about us makes us strong; but to look unto him, the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus, with the victory and salvation in his name, makes us invincible. What is all our suffering as compared with his; and what is all our tribulation as compared with the glory of “seeing him as he is”? Blessed be thy name, Lord Jesus! Let me truly experience the power of thy resurrection and the fellowship of thy suffering; and make me to keep my eyes fixed on thee always, even as thou, faithful Savior, dost keep me ever in thine eye and heart. Amen.*

Lord, thou art my rock of strength,
And my home is in thine arms.
Thou wilt send me help at length,
And I feel no wild alarms.
Sin nor death can pierce the shield
Thy defense has o’er me thrown:
Up to thee myself I yield,
And my sorrows are thine own.

[Church Book 423; 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.

465. Thursday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

O Lord, that our faith
might be living,
and our longing after heaven
be fervent! Amen.

Hebrews 11, 8-16. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned: but now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.

❦

The faithful in the old covenant waited for the coming of Christ and for the salvation which had been promised them in him. They regarded the coming of the Savior, with atonement for sin and victory over the devil, as synonymous with the perfecting of his people and their occupation of their new home. Time has advanced, and we live in the midst of that for which they longed. Christ is come, the kingdom of heaven has been revealed, atonement for sin has been made, justification is an accomplished fact. We no longer dwell in the Canaan of the Jews, seeking God through the temple in the earthly city of Zion; we are come to “the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, . . . and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” But we are now in the midst of these things; the church is not as yet made perfect. We also walk in faith, and look for the rest eternal. Those already in heaven have no wish to return to the earth; and we also have bid the world farewell, and will not return to it. Their trust was in the word of God; and this is our reliance also. In regard to the country to which he was going Abraham knew nothing more than the Lord had told him; but at God’s word he left home and kindred, not doubting that he would receive a good country. And was he disappointed, do you think? We have not seen our heavenly heritage; but we have God’s own word for it. God, that cannot lie, has promised us eternal life. He gives us grace to hold fast this promise; and none can rob us of our inheritance. — Together with the word of God, Israel had the country as earnest of the blessed rest in heaven. We have a greater pledge; namely, the church of Christ itself, with the holy means of grace and the Spirit therein, which bears witness in our hearts. We are already at the wedding; for we are “made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Shall any man, then, be able to make us doubtful of the reality of salvation, or of our portion therein? Let not the world flatter itself, that it can again make us blind! — “Blessed the man, O Lord, who for thy sake disengages himself from everything of the world, does violence to his nature, and with fervent zeal of the spirit crucifies the lusts of the flesh; so that the soul with clear conscience brings to thee its pure offering of prayer, and becomes fit to join the angelic chorus when all earthly things, of the body and of the mind, are shut out!” Grant us this mercy, heavenly Father, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.*

Then let my soul march boldly on,
Press forward to the heavenly gate;
There peace and joy eternal reign,
And glittering robes for conquerors wait.

There shall I wear a starry crown,
And triumph in almighty grace;
While all the armies of the skies
Join in my glorious Leader’s praise.

[Church Book 460; 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.

464. Wednesday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

O Lamb of God,
bind our hearts inseparably to thee,
and draw us into thy glory. Amen.

Revelation 14, 1-5. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

❦

Here the song of praise from heaven, where the blest already enjoy eternal happiness, is heard by the church which still fights and suffers on earth. The saints have the Lamb’s Father’s name written in their foreheads; that is, they are his own, and they are like him. His Spirit and love, which saved them by the blood of the Lamb, are come upon them, and have imprinted themselves on them; so that now, when you see them, you read his name in their foreheads. — Their song of praise in heaven is so powerful that it sounds as the voice of many waters, or as the most terrific peals of thunder; and yet as beautiful as the sweetest strains of a harp; power and tenderness are in the most marvelous way united. They sing “a new song”; that is, a song of the things ever new which they see in God: and therefore a song which never grows old, and never wearisome. None on earth can learn it, save only those who know the power of redemption in the blood of the Lamb. “These are they which were not defiled with women.” “For they are virgins”; not by abstinence from marriage, — else were Peter and several more of the apostles excluded, — but in purity of mind, in the soul’s chaste love and faith toward our Lord Jesus during their life here below. A pure virgin means one who does not love the world, but serves God with single heart. “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth,” are one with him, and always walk in his steps, imitating his obedience and patience. “These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” Being precious and beautiful in his sight, they walk also as such, and are in mind and spirit fundamentally different from the world; “and in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God.” They live in the truth. They do not reach sinless perfection here on earth; but they strive after it, nor cease their efforts before they reach it in the world to come. — Dear reader, you may, if you will, be numbered among the hundred and forty and four thousand; walk so as here is written! Help us thereto, thou Lamb of God, Lord of glory, by thy Holy Spirit. Give us the soul’s chaste love of our heavenly bridegroom; open our ears to the tones proceeding from the church triumphant over yonder; and teach us to glorify the power of thy blood, that we may forever sing the new song together with the angels before the throne. Amen.*

Jerusalem, my happy home,
Name ever dear to me!
When shall my labors have an end
In joy, and peace, and thee?
When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls
And pearly gates behold?
Thy bulwarks with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?
O when, thou city of my God,
Shall I thy courts ascend,
Where evermore the angels sing,
Where sabbaths have no end?

[TLH 618 (listen here); or ELH 539]

* 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.

463. Tuesday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

Let the words of hope, O God,
gladden and strengthen our hearts. Amen.

Revelation 7, 13-17. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

❦

Tribulation first, and then glory! Peter wanted to remain on the mount. “Lord, it is good to be here; let us make here three tabernacles.” No, Peter; it is too soon; you must yet a while suffer tribulation; the path to eternal glory leads by way of Cedron and Calvary.

The aged Jacob sighed: “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.” Naomi lost both husband and sons; David was given tears to drink; and Jeremiah sang lamentations to move a stone. But behold them now before the throne of God, clothed with their white robes, and palms in their hands! There Moses is no longer troubled by the stubbornness of the people; there Job does not lose his riches, his children, his health, and his honor; there the eyes of Peter are not moist with tears; there Paul is rid of his thorn in the flesh; there Nehemiah is no longer a pitiful sight to see by reason of sadness on account of the city of God. Here on earth all believers have their afflictions, and are to be prepared to bear the cross after the Savior every day. But in the world to come they all are forever delivered from all evil; for there sin has disappeared, and with it sorrow and suffering and death; “there is fulness of joy; at the right hand of God are pleasures for evermore.” It could not be more beautifully expressed in human language, than it is in the words employed by the angel in our text: “The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” The Lamb himself, the Lamb, who now has dominion over all things, and who now owns our heart; he shall care for us, and spread the tent over us. O how safe and how full of bliss shall be our habitation! And he shall lead us unto the living fountains of waters, where we shall drink without hindrance of the living streams of love; and the eternal God shall himself be our abundant comfort for all our tears on earth. Who, then, would not cheerfully suffer, and thank God for it? Fight the good fight for the crown; and the Lord shall give you a most glorious reward. Do not forget, however, that the blest in heaven are they who have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Ponder this, and follow Jesus!

Lord, thou knowest how lukewarm I am, alas; and thou knowest how many obstacles bar my way. Stir me up, and strengthen me; and help me to renounce and cast from me everything which may endanger my salvation. Reveal to me even now so much of the glory to come, that I may rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and continue instant in prayer. Make me faithful, and guide me to the goal. Amen.*

What are these in bright array,
This innumerable throng,
Round the altar night and day
Hymning one triumphant song?
“Worthy is the Lamb, once slain,
Blessing, honor, glory, power,
Wisdom, riches to obtain,
New dominion every hour.”

These through fiery trials trod;
These from great affliction came;
Now, before the throne of God,
Sealed with his almighty name,
Clad in raiment pure and white,
Victor-palms in every hand,
Through their great Redeemer’s might,
More than conquerors they stand.

[Common Service Book 246; 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.

462. Monday after Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

God, thou desirest truth
in the inward parts;
and in the hidden part
thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Matthew 5, 13-16. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

❦

Lot was the salt in Sodom; Noah, in the last days before the deluge; and the faithful in Jerusalem, before the destruction of the city. As long as the righteous dwell among the ungodly the judgments of God are warded off; but when the saints disappear the eagles gather about the carcase. The proud men of the world do not know that the prayers of God’s children are the props which sustain the country and nation. But if this be true, it behooves the faithful to strive the more earnestly after zeal and holiness. Let it again be said of us with full truth, as it was written of the early Christians:

They live among the others; but they distinguish themselves before them in a wonderful way by their conduct. They sojourn in their fatherland, but as strangers; they live in the flesh, but not according to the flesh; they dwell on earth, and live in heaven. They are misjudged, persecuted, condemned of all; yet they love all. They are poor, yet make many rich; they have nothing, and yet possess all things; they are cursed, and yet they bless. In a word, what the soul is to the body the Christians are to the world. The soul is in the body, but not of the body; the Christians are in the world, but not of the world. The flesh hates the soul, though this only prevents the flesh from giving itself up to its ruinous lusts; and the world hates the Christians, though these only resist its wicked and corrupt ways. . . . The soul is housed in the body, but it sustains the body; the Christians are housed in the world, but they sustain the world.

— Epistle to Diognetus

Away with all false pretense; with all hollow, ostentatious religion, which is a mere matter of form! Let the true life of the Spirit, the love born of God’s love, burn and glow in our heart; that the light may shine round about, and the name of the Lord may be glorified! — Come, Lord Jesus, live in me; and let me always and everywhere live in thee. Let the celestial fire of thy love burn in my soul, and glow through my entire being; that my whole life may radiate thy love, and shew forth its praises. Amen.*

My God, I love thee; not because
I hope for heaven thereby;
Nor yet because if I love not,
I must forever die.

Not with the hope of gaining aught;
Not seeking a reward;
But, as thyself hast loved me,
O ever loving Lord!

[Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal 405; 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.

460. Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity. I.

Teach us, O Lord, that without the cross
there can be no crown.

Gospel Lesson, Matthew 17, 1-9. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and, behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead.

❦

The Savior is given an hour of rest as preparation for his great passion; and the disciples are permitted to see his glory before witnessing his struggle in Gethsemane. On the mountain his divinity shines out through the servant form which he had assumed, and reveals that he who suffers is in the bosom of the Father; in the garden it is hid by tears and the sweat of blood, and reveals itself only in his perfect obedience. All the disciples of Jesus follow him; but some follow him more closely than do the others, and hence are lifted up to greater heights, and thrust down to greater depths of joy and suffering. His life here below was labor and pain; but there were some bright hours in between. Last Sunday’s gospel lesson, for instance, speaks of one such occasion of special joy; and he found rest daily in praying to the Father; and his soul rejoiced whenever hearts opened to receive the word of life. In like manner his Christians also must take up the cross, and experience many sorrows; but they likewise have their hours of happiness, giving them a foretaste of the life eternal. However, as not all are able to go farther into Gethsemane, so neither are all permitted to be with the Savior on Tabor. Some may at times be so distinctly conscious of the Lord’s presence and of the powers of the world to come, that if it should continue, they would no more be in the world; they are so happy that they forget all suffering; they may speak with God by the hour, and it seems to them but a moment; in their soul is a rapture beyond utterance, a union of holy fear and the delight of love, which surpasses all understanding. But this experience is not common to all believers; and therefore you must not make it the test of your own state of grace and that of others. Neither shall you ask God to give you a greater measure of such happiness than so much as he sees that you are able to bear. Nevertheless, every Christian shall experience that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; that the love of God is precious, and that his word is sweet. Every Christian is permitted to come to God in prayer, and learn that a day in the courts of the Lord is better than a thousand; and every Christian will have special seasons of joy more refreshing than the daily tenor of his life. For we at times need such a lifting up, in order that the mind may not faint under its burden, but be refreshed after the struggle, and be strengthened to undergo new trials; for which reason God has also granted us our ever recurring Sunday and our festival seasons. — Peter wished to build tabernacles on Tabor; as who would not? But the Lord did not bring you up into the mountain, dear friend, to let you now make your home there with him, but to enable you to go with him through the valley of Cedron without losing your faith. There is greater danger in joy than in sorrow. Yet we must taste the cup of joy, in order that our sufferings may be a benefit to us; for without an occasional sojourn on Tabor, without such seasons of joy, after the measure which each may be able to bear, we would succumb in the time of trouble. Follow Jesus more closely every hour; and your joys and sorrows will become more intense, and you will be transfigured after his likeness from glory to glory.

Lord, when shall I see thee in thy glory, and praise thee as I ought, thou light of all the heavens and fullness of all beauty? How long shall I walk in this wilderness, ere I reach the city of thy habitation, and see thee as thou art? Give me a clear spiritual eye to see thee; and give me now and then a foretaste of thy salvation; that I may not become weary, but may serve thee faithfully, and patiently bear whatever of suffering thou dost impose on me, and rejoice in the blessed hope of seeing thee face to face. Yet, O Lord, it is not mine to say what thou shalt do. Lead me, faithful God, according to thine own counsel; grant that I may never desire to rid myself of thy cross, but may ever more gladly carry it after thee; and receive me at last into thy glory. Amen.*

Lord, guide me in thy secret way;
With such a guide I shall not stray;
Bring me into a heavenly frame,
Unite my heart to fear thy name.

O King of nations, Lord of all,
Before thee shall all nations fall;
And every language shall confess
Thy glorious everlastingness!

[Church Book 482]

---

461. Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity. II.

Lord, let thy word stir us up,
that we walk henceforth
with living concern
for our souls’ salvation. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, 2 Peter 1, 12-18. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up, by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

❦

Saint Peter continued unto the last to be as fervent as ever in spirit, and as zealous for the piety and the salvation of the brethren. The years did not impair his mind, nor weaken his zeal. Even now, with death near at hand, he is as full of fire as on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit for the first time came upon him. This is as it should be. It is a sad thing when Christians with the lapse of time become lukewarm, and let the inner man grow old with the body; something which not rarely happens, especially in the case of such as have been suddenly converted, and have displayed extravagant zeal in the beginning of their Christian life. They become vain or lax; either of which conditions impairs their spiritual strength, and easily leads to their falling from grace. — As Paul in his life demonstrated whose devoted servant he was in faith, so Peter also and the other apostles. To this end the transfiguration on the mount had been of great importance; for it proves conclusively that the glory of God dwelt in Jesus while he was in the form of a servant; thus making it sure beyond a doubt that the man Jesus, who delivers himself up to death, is God’s only begotten, beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased. It is this positive faith which makes Peter so energetic and robust even on the brink of the grave. He urges us to follow him herein; and in the chapter before us he mentions two things which shall surely help us to do this: 1) Heed the light of God’s word; then shall the Spirit give you the assurance that Jesus has earned for you everlasting life, and has given you divine power to obtain victory over sin. 2) Strive with all diligence to lead the life of faith in holiness; whereto grace and strength are given you in the promises of God. So shall you “make your calling and election sure”; and “so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The apostle has endeavored that we may be able after his decease to have these things always in remembrance. Shall not we, then, also make this endeavor?

Lord Jesus, help us to do this. Lead us with thee through thy death. Let everything which is displeasing to thee be crucified. Be with us through life, and take us to heaven when we die. We ask it in thine own name. Amen.*

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields,
Or walk the golden streets.
Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry;
We’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground
To fairer worlds on high.

[LSB 669; 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.