Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me today.
This Sunday we
remember the Baptism of our Lord. As we read the appointed Psalm for that
remembrance, think about why this psalm was chosen to complement the other
readings for this week.
The Reading:
Ps. 29 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the
LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe
to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due
his name;
worship
the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the
waters;
the
God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is
powerful;
the
voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the
cedars;
the
LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a
calf,
and
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD flashes
forth flames of fire.
8
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the
deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the
flood;
the
LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the LORD give strength to
his people!
May
the LORD bless his people with peace! (Ps. 29:1-11 ESV)
Comments:
In verse 3, David
writes that the voice of the Lord is over the waters. There are a couple
references this might bring to mind. Creation is one, as we read in our Old
Testament lesson, when God spoke mightily over the waters and created the
heavens and the earth. Another is the parting of the Red Sea, when God divided
the waters for the Israelites to walk through on dry ground as they fled the
Egyptians.
As Christians the
image of God speaking over the waters brings Holy Baptism to mind. Consider
what happens when a person is baptized. As they go down into the water or as
the water is poured on them God’s Word is spoken, “In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In that moment the God of glory
thunders and his powerful majestic voice speaks into the one being baptized to
create faith in him or her, to declare their sins forgiven, and to proclaim
that they are buried with Christ and raised to newness of life with Him.
This connection
to baptism is why this psalm is appointed for this Sunday.
Baptism leads us
to ascribe glory and strength to the Lord, because He brings salvation to us in
baptism, it gives birth to new life in us and strips bare our sinful pride so
that we cry out, “Glory!”
Today think about
this: When you were baptized the Lord sat enthroned over the baptismal flood that
washed you of sin. May He give you strength and bless you with peace!
The Reading:
Ps. 29 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the
LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe
to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due
his name;
worship
the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the
waters;
the
God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is
powerful;
the
voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the
cedars;
the
LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a
calf,
and
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD flashes
forth flames of fire.
8
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the
deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the
flood;
the
LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the LORD give strength to
his people!
May
the LORD bless his people with peace! (Ps. 29:1-11 ESV)
Prayers:
O Lord, we
ascribe glory and strength to You for with Your voice you created all things
and You have spoken Your Word of life and salvation to us. Thank you for
speaking powerfully at our baptisms to create new life and to give us Christ’s salvation.
Forgive us for not listening to Your voice as You speak to us through the
Scriptures and for neglecting Your Word. Help us to hear Your voice echoing
through Your Word and Sacraments so that, through them, You might give strength
to Your people and bless us with peace for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Romans 6:4
We were buried
therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness
of life.
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
If you would like
to join me in my New Year’s resolution to read through the Bible, or if you
would just like to read through the New Testament this year, you can e-mail me
at eric.tritten@gmail.com and I
would be glad to help you get started with that.
Would you do me a
favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help
me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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