Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
The almighty and merciful God bless us and keep us this
night and evermore. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Lord, I pray to you: make haste to help; listen to my voice,
when I cry to you. Let my prayer rise before you like incense; and the lifting
up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth you
praise.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his
benefits:
- He
forgives all your iniquities.
- He
heals all your diseases.
- He
redeems your life from destruction.
- He
crowns you with grace and mercy.
- He
satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the
eagle’s.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness
and grace: according to your rich mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my
transgression, my sin is ever before me, and Christ has died for me.
I will both lay down in peace, and sleep; for thou, O Lord,
make me dwell securely. Amen.[1]
Catechism Reflections
The First Commandment
You shall
have no other gods.
What does
this mean? We
should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
This commandment is first because it is actually key to all
the other commandments. All the commandments tie back to the first and find
their source in the knowing who or what is your (small “g”) god. So as we
approach this commandment, we need to ask, “What is a god?”
Perhaps your first thought when you see the word god (with a
small “g”) is of idols and personalities worshiped as though they were divine.
Certainly, the pantheon of Greece (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, and the rest),
Egypt (Ra, Horus, Set, Isis, and the gang), and the Norse (Odin, Thor, Loki,
Sif, and that lot) are examples of small “g” gods. And the list could go on
through a variety of religions and ethnic flavors. When people worship other
gods like these, we call that course idolatry. It’s obvious that the god they
worship is different than the God of the Bible.
Ultimately, however, a god is anything we trust in for our
good. Luther says in the Large Catechism, “A god means that from which we are
to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distress.” This means
that money can be a god. Your intellect could be a god. An addiction could be a
form of worship for a false god. Many things can become gods, as Jesus says, “Where
your treasure is, there will your heart will be also.”
There are a few idols that deserve brief mention this evening.
More can (and probably will) be said about these, but before I name these
idols, I would remind you that there is no good thing that the devil cannot
twist to his benefit. I am not saying that these things are necessarily evil,
in and of themselves. They can, however, be made into idols that you might
worship – sometimes inadvertently.
These are the three idols – the false gods – that I see as
most troublesome today. In no particular order: science, government, and self. Remember
that a god is, “that from which we expect all good things and in which we take
refuge.” We call this kind of false worship – fine idolatry. It isn’t as
obvious as course idolatry, and it tends to hide, even within the life of
person who believes in Jesus as his or her savior.
Questions for Meditation
What does this reading teach you?
What does this reading lead you to be thankful for?
What behavior, thought, or attitude does this reading
challenge? What sin does it lead you to confess?
How might you pray for God to have a richer impact on your
life through this reading?
Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer
“Thy kingdom come”
O God, everlasting Father, Your kingdom comes even without
our prayer, but, please, let it come to us, too! Please give us Your Holy
Spirit, so that by His grace we may believe Your Word, and live godly lives
here in time and there in eternity. Amen.
Verse of Benediction
May the blessing of the eternal God be upon us, and upon our
work and worship; His light to guide us, His presence to strengthen us, His
love to unite us; Now and always. Amen.[2]
[1] This prayer is adapted
from John Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer, 1949 – an evening prayer for the
20th day of the month. Baillie wrote wonderful prayers for the
morning and evening of each day of the month. Notice that in this prayer,
Baillie has strung together a series of Scripture verses, effectively using
God’s Word to speak back to God. They have inspired, educated, and
assisted many in their prayer lives. It was updated in 2014 by Susanna Wright.
That edition is available from Amazon here.
I personally prefer the 1949 edition with the older style of language. That
earlier edition can still be found if you search for it.
[2] Doberstein, John W., The Minister’s Prayer Book, Fortress
Press, Philadelphia, 1959, p. 18
Comments