Good Morning, Lord!
I Am Baptized
3 Do you not know that all of us
who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death
like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
(Rom. 6:3-5 ESV)
Make the sign of the cross as
you say, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.”
A Morning Prayer
O Lord, our heavenly Father,
almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of
this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day
we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our
doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight;
through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.[1]
I Believe …
I believe that Jesus Christ,
true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the
Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person,
purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the
devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His
innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His
kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,
just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is
most certainly true.
Lead
Me in Your Righteousness
To
the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
5 Give ear to my words,
O Lord;
consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you[a] and watch.
consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you[a] and watch.
4 For you are not a God who
delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of
your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their
mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge
in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.[2]
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.[2]
I have to be upfront: I’m having
a little difficulty getting at what this Psalm is saying. I see the message
about God hearing prayer. I recognize the words of humility and devotion. I
rejoice in the words that assure me of God’s blessings, leadership, and
protection. But what about verses that speak about God abhorring, hating,
destroying, and causing people to bear their guilt?
I fear two responses here: One
is, “Oh, Pastor, I don’t like those passages, so I just skip over them!”
Because people don’t like what this says about God, they decide that can’t be
their God and they choose to soften the meaning or ignore these passages
altogether. In the process they make God into their own image. The other response
I fear is, “Yeah, God, smash those wicked people, destroy them, judge them and
damn them for all their sin.” As though the judgement of this Psalm could never
have fallen on us, and the dichotomy of us (the righteous) vs. them (the
wicked) isn’t actively wrestling within those of us who are both saints,
forgiven in Christ’s blood, and sinners, worthy of damnation, at the same time.
The Psalm recognizes an outward
struggle that is mirrored in our inner selves. We know that God loves
righteousness, goodness, truth, and beauty. We also know that our deeds are as
filthy rags, steeped in sin from our birth, filled with half-truths and
whole-lies, and are sometimes profoundly ugly. “Oh what a wretched man I am!
Who will save me from this body of death!”
But thanks be to God through
Christ Jesus our Lord. He came to us while we were dead in trespasses and sins,
while we were objects of God’s wrath, and by his death and resurrection raised
us from the dead and reconciled us to God.
We must not underestimate how
offensive sin and wickedness are to God. These things are so terrible and so
vile that they must be destoyed, killed, and shamed. And that is exactly what
God did in Christ. “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in
him we might become the righteousness of God.”
So, where does that leave us in
regard to praying about God abhorring, destroying, and causing the wicked to
bear their guilt? It leaves us … uncomfortable. It leaves us grateful for the grace
we have received in Jesus. It leaves us longing for God’s justice to come in
all its power and longing for compassion for those on who God’s justice falls.
One of my professors in seminary
used to pray before class, and sometimes he would say something like this, “O
God, strike the wicked, destroy them, and wipe them out, but not yet, please
draw another one to repentance first, bring more to Jesus’ salvation first,
save one more by your grace first.”
Question for Meditation
What does this reading teach you
about Jesus, what He said and did, or what He wants His followers to believe?
What does it teach you about God’s love and forgiveness?
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 – The Fourth
Petition
“Give us this day our daily
bread.”
Heavenly Father, You give daily
bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in
this petition that You would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily
bread with thanksgiving. Make us mindful of all that You give us that has to do
with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes,
house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children,
devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather,
peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors,
and help us to always give thanks to You; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Prayer
Pray
about the creation. This certainly includes things like pollution and proper
care for creation, but it also includes growing seasons, the bounty of the
earth, food for the hungry, and every aspect of bodily life.
Benediction
The LORD will keep you from all
evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming
in from this time forth and forevermore. (Ps. 121:7-8 ESV)
[1] Collect for Peace, Lutheran Service Book, Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis, 2006, p. 241
[2] English
Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers.
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