Good Morning, Lord!
I Am Baptized
God saved us, not because of works done by us in
righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewal of the Holy Spirit. (Tit. 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
Almighty God, You have called Your Church to witness that
in Christ You have reconciled us to Yourself. Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we
may proclaim the good news of Your salvation so that all who hear it may
receive the gift of salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
I Believe …
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe
in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by
the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true
faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole
Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true
faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and
the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead,
and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.
This is most certainly true.
Bible Reading – Psalm
9
To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm
of David.
9 I will give
thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When
my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous
judgment.
5 You
have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But
the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
9 The Lord is a
stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in
you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek
you.
11 Sing
praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be
gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
15 The
nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been
caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he
has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own
hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The
wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
18 For
the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 Arise,
O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah[1]
How often do your prayers focus on thanking God? When you do
give thanks, for what do you thank God? I encourage you to spend some time
thinking about that today.
We should notice that in Psalm 9 the thanks is focused on
God’s protection and overthrow of the David’s enemies. There is a sense here
that David’s enemies are God’s enemies, so God naturally exerts his force
against them. When we are dealing with people we are commanded to love our
enemies, but there are enemies that we pray against. In the Small Catechism we
identify three enemies: the devil, the world, and our sinful nature – all forces
that would steal our faith and hope, leaving us to wallow in our sins. How has
God overcome these enemies for you?
Perhaps you could spend some time today thanking God that
Christ has borne your sins to the cross, defeated sin and death for you, and
given you a new life. Maybe such prayers might give you peace and joy.
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 Fifth
Petition: “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us.”
Heavenly Father, do not look at our sins, or deny our prayer
because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor
have we deserved them, but we ask that You would give them all to us by grace,
for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. But you have
given Your Son, our Savior, Jesus to bear our sins in His body on the cross and
given us forgiveness for His sake. For Jesus’ sake help us to sincerely forgive
and gladly do good to those who sin against us. Amen.
Prayer
Pray for your
spouse, parents, family, and friends – and for your enemies.
Benediction
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father,
who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort
your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thess. 2:16-17
ESV)
[1] 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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