Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
[O God, you are] like a hiding place from the wind, a
shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of
a great rock in a weary land. (Isa. 32:2 ESV)
Prayer of Confession
O Lord God, it pleased you to create the night for our rest
and the day for our work, please give us rest tonight for our bodies so that
our souls may be awake to you and uplifted in your love. Please let us cast off
all earthly cares, helping us to remember your goodness and grace are always
with us, so that even as our bodies rest our consciences may find spiritual
peace. Please keep up pure in body and spirit, so that even our sleep may bring
glory to your name. And since, we are poor sinners, we have not passed this day
without offending you in various ways. As the darkness now hides the landscape
according to your design, please, bury and hide our faults by your compassion
so that we will not be separated from your presence. Hear us, our God, our
Father and Savior, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.[1]
Catechism Reflections – The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and your mother.
What does this mean? We should fear and love
God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but
honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.
I have stated before that all the Commandments tie back
to the First Commandment. Here are some comments from Luther’s Large Catechism
that delve into that idea.
Luther: Why do you think the world is now so full of
unfaithfulness, disgrace, calamity, and murder? It is because everyone desires
to be his own master and free from the emperor, to care nothing for anyone, and
to do what pleases him. Therefore, God punishes one knave by another, so that,
when you defraud and despise your master, another comes and deals in the same
way with you.
(Luther was always very cheery in his view of human
depravity.)
Again, Luther: [I]t would be well to preach to the parents
also, and to those who bear their office. Tell them how they should behave
toward those who are given to them for their governance. This is not stated in
the Ten Commandments. But it is still abundantly commanded in many places in
the Scripture. God wants to have this included in this commandment when he
speaks of father and mother. He does not wish to have rogues and tyrants in
this office and government. He does not assign this honor to them, that is,
power and authority to govern, so they can have themselves worshiped. But they
should consider that they are obligated to obey God. First of all, they should
seriously and faithfully fulfill their office, not only to support and provide
for the bodily necessities of their children, servants, subjects, and so on,
but most of all, they should train them to honor and praise God.
This is, I think, one of the great areas of temptation
for us today. The question remains, where do you place your hope for good and
find your refuge in trouble? Parents and government are intended to be his
gifts to do part of that work, but when the parents and government act as
though they are gods, and we put our trust in them, we can rightly expect
troubles, because God is a jealous God. He does not share his glory.
But even here, we cling to Jesus’ cross and find God’s
mercy and forgiveness. The ultimate source of all that is good comes to us to
rescue us from our idolatry of earthly power, and to shelter us from the
consequences of our sin. He give us his Spirit to enlighten us to see, trust,
and believe that our Father in heaven is blessing and protecting us out of his
love.
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?
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Verse of Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor. 13:14 ESV)
[1] Adapted from John Calvin
and Theodore Beza, accessed in Doberstein, The Minister’s Prayer Book, p. 21
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