Collect
of the Week (Proper 19-C)
Lord
Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd, without whom nothing is secure. Rescue and
preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow You, rejoicing in the
way that leads to eternal life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Exodus
20:1-6 (From the Daily Bible Story Lectionary)
1 And God spoke
all these words, saying, 2
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery. 3
"You shall have no other gods before1 me. 4 "You shall not make for
yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them
or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those
who hate me, 6 but showing
steadfast love to thousands1 of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
Catechism: The Ten Commandments—The Close of the Commandments
What does God say about all these commandments?
He says:
“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but
showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My
commandments.” Exodus 20:5-6
What does this mean?
God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we
should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. But he promises grace
and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should
also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.
Devotion (Taken from the note in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions)
In the name of T Jesus.
Command and promise; Law and Gospel. That’s what we have in these words from
Exodus 20. On the one hand, we have the
clear reality of an all-powerful God who is just, and jealous, and promises to
punish those who would not believe in Him.
But on the other hand, this same all-powerful, just, and jealous God is
loving to all, and will show mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments. The Law threatens those who deny Him; but the
Gospel promises every blessing to those who have faith in Him.
In the meaning of The Close of the Commandments, Luther
says it so clearly: “God threatens to punish all who break these
commandments. Therefore, we should fear
His wrath and not do anything against them.”
Who can argue against that? Only
those who would reject His existence, or His authority, or disagree with His
Word, would be foolish enough to ignore this. But if this is the Word of the only true God,
then this Word is to be taken as authoritative, and its threats are to be taken
lightly.
But he who has faith, will not ignore these words. How could he?
If faith exists in the heart, then that person believes in the one true
God, and trusts in His Word, and takes it seriously. If faith exists in the heart, where God has
promised to punish sin, the faithful person agrees that God is just in doing so—even
if he sees that sin in himself. If there
is faith in the heart, and sin is made known, the promise of threat will lead
to contrition, and repentance. And where
there is repentance, what follows is the promise.
God’s love and mercy is promised to those who would not
deny Him, but trust in Him. Even though
our flesh is set against Him, and we daily fall short of the glory of God, the
Lord is merciful to those who know Him, and believe in Him. And while they will be unable to keep His
high demands, they will not ignore them, or deny them, or treat them as
unimportant. How could they? They’re the demands of God.
No, where there is faith, there is forgiveness. But where there is faith, there is also a
person who sees God’s will as good and wise, and endeavors to keep it, even
handing it over to children and grandchildren—to those thousands of generations
that would continue to love Him and keep His commandments.
To be sure, the Lord has given commands, and has promised
to punish sin. But thanks be to God,
that for those who know him, and believe in Him, sin is put away on account of
Christ, and every blessing is given.
In the name of T Jesus. Amen.
Prayer
“You have this Law to see therein That you have not been
free from sin But also that you clearly see How pure toward God life should be.
Have mercy, Lord!” Amen (LSB 581:11).
Daily Prayer (For Monday)
We pray…for faith to live in the promises of Holy
Baptism; for one’s calling and daily work; for the unemployed; for the
salvation and well-being of our neighbors; for schools, colleges, and
seminaries; for good government and for peace.
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