March 27th — Psalm 27

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27

“The 27th psalm is a psalm of thanks. However, it also prays much and gives us comfort against the false teachers who give a false witness, blaspheming without any hesitation. For only entirely foolhardy saints would give a witness, bold and impudent, before God—from whom they have no command! Yet we see it daily: the more foolish and unlearned the people are, the more bold and audacious they are to preach and to teach the whole world. No one knows anything; they alone know all. They prepare themselves to make war and revolt against the true saints and God-fearers. This psalm belongs in the Second and First Commandments and in the First and Second Petitions.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

Wait for the Lord. This is a tough verse to hear these days — because we are all in a perpetual state of waiting. We are waiting for the all clear that we can visit and spend quality time with our neighbors, and family, and church family. We are tired of waiting for the Covid-19 “all clear” message to be announced — and it appears we will have to wait a little, or a lot longer. And so we wait — for a cure — for its demise — hopefully not our own demise — and yes, we wait not only for the Lord, but we wait with the Lord.

Waiting for the Lord is one thing — but waiting with the Lord is something more important to me. I have full trust and faith that the Lord will come one day either to redeem the world, or to take me to the place he has prepared for me. But while I wait, I wait with the comfort of the words that G-d has given to those who love the Lord. The Psalms are surely some of the greatest words of hope, of lament, and of anger that were written to and for G-d. And so while we wait, it is good that we are reading the Psalms — for they bring us the whole range of emotions that we feel while we wait.

These words help us to be strong in the Lord, and to give our hearts courage when all around us we see fear and worry. So, don’t only wait FOR the Lord, but invite the Lord into your daily routine and allow the Lord to wait with you.

PRAYER

Lord, our God, You are merciful and kind, true and faithful. Preserve us in Your Word, and guard Your Church against all oppressors and faithless leaders. Grant peace to our country, and wisdom to our government to protect right and truth, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

March 28th — Psalm 28

“To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts. Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands, he will break them down and build them up no more. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.” Psalm 28

“The 28th psalm is a psalm of prayer that David prayed against Saul and similar enemies. He prayed especially against this evil: that they spoke well to him and acted friendly at times, yet attempted to kill him—as afterward Absalom also attempted. Joab acted the same against Amasa and Abner, so that David was concerned lest God hold him accountable for this, and therefore he prayed that he might not be carried off with the godless. We can pray this psalm against the tyrants and against the rebellious spirits. For the tyrants portray themselves as friendly, yet in daily machinations they seek ways to kill and destroy. The rebellious spirits praise God’s glory, Word, and worship in highest measure; they want to help all the world and are extraordinarily humble. Yet for all of that, they seek the corruption of souls and are, under sheep’s clothing, ravening wolves. This psalm belongs in the Third and Second Commandments and the First and Second Petitions.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

“The Lord is the strength of his people”, says the Psalmist. It is true — we are a strong people when we are a people united in our faith and our trust in G-d. And, this does not need to be just Lutherans, or Episcopalians, or Presbyterians or other Christians, like Catholics, and Methodists. When we call ourselves people of G-d, then we include our Jewish and our Islamic brothers and sisters as well — for we are all people of G-d.

And when we are confronted with disease, destruction, or death, then we need the strength of the Lord — if as people of G-d, we will see our way through such difficult times. This is the time to work together — not to separate ourselves into different factions of believers. “Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.” It is now that we all need to come together in prayer. We pray for ourselves, our families, our neighbors of faith, and our neighbors throughout the community, the country and the world.

PRAYER

God of all grace, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows the enemies of Your Church and are able to thwart all their designs; designs; protect us against all tyrants, heretics, and hypocrites. Hear our prayer and grant us to love Your Word, to promote Your honor upon earth, and to continue in Your service always even to the end. Amen.