March 29th — Psalm 29

“Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!” The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” Psalm 29

“The 29th psalm is a prophecy of the Gospel, that it shall resound with power throughout the world and overthrow the wisdom and renown of all kings, princes, lords, and peoples, and Christ alone shall be the only King. He shall be served and glorified with true wisdom and holiness. Therefore, He established the flood, Baptism, in which the old Adam is drowned and the new man arises. He gives the name of deserts, forests, and deer to the lands of the earth that were under Jew or Gentile and that have been opened and converted to the Gospel. This psalm belongs in the Third Commandment and in the Second Petition.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

Ascribe to the Lord! In other words, let us attribute to or give to the Lord what is due. And what does the Psalmist say is due? Glory! Strength! Honor! Majesty! These are all things we know define our Lord — for the Lord is to be glorified — is our strength — deserves our honor — and continues to thunder in our lives. But, do we always ascribe to the Lord the things that we should ascribe? Probably not…..

Too often we see how evil seems to win the day in our world, and in our lives — or too often the Devil gets his due, but the Lord is left behind. We are so quick to assign tribute to evil, but less willing to say that we have had a G-d moment or two throughout our day. I guess it all depends on how powerful we believe our G-d really is. The Psalmist says: “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.” That my friends is a powerful G-d.

So, many ascribe power to the Lord, but too many others believe that evil is more powerful than G-d. How do we change their minds? The Psalmist gives us the answer: “May the Lord give strength to his people!” We, the people of G-d, those who trust in the Lord, are given power and strength to face evil and fight the presence of the devil in our world. We are the people of G-d — and we should live as if the Lord is our strength.

PRAYER

Thanks and praise be unto You, our God and Lord, for sending us the Gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in which You teach us the way of salvation and comfort us with the hope of everlasting life. Make Your Word in us a power of salvation, and the anchor of our souls in life and death. Cause also the voice of Your Word to be sounded abroad, that the nations that do not know You may come to Your light.

Amen.

March 30th — Psalm 30

“I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” The By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.” Psalm 30

“The 30th psalm is a psalm of thanks in which the psalmist gives thanks that God has redeemed him from the high spiritual afflictions of the devil, which are sadness, depression, terror, despair, doubt, the perils of death, and similar poisonous, fiery darts of the devil. Nevertheless, the psalmist knows he has the comfort that God is only angry for the blink of an eye and neither desires nor wills our death or distress but desires rather to see us live and be joyful. This psalm belongs in the Second Commandment and in the First Petition.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Luther calls this Psalm one of thanksgiving — for G-d has redeemed him from, not only the devil, but from depression, doubt, despair, and the perils of death, among many others. Now, notice neither the Psalmist nor Luther says the Psalmist is rescued from these — he says he is redeemed from them. Consider the Israelites — they were rescued from the persecution of the Egyptians, but they still struggled for forty years learning obedience from G-d. They were the chosen people of G-d, but their ultimate redemption would come through various trials and tribulations.

We are living in dark days — I have said that time and time again. These are difficult times — where we are no longer able to gather in worship, to sing praises to G-d among the congregation — we can’t even go and sit in a coffee shop to meet our neighbors and friends. But these trials will also end — but we have no idea how we will all be rescued. But, we do know that we are redeemed — through the cross of Jesus Christ. We may weep for a time, but we also trust and know that our joy comes through our redemption and beloved children of G-d.

PRAYER

Thanks to You, our Father in heaven, for the countless blessings You have bestowed on us from our childhood days. Thanks to You because You so often have been our Helper in spiritual and bodily need. As in the past, be with us in the future to give us a joyous heart, to uphold us in trials, to strengthen us in temptations, and to comfort us by Your Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Amen.

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.