...the Lord is speaking to you.
Verse for the week: “The heavens declare the glory
of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.” Psalm 19.1-2
Prayer for the week: Lord, your law is perfect and pure, and Christ alone is the fulfillment of
it. Conform me and your whole church to his image, through the same Jesus
Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.
Bible reading for the day: Psalm 19 (In the first half of this psalm, v.1-6, the
psalmist confesses that the heavens speak, they pour forth Yahweh’s glory and
handiwork. Nine verbs and nouns in the first four verses declare this. In the
second half of this psalm, v.7-14, it’s not the heavens that do the talking,
but the Lord’s law, his commandments... his recorded testimony. By the act
of his speaking, the Lord creates and wields death and new life for us. The
cosmos celebrates God’s glory but does not teach his will.)
1
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above[1] proclaims
his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a
bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of
the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his
errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous
sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my
mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Prayer of the Day:
Gracious and almighty Father, your
living Word is perfect and cannot be silenced nor hindered any more than one
can hinder the course of the sun. In Christ alone your law is fulfilled, and I
am rendered blameless… this guilty one is pardoned. Thank you. Day to day and
night to night, have at me Lord… that the words of my mouth and the meditation
of my heart may be acceptable in your sight. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Hymn: here’s a fun children’s song that gives further
voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klKyQCZ5VIM&ab_channel=MartijndeGroot
“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”
What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ –
true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the virgin
Mary – is my Lord.
At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and
condemned person. He has freed me from, sin, death, and the power of the devil
– not with silver and gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his
innocent suffering and death.
All this he has done that I may be his own, live under him
in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.
This is most certainly true. (from The Small Catechism, by
Martin Luther)
Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure
in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149.4
*This is now
our congregation’s 99th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading
from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.
[1] Or the expanse, compare Gen 1.6-8
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