LESSON: PSALM 25:11-22

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

The daughter of Zion receives twofold gifts from Christ. The first is faith and the Spirit in the heart, whereby she is cleansed and freed from sins. The second is Christ himself. And she can glory in the blessings received from Christ just as though all that Christ is and has is her very own, so that she may rely on Christ as her inheritance. Of this Paul speaks when he reminds us that Christ is our Mediator before God (Romans 8:34). If He is our Mediator, He accepts us as His own and we, for our part, accept Him as our own.

In Corinthians, Paul also states that Christ in us is made by God to be our righteousness, wisdom, holiness, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Isaiah says concerning the two-fold gifts, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1,2.

Here, “He comes to you” means, “for your good, as your very own.” Inasmuch as He is your King, you receive grace from Him in your heart. He keeps you from sin and death, and also becomes your King with you as His subject. But inasmuch as He comes to you, He becomes your sin so that you gain command also of His blessings.

This is a delightful and comforting Word! Who is going to despair or become fearful of death and hell if he believes these words and wins Christ as His very own?
SL.XI.10,27
AE 75,35

PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to you, loving heavenly Father, for the wonderful gifts of grace which you have so richly bestowed on us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

LESSON: 1 PETER 2:21-25

To you. Matthew 21:5

“Your king is coming to you.” You do not seek Him, you do not find Him, He finds you; for the preachers come from Him, not from you; their preaching come from Him, not from you; your faith comes from Him, not from you; and all that faith works in you comes from Him, not from you. So you see quite well that if He did not come to you, you would remain on the outside where there is no Gospel and no God, only sin and corruption.

Therefore, do not ask for a beginning of a godly life. There is no beginning of such a life except where this King comes and is proclaimed.

He comes “to you.” “To you” – what is this? Is it not enough that He is “your king”? If He is yours, why does the text say, He comes “to you”?

All that is set forth here by the prophet to depict Christ in the most loving manner and to urge us to faith. It is not enough for Christ to save us from the tyranny and dominion of sin, death, and hell and to become our King. He must give Himself as our very own so that all that He is and has becomes ours. St. Paul speaks of this when he says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?” Romans 8:32.
SL.XI.9,25-26
AE 75,35

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, our King, rule supreme and alone in our hearts and souls so that all the treasures of your truth and salvation may be ours personally now and forever. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 25:1-10

Your king is coming to you. Matthew 21:5

Learn from this Gospel what happens when God begins to make us godly, and what is the beginning of becoming godly. There is no other beginning but the fact that your King comes to you and begins to work in you.

This comes to pass as follows. The Gospel must be the very first thing in this context; it must be preached and heard. In this you hear and learn how your work is nothing before God and that all you do or attempt is sin. But your King must be in you beforehand and rule you. That is the beginning of your salvation. You then give up your own work, and despair of self, because you hear and see that your own work is nothing, as the Gospel tells you. You begin to receive your King through faith, you cling to Him, invoke His grace, and entrust yourself solely to His goodness.

That you hear and accept this is also not of your own strength but of God’s grace, which has made the Gospel fruitful in you, so that you believe Him when He declares that your own work is nothing.

You see how few there are who accept His grace. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem. The papists not only reject this doctrine but actually condemn it. They do not want their own work to be sin and nothing. They want to lay the first stone and they rage and storm against the Gospel.

SL.XI.8,23
AE 75,35

PRAYER: O Lord, take from our hearts all self-pride and trust in our own works and efforts, and grant us grace to trust solely and wholly in your mercy and grace, granted us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen