Confessional Lutheran Ministerium

Psalm 18:17-27 NKJV

He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
¹⁹ He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

²⁰ The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
²² For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
²³ I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
²⁴ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵ With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
²⁶ With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
²⁷ For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

This Psalm, in ancient and inherited liturgical customs of the Christian Church, is a morning psalm. Why so? Because it was in the morning hours, from sunrise through early morning, that our Lord was brought to trial before Pontious Pilate (see Matt. 27:1), and many Christians have seen fit to pray Psalm 18 in the context of that trial.

Certain lines of the psalm clearly lend themselves to such a reading: “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies…He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support… The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.” (vss. 3, 17-18, 20-24)

Within the finest court systems of humanity then devised, the most just man in history could obtain no justice. Psalm 18 fits very well into that dramatic context. The real villains, however, are not the Sanhedrin and Pilate. These are but the agents of a higher intrigue. No, the far deeper malice of the hour is that of the satanic spirits, the true enemies who conspired against the Holy and Righteous One.

Those same satanic spirits are the ones pursuing you as well. But you have a champion who has won the war for you! And through faith in His fully atoning merits, they can hold nothing against you and are fended off through the strength of Christ and the sword of His Word. Praise God!

Let us pray: O Lord, thank You for enduring the unjust trials of this world and gaining the full victory for us! Amen.

Genesis 19:1-22 NKJV

19 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. ² And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

³ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴ Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. ⁵ And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”

⁶ So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! ⁸ See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

⁹ And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. ¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

¹⁸ Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! ¹⁹ Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. ²⁰ See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

²¹ And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”

Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

The world, our sinful flesh and the devil are ever trying to woo God’s believing/baptized children away from the Lord, toward the ways of this self-centered, fleshly, fallen world and its ungodly ways. Those of Sodom and Gomorrah were certainly wooed and they deeply fell into full carnal pleasures.

Valerius Herberger, an early Lutheran theologian from the late 16^th / early 17^th century writes this about the Sodomites:

“Such are children of the world. They think that, as long as they are getting their fill of wealth and goods, they are sitting in god’s lap, and thus like the devil’s fattened swine they have their heaven in this life in the form of full bellies and like step-children are bequeathed only temporal goods by God… There was shouting and rioting in the streets. The common customs of civic, nightly, and domestic peace were disrupted. They sought to do wrong to Lot’s guests, as well as storm his house. yet for all this, we do not hear one word about any authorities being angered. There were no police around to run the streetwalkers home. When those in charge will not punish, God will punish and take both ruler and subject by the neck.” (The Great Works of God, trans. by Matthew Carver, pg. 37, CPH)

Within such ungodly times as our own — with clear scriptural sin being cheered as virtuous more and more — the inspired words of St. Paul ring out and bless the ears of the New Man in us: “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” (Eph. 5:5-9) Let us pray: O Lord, defend me and all who love You from the sins and blindness of the Sodomites and bolster me through Your Word and Sacraments to walk as a child of light. Amen.

Genesis 18:16-33 NKJV

¹⁶ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. ¹⁷ And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, ²¹ I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

²² Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

²⁶ So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”

³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”

³² Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” ³³ So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Most in the world (and even some Christians) may be surprised to hear of Abraham’s pleading with the Lord to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The usual attitude evoked is one of judgment saying, “They should get what they deserve!” Or, “I’m glad that I’m not as bad as them.” Those who say such things are not realizing how they are being Pharisaical — thinking they are the measuring stick of morality or that they are ‘so good’ God must be impressed.

Here’s where yet another blessing of God working through the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther shines! Confessional Lutherans are so very blessed to have God’s biblical truth for their theology — because it holds to God’s truth and brings us to confess ourselves as totally depraved, with nothing good dwelling in our flesh. Our only goodness, and righteousness comes from outside of us. It is declared upon us through faith in Christ’s fully atoning merits for us. We hold to God’s Holy Scripture that proclaims: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:8-9)

Such a declaration of God loving us first, by sending His only-begotten Son to die for us, brings us to love our neighbor and do good works. So instead of having a judgmental attitude, we pray for them, that they would be brought to repentance and belief, just as we were brought to repentance and belief. We pray for them to turn from their evil ways, and wrestle with their sinful, self-centered flesh, just as we were turned from our evil ways and brought to wrestle with our selfish flesh. God’s Word proclaims: “Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and of great goodness” (Ps. 103:8). Therefore…

Let us pray: O Lord, let Your merciful kindness and truth be great toward us. Let our soul wait for You, for You are our Help and our Shield; our heart rejoices in You, and we trust in Your holy Name. Let Your mercy be upon us, O Lord Jesus, even as we hope in You. Amen.

Genesis 18:1-15 NKJV

18 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. ² So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, ³ and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. ⁴ Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. ⁸ So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

¹⁰ And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. ¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.

And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

What a blessed event and how thankful for us to be able to read and hear it! Abraham has three visitors from heaven come to him to prophecy about the birth of his and Sarah’s son, Isaac. Abraham certainly exuded the proper character by humbling himself before them and considering himself unworthy: “he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” (vss. 3-5) That’s New Man genuine!

Early Lutheran theologians hold that it was the Pre-Incarnate Christ, with His two ministering angels, who had visited Abraham. Some Christians may say to themselves, “It sure would be nice if I had the opportunity to give lodging and receive Christ.” But we must keep in mind what God says in His Word — that this does happen in three ways: First, when we love Him with all our heart, and receive His divine Word with a believing heart. As He says, “Whoever loves Me will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our dwelling with him: (Jn. 14:6).

Second, when we partake of the most worthy Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood in faith according to the proper manner and ordnance. As He says, “Whoever eats My fleshed drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him” 9Jn. 6:56). And third, when for God’s sake we receive a poor miserable man, feed him, give him something to drink, clothe him, etc. As He says, “I was a guest, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and you gave Me lodging, fed Me, gave Me something to drink, clothed Me, and visited Me” (Matt. 25:35-36). And what Christ means by this He goes on to say: “Truly I say to you, whatever you did to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me” ([vs. 40].

Let us pray: O Lord, grant me the virtues of Abraham and keep me aware of Your visitation and rejoice in You. Amen.

Genesis 17:1-27 NKJV 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. ² And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. ⁸ Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

⁹ And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; ¹¹ and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. ¹³ He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

¹⁹ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” ²² Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

²³ So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; ²⁷ and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

One of the most popular questions posed to this section of text (understandably) asks this: “Why did God prescribe circumcision?” Here’s how Johann Spangenberg, an early Lutheran theologian at the time of the Reformation, answers that question:

“For three reasons: (1) To make a fool of clever Lady Reason, who always undermines God’s Word and works. When she sees this work, it seems ridiculous to her. “Behold,” Lady Reason says, “couldn’t God find another way to take away sin than by this foolish work of circumcision? How does it help God for man’s body to be mutilated?” Thus reason scoffs at all of God’s works. In order to humble such opinionated Reason, God commanded circumcision on pain of eternal damnation. Whether it seems foolish to men or not, God simply wanted ir or else man would perish.

“(2) To remind us of our sinful birth which was passed down to us through Adam’s fall. In this birth we are so corrupted in our nature and all natural, physical and spiritual assets and powers, that to regain this lost grace, humble subjection of our proud reason, will,  and discretion is needed.

“(3) To give the Jews a sign by which they might be sure that God was with them and that they were God’s people. And even if they were the scorn of all the world because of that sing, and despised and persecuted by all the surrounding Gentiles, God still preserved and protected them from all of their foes.” (The Christian Year of Grace, translated by Matthew Carver, pg. 48, CPH)

Now just as God adopted Abraham through His promise attached to circumcision, so in the New Covenant He adopts us Christians through the Holy Spirit attaching His promise to the waters of Holy Baptism. Human reason scoffs at this means of grace as well, but God is not mocked. The promises of His Word (which ever-point to Jesus) bring nothing but comfort!

Let us pray: O Lord, thank You for Your promises that never fail and for keeping us ever-fixed upon Christ.  Amen.

Genesis 16:1-16 NKJV

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. ³ Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. ⁴ So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.

⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”

⁶ So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

⁷ Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

⁹ The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” ¹⁰ Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” ¹¹ And the Angel of the Lord said to her:

“Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
¹² He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

¹³ Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Man, by his inborn, fallen, sinful nature, is bent in on himself — not fearing, loving, or trusting in God — constantly at enmity with God all the days of his life, according to his flesh. So it’s not surprising that man is very quick to rely on his own devices (or at least what his flesh believes to be devices).

Sometimes even believing/baptized children of God can coerce themselves into thinking that they can help God — when in reality it was simply the selfish inclinations of man’s flesh not being content with the will, or providential speed, of God. Abram and Sarai (as well as Hagar) fall into this line of thinking. Listen to these words of Valerius Herberger, an early Lutheran theologian from the late 16^th /early 17^th century:

 “Whoever would contemplate Genesis 16 to his own profit and good must do so with a pure, modest, chaste, and demure heart. When Sarah was seventy-five years old, she urged Abraham, then eighty-five years old, to marry her maidservant Hagar. Here we have a prime example of human reason. Whenever God tarries in His helping, we suddenly think ourselves capable of solving the problem and finding the answer. But He regularly makes a fool of our presumption. Therefore “wait for the Lord; be of good cheer, and do not despair, and wait for the Lord” [Ps. 27:14]. When God makes us a promise, He is sure to keep it, even if, as sometimes happens, it does not immediately come to fruition.”  (The Great Works of God, translated by Matthew Carver, pg. 15, CPH)

Heberger held that Abram and Sarai were so deeply in the midst of their piety — longing to see the Savior and Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ — that they simply went astray. Here’s the prayer he wrote based on this text:

Let us pray: O Lord Jesus, help me to walk in fear, and with godly Job and wise David to practice godliness and devotion when I begin any idea, plan, or endeavor. Govern me by Your Spirit that I may not wander from You, but always keep me on the path that is straight and pleasing to You. Amen.

Psalm 17:1-15 NKJV A Prayer of David.

17 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
² Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.

³ You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me and have found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
⁴ Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
⁵ Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.

⁶ I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
⁷ Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
⁹ From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰ They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak proudly.
¹¹ They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
¹² As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.

¹³ Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
¹⁴ With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.

¹⁵ As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

God’s Word of truth gets maligned at every turn by the devil, the world and our sinful flesh. It is commonly bent to accommodate selfish desires, but it is mainly bent in order to lead souls to hell. Gosh, who could possibly be behind such deception? It doesn’t really matter which way God’s Word is falsely bent, for not proclaiming God’s Word in its truth and purity is profaning God’s name.

Luther writes in his Summary of the Psalms “This Psalm is a prayer against false teachers, and those very delicate saints, that is, hypocrites, who by their human doctrines, call men off from the word of God, and hate and persecute the truly godly teachers. These are the characters whom Paul also calls “enemies of the cross of Christ:” for they are not willing to suffer anything for God’s sake, but shun the cross; make a pretext of the name and worship of God, and under all the artifices of their hypocrisy, seek nothing else than earthly advantages, honors, wealth, the favor of men, and the pleasures and gratifications of the world. Hence David calls them, in the last verse but one, “men of this world, and men of this life,” Of this kind also are all those animals of the belly in monasteries, those cumberers of the earth, the monks, and the lazy priests.” (Summary of the Psalms, pg. 63)

Jesus had to clearly deal with the false teachers of God’s Word during His earthly ministry. Standing for the truth of God’s Word brings all kinds of reactions — nay sayers, eye-rollers, accusations that you are the one causing divisions, and in the case of Jesus, it brought about His death. In His Passion, Jesus was put to trial, and Psalm 17 expresses His supplications to the Father. Himself being sinless, God’s Son still became one of us in our fallen humanity, knowing fear and dread, but likewise trusting in God as a man. He assumed all that we are, in order that we, through Him, may be partakers of who He is!

Let us pray: Thank you, Lord, for faithful pastors to deliver Your Word and Sacraments and keep us in the true faith. Amen.

Psalm 12:1-8 NKJV

To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
² They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
⁴ Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

⁵ “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

⁶ The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
⁷ You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

⁸ The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

From Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 36: “The 12^th Psalm…laments over the teachers who are always inventing new little discoveries and filling up God’s kingdom everywhere with those new services to God. For where human doctrine once goes in, there is no stop or end to it; they increase more and more. These new inventions load down the poor conscience beyond all limit and work so that few true saints may remain.”

It’s as if Luther was writing today! Even within and among God’s church on earth teachers and self-serving pastors seem always to be inventing new and creative ways to preach and teach and administer God’s Sacraments. From saying that Scripture is a “fluid” document to online communion to out-and-out false teachings, we are bombarded with man’s efforts to make God’s Word more relevant, more powerful, and more meaningful, all at the expense of the simple and plain truth contained in God’s Word. Human doctrine is on the rampage, and God’s people are scurrying around to find something certain.

Here we are reminded of when Jesus scolded the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15:7-9 when He said, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Luther also writes of this psalm, “…it comforts us that God will awaken His salvation, that is, His Word, which confidently storms against this work of straw (meaning men’s teachings). He will free the imprisoned conscience. This does not happen, however, without cross or agony. As silver is purified in the fire, so the saints must suffer in the meantime, and by this means become ever more pure and perceive the truth so much more clearly.”

Dear Christian, be comforted by and through God’s Word alone wherein is the only and everlasting truth of God’s love for you in Christ who gave His life for your sins in order to bring you to Himself.   Let us pray: Thank You, God, for your Truth. Amen.

Genesis 15:1-21 NKJV

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

⁶ And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

⁷ Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

⁹ So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. ¹¹ And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:

“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— ¹⁹ the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

In the opening words of today’s reading, God comforts and bolsters Abram by reminding him not to be afraid, and that God is Abram’s “shield and great reward.” It is then that Abram recalls that, even though God has repeatedly told him that his descendants will be numerous, he still has no offspring (this promise will be fulfilled in Genesis 21 with the birth of Isaac when Abram is 100 years old and his wife is 90). God reminds Abram that indeed, a son from his own body will be his heir and indeed Abram’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky.

And then there’s this gem in v. 6: “And he (Abram) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”  This brings us to the very heart and soul of all the teachings in Holy Scripture, namely, that salvation and justification come by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Righteousness comes only as a gift from God and is given by the Holy Spirit when and where He pleases through the preaching of the Gospel. The faith we have comes as a gift from God, as St. Paul teaches in Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” 

Abram was justified – declared righteous – before God through God-given faith alone.  There is no faith without Christ; there is no righteousness without Christ; there is no justification without Christ; there is no salvation without Christ. And even though Christ Himself is not overtly mentioned in the Old Testament, He most certainly is prophesied throughout the OT as the coming Messiah, the One promised since Genesis 3:14. Those, like Abram, who believe in God’s promises – specifically the promise of the Messiah who has come and will come again – are justified, righteous, and saved by our good and gracious God. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for keeping Your promises to Abram and to us. Help us always to believe and never waver, strengthen us when we tend to doubt Your Word, and bring us at last to Yourself in heaven; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Genesis 14:1-24 NKJV 14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

¹⁷ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all.

²¹ Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— ²⁴ except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

From yesterday’s reading we recall that the portion of land that Lot took selfishly for himself included the vicinity of Sodom. Now the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, and Elam made war with the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, and others which resulted in a great battle in the Valley of Siddim. Because of this, not only the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah were taken, but also Lot and his goods were taken.

When Abram was notified of this bad news by a fugitive, he armed his servants, divided his forces, attacked those who took Lot captive, and brought back all the people and goods that had been taken. For this, Abram is praised and blessed by Melchizedek, King of Salem, who also blessed and thanked God for delivering Abram’s enemies into his hand.

Of the property belonging to the king of Sodom, which he had taken from the enemy, Abram would not keep the smallest part, because he would not have anything in common with Sodom. On the other hand, he accepted from Salem’s priest and king, Melchizedek, not only bread and wine for the invigoration of the exhausted warriors, but a priestly blessing also, and gave him in return the tenth of all his booty, as a sign that he acknowledged this king as a priest of the living God and submitted to his royal priesthood.

This portion of Holy Scripture teaches us yet again that we worship and believe in a God who keeps His promises and ultimately blesses all who are faithful to Him. It teaches us also not to have anything to do with unrighteousness, here signified by Abram not being willing to keep any booty from Sodom. We can rely on our good and gracious God to meet our every need and deliver us out of all trouble, if not immediately then ultimately as He receives us to Himself when we take our last breath.

God is faithful and just; of that we can be certain, because He gave His Son, Jesus, to death on the cross to pay for our sins and give us the certainty of eternal life.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, keep us faithful to You through Your faithful and forgiveness-giving Gifts. Amen.