We will no longer be posting devotions daily on the website. Instead, we will post the month’s devotions in PDF form here.
Each Day in the Word, Saturday, July 26, 2025
Psalm 147:12-20 (NKJV)
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders,
And fills you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts out His hail like morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
Praise the Lord!
The life of the Christian is always one of repentance first, then thanks and praise to God who freely offers and delivers forgiveness for all sin. By nature, we are faithless, but He is faithful. By nature, “we are weak, but he is strong” as the famous Sunday School song says. We are helpless and destined for eternal destruction because of our sinful nature and continuous evil inclination away from God. But He has offered up His own Son, Jesus, as the full payment for all sin, and promises that whoever believes on Him will be saved and spend a sinless and glorious eternity with Him in heaven.
This saving trust and reality is the driving force and inspiration behind recognizing the giftedness of our good and gracious God, and that He is the giver of all victories, sustenance, and life. The psalmist says as much in today’s reading. God is praised for strengthening Jerusalem’s gate bars, blessing its inhabitants with children, giving fine wheat, providing peace within it borders, and providing literally everything needed for life.
Perhaps this psalm portion, certainly along with many other parts of Scripture, were the inspiration for Martin Luther when he wrote in the meaning to the First Article of the Creed, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures, that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. De defends me against all danger, guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of Fatherly, divine goodness and mercy without any merit or worthiness in me.” And all faithful Lutherans know the rest.
Thank God for everything you have, dear Saint, as you enjoy God’s earthly gifts and look forward to the life of the world to come. Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help me always to thank and praise, serve and obey You. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Friday, July 25, 2025
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (NKJV)
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3 the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, 12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
God showed Moses the entirety of the Promised Land – the land that, for 40 years, the Israelites had been wandering toward. God was gracious to Moses to let him see this land. God was gracious to Moses in that He gave him clear eyesight and a strong body right up until Moses’ last day, even though he was 120 years old. God preserved Moses as if he was a young man; his body didn’t slowly weaken like all other humans. God preserved Moses just like He preserved the Israelites’ sandals and clothing throughout their journey.
But Moses wasn’t allowed to go into Canaan with his people because he had disobeyed God when he struck the rock from which water came out instead of speaking to it as God had instructed him (Num 20:1-12). Nonetheless, God loved Moses, had spoken directly to him, and the Israelites mourned his death for 30 days before they entered Canaan. Then God Himself buried Moses’ body so that no one would know where his grave was.
Don’t feel bad for Moses missing out on the Promised Land, for he didn’t miss a thing. Recall how he appeared with Elijah at the Transfiguration of our Lord, where the two of them appeared with Jesus and the three disciples, and they were talking together about Jesus’ death. Moses was in glory already, for he had believed in God’s promises by faith.
You, dear saint, will also see Moses, Elijah, and all other saints who have gone before you in the one true faith. You will see them all with Jesus in glory, which is the ultimate Promised Land, and you will be with Jesus and all the others in heaven for eternity with a sinless, glorified, powerful, and spiritual body never again ravaged by the effects of sin. You will be there because you also believe, by God’s gift of faith, in Christ’s atoning death for your sins, and you continue to be nourished and strengthened with God’s Word and Sacraments until He calls you Home. Let us pray: Thank You, Lord Jesus, for calling me to faith in You. Keep me also in this one true faith until I die and go to live with You and all the other saints in glory. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Thursday, July 24, 2025
Deuteronomy 33:1-29 (NKJV)
1 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said:
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
3 Yes, He loves the people;
All His saints are in Your hand;
They sit down at Your feet;
Everyone receives Your words.
4 Moses commanded a law for us,
A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And He was King in Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of Judah: “Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people;
Let his hands be sufficient for him,
And may You be a help against his enemies.”
8 And of Levi he said:
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
Whom You tested at Massah,
And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not seen them’;
Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
And Israel Your law.
They shall put incense before You,
And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar.
11 Bless his substance, Lord,
And accept the work of his hands;
Strike the loins of those who rise against him,
And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,
Who shelters him all the day long;
And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said:
“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said:
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And Issachar in your tents!
19 They shall call the peoples to the mountain;
There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas
And of treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 And of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who enlarges Gad;
He dwells as a lion,
And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21 He provided the first part for himself,
Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there.
He came with the heads of the people;
He administered the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s whelp;
He shall leap from Bashan.”
23 And of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Possess the west and the south.”
24 And of Asher he said:
“Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be.
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’
28 Then Israel shall dwell in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens shall also drop dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places.”
The entirety of today’s reading is the blessing Moses gave to the children of Israel and to his sons. In the Old Testament, the blessing given by a father to his household was not a statement of what the patriarch hoped would happen to his sons, but a statement of what would actually happen to them. Rueben would have a large army. The work of Levi’s hands would be accepted by God. Benjamin would dwell in safety. Joseph’s land and life would be blessed beyond measure. Zebulun and Issachar would rejoice and partake of the abundance of the seas. Gad dwells like a lion. Dan and Naphtali would possess the west and south. Asher would be favored by his brothers and have sandals of iron and bronze.
The sons of Moses were also told in v. 27, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” These words of strong encouragement were to uphold and strengthen the Israelites as they entered into Canaan in the days to come, and as they would see Moses, their leader, die before entering that land. For the foreseeable future they would have Joshua as their leader who would be the one God used to take them on the next leg of their journey.
The final words of the blessing are in v. 29: “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.” The Israelites would now go forth with confidence into Canaan with God’s words and strength.
You also, dear saint, go forth each week from the Divine Service with God’s words of blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” Through God-given faith in Christ’s death for your sins, you get to go about your day and work knowing God has given you life and everything you need to live it to His glory and the good of your neighbor. Go forth this day in the sure confidence of God’s love for you. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me life and keeping me in the one true faith. Lead and guide me always until You bring me home; through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Deuteronomy 32:28-52 (NKJV)
28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
Nor is there any understanding in them.
29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their latter end!
30 How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had surrendered them?
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom
And of the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of gall,
Their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents,
And the cruel venom of cobras.
34 ‘Is this not laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up among My treasures?
35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.’
36 “For the Lord will judge His people
And have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their power is gone,
And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
37 He will say: ‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise and help you,
And be your refuge.
39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
40 For I raise My hand to heaven,
And say, “As I live forever,
41 If I whet My glittering sword,
And My hand takes hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to My enemies,
And repay those who hate Me.
42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword shall devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.” ’
43 “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And render vengeance to His adversaries;
He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”
44 So Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
48 Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; 50 and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; 51 because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”
Today’s reading is the second half of the song that God gave to Moses to speak to the people that they may learn it and abide by its words. God continues to warn His people about not forgetting Him and how He has guided and protected them throughout their wilderness journeys ever since they walked out of Egypt.
He particularly chastises them ahead of time, for He knows that they will trust in themselves and boast of their own works and powers. He pre-speaks a mockery of sorts: vv. 36-38: “For the Lord will judge His people and have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining, bond or free. He will say: ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you and be your refuge.” Basically, God said, “You want to have your own gods and trust in them? Fine, but you will see how futile that will be.” One might say it’s the Burger King approach: “Fine, have it your way.’
Then God clearly states that He alone is God, there is no other, and no one can deliver out of His hand. God’s people are fools if they ever seek to run their lives without Him and trust in their own abilities. It’s a First Commandment issue.
The final words of the song are delightful and give hope: “[God] will provide atonement for His land and His people.” God’s people were saved long ago by faith and belief in that atonement provider, Christ, who was to come. That atonement, spoken of long ago, has now been provided through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus who atoned for the sins of all on the cross. If you believe by faith that Christ paid for your sins, you have His forgiveness and salvation, and you are justified, freed from yourself, and free from the punishment of hell which your sins deserved. Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, help me always to repent of my sins, and believe and trust in Christ alone. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27 (NKJV)
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended:
32:1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass.
3 For I proclaim the name of the Lord:
Ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.
5 “They have corrupted themselves;
They are not His children,
Because of their blemish:
A perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do you thus deal with the Lord,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your Father, who bought you?
Has He not made you and established you?
7 “Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations.
Ask your father, and he will show you;
Your elders, and they will tell you:
8 When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations,
When He separated the sons of Adam,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
According to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the place of His inheritance.
10 “He found him in a desert land
And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of His eye.
11 As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings,
12 So the Lord alone led him,
And there was no foreign god with him.
13 “He made him ride in the heights of the earth,
That he might eat the produce of the fields;
He made him draw honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock;
14 Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs;
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the choicest wheat;
And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.
15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
You grew fat, you grew thick,
You are obese!
Then he forsook God who made him,
And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear.
18 Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have forgotten the God who fathered you.
19 “And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them,
Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faith.
21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols.
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And shall burn to the lowest hell;
It shall consume the earth with her increase,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘I will heap disasters on them;
I will spend My arrows on them.
24 They shall be wasted with hunger,
Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will also send against them the teeth of beasts,
With the poison of serpents of the dust.
25 The sword shall destroy outside;
There shall be terror within
For the young man and virgin,
The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
26 I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces,
I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”
27 Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
Lest they should say, “Our hand is high;
And it is not the Lord who has done all this.” ’
Today’s reading is basically the first half of the song that God gave to Moses earlier in chapter 31, the song that Moses told the people to write down, teach to their children, and put it in their mouths “that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel” (31:19). The Israelites were to hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest these words so that when God would ultimately hide His face from them – turn away from them for their rebellion – they would remember, understand why God did this, and hopefully repent and turn back to God.
In the song, God is proclaimed to be the Rock whose way is perfect, and a God of truth without injustice (v. 4). He is their Father who bought them (v. 6), a hint toward God’s Son, Jesus, who would ultimately give His life for the sins of all mankind, therefore “buying them back” – redeeming them – from sin and offering forgiveness and eternal life.
One might think that the Israelites would never again turn their backs on God. All they had to do was remember how He delivered them unscathed from Egypt, provided for them in the wilderness, gave them to walk safely through the Red Sea, fed them with meat and manna from heaven, and now was delivering them to the land He had promised to give them… But it was not to be. Their sinful stubbornness would always get the better of them. God’s anger would indeed burn against them so that their disobedience would cause them great harm and danger – all brought on by themselves.
Repent, dear saint, of all your sinful rebellion against God – your harsh words to a neighbor, your judgmentalism, your self-aggrandizement, your thinking that you can do anything without God’s help. Remember His love toward You, that He gives you everything you need for your life, and run to the Divine Service regularly so that you may be strengthened in your faith to withstand the assaults of the devil and your sinful flesh, and live to God’s glory and the good of your neighbor. Let us pray: Dear God, thank You for all Your benefits, through Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Monday, July 21, 2025
Deuteronomy 31:14-29 (NKJV)
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that I may inaugurate him.”
So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. 15 Now the Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle.
16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.
19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”
22 Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; 27 for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death? 28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”
In v. 29 of today’s reading, Moses said to the people, “I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you.” It must have been heartbreaking for him to say those words to a people that he lead lovingly for 40 years by the hand of God. Those difficult words were true because God Himself had told Moses that this would happen. In fact, the entirety of today’s reading is God telling Moses exactly how the Israelites would disobey and rebel and forsake God after they had entered the land which God promised to give them, and it was all bad news.
And it’s not as if the Israelites had not heard this before; they had been warned earlier in the days leading up to Moses’ death and their crossing over into the Promised Land. God basically says, “I know you’re going to mess this up. I know you’re going to rebel and do evil and reject Me.” But He let them go in anyway.
It’s like parenting. Mom and Dad know how sinful their children are because they have been conceived and born in sin, as Scripture says. They know that their children are going to sin and rebel because that’s what the sinful nature always does. Yet they love their children and continue to guide and instruct them.
That’s what God does with you, dear saint. He knows you better than you know yourself. Even though you may want to obey and do everything the Lord has commanded (as the Israelites had proclaimed earlier), your sinful nature will get the better of you. So repent daily, cling to God in Christ who paid for all your sins. Regularly receive God’s Word and Sacraments which will sustain your faith, and live your life to God’s glory and the good of your neighbor. Let us pray: O Lord, You have commanded us to have no other gods. Grant that we may fear, love, and trust in You above all things, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Sunday, July 20, 2025
Psalm 144:1-15 (NKJV)
1 Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—
2 My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.
3 Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
7 Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,
8 Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 The One who gives salvation to kings,
Who delivers David His servant
From the deadly sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—
12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as pillars,
Sculptured in palace style;
13 That our barns may be full,
Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our fields;
14 That our oxen may be well laden;
That there be no breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
15 Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!
In this psalm David, a king who must wage war and rule, gives thanks to God. He confesses that victory, good fortune, and success – whether in conflict or in government – are gifts from God and do not come from any human power or ability. Human wisdom knows little of how to keep subjects under authority and rule land and people well. Why? Because humanity “is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (v. 4).
David also praises God for delivering him from Goliath (“who delivers David, His servant, from the deadly sword” v. 10). David knows how to thank and praise God, and he understands that with anything he is able to do, it is ultimately God who enables and acts.
We live in a world of narcissists, people who are full of themselves and are incapable of understanding that they have no power or authority without God’s approval or giving it. As Jesus said to Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (Jn 19:11). And as St Paul writes to the Romans, “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (13:1).
Dear saint, recognize that everything you are and have is given by God to whom you should always give thanks, especially the forgiveness of your sins which was won for you by Christ’s innocent suffering and death, and the faith you have to believe and receive this wondrous salvation. May your life be filled with God’s grace as you, with Luther, proclaim, “For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.” Let us pray: We give thanks to You, O God, for our safety and life. Preserve civil and religious liberty in our land, to us and our children, and teach us to walk before you in true humility and in true faith, that we may be positive influences in this world to the glory of Your name, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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Each Day in the Word, Saturday, July 19, 2025
Psalm 143:1-12 (NKJV)
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter.
10 Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
11 Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In Your mercy cut off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.
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Each Day in the Word, Friday, July 18, 2025
Deuteronomy 31:1-13 (NKJV)
Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said. 4 And the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. 5 The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
9 So Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”
Moses’ introduction of Joshua as his successor begins with acknowledging God’s judgment on his own disobedience, which disqualified him from entering the Promised Land. Yet, God in His mercy would go before His covenant people, destroy their enemies, and cause them to inherit the Promised Land. Because of the covenant of God’s grace made with His people, He would not leave them or forsake them.
God directed priests to serve as custodians of the Law and to ensure that it was read at regular intervals. The Lord established the frequency, time, and location for the public reading of the Law. Everyone traveling with Israel was to assemble for the reading. Even the children were to hear it, that they may grow up into it.
This not only brings to mind Proverbs 1:8: “My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;” but more so the popular Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Luther can be found writing on this topic teaching the children: “It is the duty of every father of a family to question and examine his children and servants at least once a week and to ascertain what they know or are learning from the catechism. And if they do not know the catechism, he should keep them learning it faithfully.” (LC, short preface, 4)
Israel could have no relationship with the Lord God apart from His Word. If only such a mindset were prevalent today. As Luther wrote: “We must constantly maintain this point: God does not eat to deal with us in any other way than through His spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever praised as from the Spirit—without the Word and Sacraments—is the devil himself.” (Smalcald Articles, VIII, 10) Let us pray: O God, as Your Law brings us to acknowledge our own disobedience, driving us to flee in faith to Christ’s fully atoning merits for us for the forgiveness of our sins, bring us also to ever faithfully teach our children Your Word, raising them up in the way that they should go. Amen.
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