Christ Lutheran Church

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Meditation:

To call upon the Father is a divine right of Christ. He and the Father are one. Christ’s will is aligned with the will of his Father. Christ says to Peter in the garden of Gethsemane, “Do you not think that I can call upon my Father, and he would at once send me more than 12 legions of angels?” Or as Christ says in his prayer before he raises Lazarus from the dead, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me, and I knew that you always hear me.” Therefore, these words, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness,” are the words of Christ.

But for those who are in Christ, this right and privilege of addressing the Father in prayer and being confident that the Father hears and answers is transferred to them. So that now, through faith, praying in the Spirit through the mediation of Jesus, we also make these words our own. “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!” He answers, and he indeed sends relief during our distress and hears our prayers.

But the sons of men see this honor that is bestowed upon the sons of God, and they deride it. The world sees the prayers and devotions of Christians, ungodly men see this honor of access to the Father that has been given to Christians, and try to turn it into shame. Because they themselves love vain words, words that do not rise to the throne of the Father, but words that fall upon deaf ears. They, in this sense, pray to themselves and to others, but have no access to the one who may truly answer these prayers. Because the Father is only accessed through faith in the Son. They love these vain words, and do not abide in the truth, but seek after lies. But the Lord has sanctified and set apart the godly for himself, and hears when they call to him.

The anger of man, however, does not produce the righteousness of God. A Christian may feel righteous anger on account of the world and the shame which the world casts upon Christ and his work. Yet this anger is not to be given reign over the heart and mind of a Christian, for vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will repay. Therefore, the psalm tells us that we are to not give way to sin, lest our zeal of God and our hatred of sin itself turns into sin. Instead, we are to meditate on the precepts of the Lord in the solitude of our beds and to be still, and know that God is God. Instead of giving way to anger, we are to offer righteous sacrifices of thanksgiving and prayer, and to place our trust in the Lord alone.

The world will continue to search in vain for someone who will show them goodness. But we, as enlightened bearers of the Holy Spirit, know that goodness comes from the light of the face of the Lord, who himself fills us with a joy that is beyond what the world can find or give to us. It is a greater joy than even when the world offers us bountiful goods. For the goodness of the kingdom of heaven will always and must always far outshine the goodness of the world.

Therefore, even while the world wages its war, although the devil remains to us a true enemy, nevertheless we lie down in peace and sleep, because we are confident that our prayers have ascended to the Father, and that he makes us dwell in safety throughout the days of our lives.

God go with you all. Amen.