Psalm
119:162, 164-165, 167 antiphon, Psalm 119:166—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, I hope
for Your salvation, O lord, and I do your commandments. Faith is another
word for trust. Trust is another word for taking God at His Word. The Psalmist
has trust because He follows after the Lord and does His will. This is not
something the natural man can do be himself. It is something we do as we walk
by faith. Thus we are forced to look to Christ where the hope of our salvation finds
its root. We trust in Him to bring all of this to pass.
Psalm 119:166: I
hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments. The psalmist here
displays the kind of active faith and trust that saves. He had faith in God for
salvation; yet it was a faith that could also say, “I do Your commandments.” This is the kind of living faith so
strongly promoted in the Epistle of James.
This saying he borrowed from good old Jacob, Genesis
49:18.
This hope is very much like faith. Faith is the
exercise of the soul in a sense of need, in desire, and in trust. Faith goes to
God on the ground of the promise; hope in the expectation of the thing
promised. Thus hope implies the operation of faith.[2]
This coming week’s theme “The Faith of a Christian” can be found in all three lessons. In the
Gospel lesson (Luke 17:1-10);
Minimal faith produces maximum results. In the Old Testament lesson (Habakkuk
1:1-4; 2:1-4,) faith waits for God to
vindicate His own. In the Epistle lesson (2 Timothy 1:1-14,) we find the sincere faith of the faithful.
The famous phrase of the Reformation comes from the
Old Testament lesson – ‘The just shall live by faith.” The Epistle deals
with the “sincere faith” of Timothy,
the faith of his mother and grandmother, and Paul’s faith.
The heart of the Gospel lesson deals with faith: the
disciples’ request for more faith and the faith the size of a mustard seed. The
verses preceding and following the passage on faith (Vv. 5, 6) may give us
difficulty in seeing faith in the entire gospel. These verses can be reconciled
if we see them as the behavior of those with faith. Thus the hymn of the day
will bear out this theme in the words, “I Know My founded on Jesus Christ my
God and Lord.” The focus of faith is always directed at the Savior.
Collect for
Psalm 119: Lord, you are just and your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love
you with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the sake of
Jesus our Lord. [3]
Collect for
Monday of the week of Pentecost 16: Father in heaven, Creator of all, look down
upon your people in their moments of need, for you alone are the source of our
peace. Bring us to the dignity which distinguishes the poor in spirit and show
us how great is the will to serve, that we may share in the peace of Christ who
offered his life in the service of all. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen [4] - 26 September, 2022
[1]The Crucifixion Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use
[3] Collect for Psalm 119, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
[4] Ibid Collect for Monday of the week of Pentecost 16
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