Friday of Lent 5

Friday of Lent 5, March 23, 2018 Jeremiah 20:7-13

Jeremiah trusts God to deliver him from those who oppose his preaching.  Here is one who wants to quit but cannot. He decides not to preach but he finds himself driven to keep going. It is like a fire in his bones that must be expressed or explode! He is driven by an inner voice. The love of Christ, faith of God, the sense of obedience, impels, and compels one to witness regardless of popular acceptance.  Faith overcomes fear. In the midst of persecution, Jeremiah puts his trust in God’s deliverance from his enemies. He was sure God would vindicate him and his oppressors would be eliminated. His trust was justified, for when he was released from the dungeon, Jeremiah exulted, “

Praise the Lord!” (v. 13).

Psalm 79:9 is the inspiration for the hymn “Lord of our life and God of our salvation.” {LSB 725}.  Taken from a prayer for God to heal and forgive His people and to redress the violent acts of their enemies. When we are attacked by slander, persecution, and the temptations of the devil, our world, and our own sinful self, we turn to Him who is our safe refuge, the Rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ the righteousness one.

Hymn: Ride On, Ride On in Majesty (Lutheran Service Book 441:3)
Ride on, ride on in majesty
The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wond’ring eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice.

O Lord, you relieve our necessity out of the abundance of your great riches: Grant that we may accept with joy the salvation you bestow, and manifest it to all the world by the quality of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen 1

1. Collect for Friday of Lent 5, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm