Psalm 119:28–32; antiphon, Psalm 119:27—The readings for Sunday reflect the theme of
discipleship. Whose disciples shall we be? That is, in whom shall we place our
trust? Let us be like the psalmist, who boldly pronounces, I have
chosen the way of faithfulness . . . I cling to your testimonies, O Lord.
Make me
understand the way of Your precepts:
The psalmist understood that he needed more than knowledge; he also needed understanding.
With both he would meditate on God’s wonderful works.
Make me understand: It is concerned with a deep
understanding, one that goes beyond a mere understanding of the words to a
profound understanding of what they reveal about the nature of God, the gospel,
and God’s ways.
Teach me thy
statutes. I think the psalmist means
this, ‘My Lord, I have told thee all; now, wilt thou tell me all? I have
declared to thee my ways; now, wilt thou teach me thy ways? I have confessed to
thee how I have broken thy statutes; wilt thou not give me thy statutes back
again?’ [2]
Christ Jesus
Has Paid the Cost of Discipleship for You
A disciple of Jesus Christ will “carry his own
cross” (Luke 14:27) and follow the Lord through death into life.
Discipleship is costly because it crucifies the old man with “all his own
possessions” (Luke 14:33), in order to raise up the new man in Christ. The
disciple disavows “his own father and mother and wife and children and
brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life” (Luke 14:26), in
deference to Christ. That way of the cross is impossible, except that Christ
Jesus has already paid the cost. His cross is set before you as “life and
prosperity, and death and adversity” (Deuteronomy 30:15). Taking up His cross
is to “choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by
loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him”
(Deuteronomy 30:19–20). To live that life in Christ is also to bear His cross
in love, “that your goodness should not be as it were by compulsion, but of
your own free will” (Philemon 14). [3]
Collect for
Psalm 119: Lord, you are just and your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love
you with all our heart and to love our neighbor as our ourselves, for the sake
of Jesus our Lord. [4]
Collect for Monday of the week of Pentecost 12: Almighty God, ever-living Father, your care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nation to the hearts of all who live. May the wall, which prejudice raises between us, crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm. We ask this through Christ our Lord. [5] -29 August 2022
[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-119/
[3] Lectionary Summary, LCMS commission on worship
[4] 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
[5] Ibid, Collect for Monday of the week of Pentecost 12
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