Psalm
143:5-6, 10-11 - The Antiphon for this coming Sunday is from Psalm143:1: “Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my pleas
for mercy! In Your faithfulness answer me, in Your righteousness!” David
calls for deliverance from his enemies and for divine leading. As Luther directs
us to pray in the morning and evening “…into
Thy hands I commend myself…”
The hymn writer
reminds us, “I need Thy presence every
passing hour, what but The grace foil the tempter’s power?” Without the
grace and presence of Christ we stand powerless. Of ourselves we cannot stand
alone when battling temptation of any kind.
This runs contrary
to our American culture which prides itself in rugged individualism. We
treasure success stories of those who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps,
and made a name for themselves by shear grit and determination. Not so when it
comes to our salvation. Here we trust in the merits of Christ and Christ alone.
The Psalmist drives home the point that we are powerless against sin and its
cunning.
With the
psalmist we plead for mercy. We trust in Christ’s righteousness, and in His
name, not our own.
O Lord, I confess that I am sinful and
unclean. By Your Steadfast love take away from me every shred of pride and
self-righteousness. Trusting in Your grace, I come before You not in my own
righteousness, but clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. Amen[1]
Collect for Psalm 143: Lord Jesus, you bring the first light of
dawn to those who dwell in darkness and make your love known to them. Enter not
into judgment against your servants, but let your Spirit guide us into the land
of justice, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now
and forever. Amen[2]
[1] Lutheran
Study Bible © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
[2] Collect
for Psalm 143, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book for and By the Church, © 1995
The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau Delhi, NY
The Crucifixion, Woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von
Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his
book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden (The Book of Books in Pictures). copyright
© WLS for personal and congregational use
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