Pr. DFD : Lent 4

Showing posts with label Lent 4. Show all posts

Friday, March 13, 2026

Saturday prior to Lent 4

Romans 8:29; 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 3:18—Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is On My Heart Imprint Your Image (LSB #422). The knowledge of God is not an abstract concept but is couched in love and mixed with purpose. God not only knew us before we had any knowledge of Him, but He also knew us in the sense of choosing us by His grace before the foundation of the world. The reason God foreknew, predestined and conformed believers to Christ’s likeness is that the Son might hold the position of highest honor in the great family of God.

Collect for Saturday of the week of Lent 3: Lord, make this Lenten observance of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ bring us to the full joy of Easter. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen[2]

[1] Trinity, © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

Thursday, March 12, 2026

Friday prior to Lent 4

[1]

John 9:1-41—In the Gospel lesson Jesus, the Light, gives spiritual vision. A man born blind receives physical and spiritual sight. It takes a whole chapter to tell the story of how Jesus brings spiritual light to a man born blind.

The actual miracle is told in a few verses, but the healing gives an occasion for Jesus to bring a man from agnosticism to faith. We see the formation of faith: from “the man called Jesus,” to “prophet,” to “a man from God” to “Son of Man.” In contrast to the light of the healed man, the Pharisees are in the darkness of sin and unbelief.

In Jesus’ day, the popular view was that sin caused suffering. In the case of the man born blind, the disciples asked whose sin caused the handicap. Jesus answered that no one sinned in this case. Some suffering is caused by sin, but we should see suffering as an opportunity for God’s healing.

Collect for Friday of the week of Lent 3: Merciful Father, fill our hearts with your love and keep us faithful to the gospel of Christ. Give us the grace to rise above our human weakness. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen [2]

[1] Trinity, © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Thursday prior to Lent 4

[1]

Ephesians 5:8-14—Christians live in the light of Christ. Christians are the children of light. Paul writes to people who have become Christians. He refers to their former lives of sin as “darkness.” Now they are children of light and are to live as lights in terms of what is good, right, and true.

There is a contrast between before and after Christ, between God and Satan, light and darkness, good and evil. Christians are to have no part in the works of darkness but rather they are to expose evil to the light. In his closing words, Paul calls for the dead (“asleep”) in sin to rise in the light of Christ.

Ephesians 5:8a functions as a brief identity reminder where the author reminds the audience that formerly they were darkness, but now they are light in the Lord. Verse 5:8b is a call to action because of their light identity. They are to walk as children of light. So once again Christian identity and reality are the foundation and springboard for distinctive Christian conduct. Verse 5:9 elucidates of what such conduct entails. The fruit of our light identity involves conduct, which is pervasive goodness, righteousness, and truth. Goodness recalls the good works God prepared for us (2:10) while righteousness and truth involve conduct, speech, and relationships as established in Christ (4:21-25).

While such conduct is quite general in character, 5:10 reminds us that this also involves the ongoing discernment of behavior, which is pleasing to Christ. Quite often to post-Reformation ears, behavior, which is pleasing to Christ, smacks of works righteousness. That is not the case for this author. Good works and Christ pleasing behavior are important aspects of living the Christian life precisely because God prepared such good works for us to do and because we are to emulate God and Christ as indispensable components of our walk of life (5:1-2).[2]

Collect for Thursday of the week of Lent 3: Father, help us to be ready to celebrate the great paschal mystery. Make our love grow each day as we approach the feast of our salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.[3]

[1] Trinity, © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2]https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-in-lent/commentary-on-ephesians-58-14-4

[3] Collect for Thursday of the week of Lent 3, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1005 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. Delhi, NY

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Wednesday prior to Lent 4

[1]

1 Samuel 16:1-13—God gives light to see character—Samuel anoints David to succeed Saul as king. Here is a story of a shepherd boy who is made a king. Because God was sorry he ever chose Saul to be the first king of Israel, he instructed Samuel to secretly anoint a successor to Saul. He is sent to the home of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint a replacement for Saul. Which one of the eight sons of Jesse did God want as king? All seven sons were interviewed but none satisfied God’s choice. The youngest, David, was in the fields caring for his father’s sheep. Samuel ordered him brought to him. Seeing the handsome youth, Samuel at once recognized him as God’s choice, anointed him king, and then departed. The Spirit that enlightened Samuel now rested mightily upon David.

One of the primary messages of this story is that God is (yet again) providing for the welfare of the people, just as God had previously provided deliverance from Pharaoh; manna water, and the law in the wilderness; a land during the settlement; and guidance and leadership during the period of the judges.1 At the start of 1 Samuel 16, God says to Samuel: “I have provided for myself a king among [Jesse’s] sons.” The Hebrew word that is translated here as “provided” literally means “to see” (h) r); as in English, Hebrew uses “to see”–“I have seen to it”–idiomatically with the sense of “to provide.”2 This Hebrew term provides the key to this story. It signals that God has “seen” the people’s need even before they are aware of it. As God had done in the past, God was again venturing out ahead of the people, authoring the scroll of their story before it had yet been unrolled.

God’s guidance is usually not as discernable in the moment as it is in hindsight. We may not sense what God is doing in our midst or how God is leading us. Even the great prophet Samuel did not know what God was doing. This story, with so much of the Old Testament, affirms that God’s “providence” operates beyond the spectrum in which our sight operates, but even so we remain within God’s view. Note also that God’s eye here is on the flock and not just the individual sparrow. In our age we tend to individualize so many of the messages of the Bible. Here, it is important to note that it is the community of faith that is under God’s care. Neither Saul nor David’s older brothers might have understood the way in which God was providing for Israel as a good way, but God’s eyes were on the people as a whole and not merely the individuals.[2]

Collect for Lent 4: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children, and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.[3]

Collect for Wednesday of the week of Lent 3: Lord, during this Lenten season nourish us with your word of life and make us one in love and prayer. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen [4]

[1] Trinity, © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2][2]https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-in-lent/commentary-on-1-samuel-161-13-2

Monday, March 9, 2026

Tuesday prior to Lent 4

[1]

Psalm 142—key verse, verse 5, I cry to You, O Lord; I say You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. This is David’s prayer for rescue. The Lord is the sustainer and preserver of David’s life. We place our confidence in Him for He is the one who preserves us.

Psalm 142 – My only refuge

Psalm 142 is titled A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave.

The Hebrew word for Contemplation (maskil) could be better translated as instruction. “He calls this prayer Maschil, ‘a Psalm of instruction,’ because of the good lessons he had himself learned in the cave, learned on his knees, and so learned that he desired to teach others.

The cave was probably Adullam cave, mentioned in 1 Samuel 22:1, though the caves of En Gedi (1 Samuel 24:1) are also a possibility. Adullam seems to be the best fit, which would suggest that Psalms 34 and 57 are also associated with this period of David’s life.

There are two notes running side by side throughout the song. The first is that of this terrible sense of helplessness and hopelessness so far as man is concerned. The other is that of the determined application of the helpless soul to Jehovah.

David’s trust in God alone.

I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

You are my refuge: Among men, David had no refuge (verse 4). Yet as he cried out to God, David could confidently proclaim that God was indeed his refuge. The cities of refuge were, in the Old Testament times, for the protection of an Israelite in special circumstances; and David found his place of refuge not in a place or in a particular circumstance, but in the LORD Himself.

I said: If David had not cried he would not have said; and if the Lord had not been his refuge he would never have been his portion. The lower step is as needful as the higher.

My portion in the land of the living: Many times in David’s seasons as a fugitive, he had reason to believe that all his inheritance in this world was gone. In such times he had the confidence that God Himself was his portion, his inheritance. David also knew that he would benefit from this portion in the land of the living, in the here and now, not only in the age to come.

My portion: To say ‘my portion’ goes as far beyond this as love goes beyond fear. [The Good News Bible] brings out the great force of this word by the phrase ‘you are all I want’.[2]

Collect for Psalm 142: Lord Jesus, hanging on the cross and left alone by Your disciples, You called on Your Father with a mighty cry as You gave up Your spirit. Deliver us from the prison of affliction, and by Yourself our inheritance in the land of the living, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit You are blessed now and forever.[3]

Collect for Tuesday of the week of Lent 3: Lord, you call us to your service and continue your saving work among us. May you love never abandon us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, one God, forever and ever. Amen [4]

[1] The Trinity © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-142

[4] Ibid, Collect for Tuesday of the week of Lent 3

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Monday prior to Lent 4

[1]

Psalm 84:1-4; antiphon, Psalm 84:5—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net. Those who have come to know the Lord as their deliverer and the sustainer of their lives place their confidence in Him. This is the definition of faith. In this Lenten season, the cross looms closer. Place your confidence in Christ alone.

Psalm 84 – The Pilgrim’s love and longing for the LORD’s House

The title of this psalm is To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. These sons of Korah were Levites, from the family of Kohath. By David’s time it seems they served in the musical aspect of the temple worship (2 Chronicles 20:19).

Korah led a rebellion of 250 community leaders against Moses during the wilderness days of the Exodus (Numbers 16). God judged Korah and his leaders and they all died, but the sons of Korah remained (Numbers 26:9-11). Perhaps they were so grateful for this mercy that they became notable in Israel for praising God.

Psalm 84 was entitled “to be called The Pearl of Psalms.” If the twenty-third be the most popular, the one-hundred-and-third the most joyful, the one-hundred-and-nineteenth the most deeply experiential, the fifty-first the most plaintive, this is one of the most sweet of the Psalms of Peace.[2]

Light to See

The Fourth Sunday In Lent was formerly known as Laetare Sunday, taken from the first Latin word of the Introit, Laetare, meaning to “rejoice.” It was also known as “Refreshment Sunday” because of the Gospel lesson of the feeding of the 5,000. The second half of Lent begins in a lighter mood in preparation for the depth of sorrow coming in the Passion. Today’s three Lessons harmonize on the theme of light, vision, and insight. Samuel is given the insight to see that of all the sons of Jesse, David was the one to be king. Jesus brought spiritual vision to the man healed by blindness. Paul exhorts Christians as children of light to walk in the light of goodness. Since David was called to be the shepherd of Israel, Psalm 23 is appropriate. We pray in the Prayer that we may be cleansed from the darkness of sin that we may be children of the light, which is Christ. From the light of spiritual vision, for the cure of our spiritual blindness, we can rejoice — Laetare!

Collect for Psalm 84: Almighty God, you heard the prayer of Christ, your chosen one, and raised him to the lasting joy of your presence. Help us in our pilgrimage toward you to love your Church and to offer the sacrifice of praise at your altar, that we may hasten to your home and joyfully look upon your glorious splendor, which we have seen in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.[3]

Collect for Monday of the week of Lent3: God of mercy, free your church from in and protect it from evil. Guide us, for we cannot be saved without you. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen [4]

[1] The Trinity © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-84

[4] Ibid, Collect for Monday of the week of Lent 3

Saturday, March 7, 2026

Lent 4 Series A study notes

Isaiah 42:14–21

Ephesians 5:8–14

John 9:1–7, 13–17, 34–39

Collects for Lent 4: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

By His Word of the Gospel, Jesus Calls Us Out of the Darkness into His Marvelous Light.

Today’s three Lessons harmonize on the theme of light, vision, and insight. Samuel is given the insight to see that of all the sons of Jesse, David was the one to be king. Jesus brought spiritual vision to the man healed by blindness. Paul exhorts Christians as children of light to walk in the light of goodness. Since David was called to be the shepherd of Israel, Psalm 23 is appropriate. We pray in the Prayer that we may be cleansed from the darkness of sin that we may be children of the light, which is Christ. From the light of spiritual vision, for the cure of our spiritual blindness, we can rejoice — Laetare!

The Lord is grieved by the spiritual blindness of His people, yet in mercy He does not forsake them. He restrains His anger and keeps His peace, until He opens their ears and eyes to hear and see Him. “For His righteousness’ sake” He magnifies His Word and makes it glorious in the coming of Christ Jesus (Isaiah 42:21). Jesus turns “the darkness before them into light” (Isaiah 42:16), because He is “the Light of the world” (John 9:5).

The incarnate Son of God works the works of His Father and displays the divine glory in His own flesh “while it is day” until that night “when no one can work” (John 9:4).

By the washing of water with His Word He opens the eyes of the blind and grants rest to the weary. Therefore, though “at one time you were darkness,” now “you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).

By our Baptism into Christ we live in the eternal day of His Resurrection, wherein He shines upon us. As often as we fall back into the darkness of sin, He calls us by the Gospel to “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead” (Ephesians 5:14).

John 9:1-41—In the Gospel lesson Jesus, the Light, gives spiritual vision. A man born blind receives physical and spiritual sight. It takes a whole chapter to tell the story of how Jesus brings spiritual light to a man born blind. The actual miracle is told in a few verses, but the healing gives an occasion for Jesus to bring a man from agnosticism to faith. We see the formation of faith: from “the man called Jesus,” to “prophet,” to “a man from God” to “Son of Man.” In contrast to the light of the healed man, the Pharisees are in the darkness of sin and unbelief.

Jesus’ day the popular view was that sin caused suffering. In the case of the man born blind, the disciples asked whose sin caused the handicap. Jesus answered that no one sinned in this case. Some suffering is caused by sin, but we should see suffering as an opportunity for God’s healing.

People need to know how Jesus Christ can give them perfect vision that they do not stumble nor fall in life’s journey. This is the message the Savior has given to you – not to get people to behave, not to get people to live purpose driven or successful lives, but for them to meet Jesus – the light of the world.

John 9:1-7 -

:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

:2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Still asked today...we don't deserve bad...

:3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Jesus does answer as it is asked in faith. Faith hears a promise... not an explanation. NOT that this man sinned BUT that the Father's work might be revealed...not that he receives his sight but the faith given...either way would deny original sin...because God Willed him to be born blind...that he might receive faith...that the works of God might be revealed...show me Jesus...the God Who goes to die...the real miracle is seeing Jesus...

:4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Not the first time John uses night and light...yet a significant theme...the end...the darkness will come on Good Friday...

:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Need Vs. 5 to explain 4...

:6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud. - See Genesis 1 & 2, John 1 creation happening again...

:7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

No need of the pool according to OT Rabbis...

John 9:13-17

:13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.

:14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

:15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

:16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.

:17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

John 9:34-39

:34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.

:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

:36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

:37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you."

:38 He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

:39 Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind."

Friday, March 28, 2025

Saturday prior to Lent 4

John 3:1-18; Ephesians 2:1-10-Sunday’s suggested hymn of the day is LSB 571 God loved the world so that He gave. The hymn tells the story of salvation from beginning to end. It teaches the faith and is a hymn that can easily be put to memory. We are now in the middle of our journey through Lent. The cross becomes ever clearer. As you meditate on this hymn, rejoice in your salvation.

In the New Testament, Jesus’ life is unfolded and was revealed to all who listened. The promise of love and salvation came to fulfillment in Jesus who was sent by the God so we may not perish and in order that we may live in God’s presence.

It was because of love, the love of the Father to us that he gave his only Son for our ransom, so we may live, so we may be restored to life.

How are we in our following of Jesus? Are we enjoying life and salvation in Him? Have we changed our old ways to the ways of God? Do we follow His will heartily just like Jesus who obeyed his Father until his last moment here on earth? Do we bring love and salvation in our families, in our circle of friends, and in our communities?

The Lord has not condemned the world even if people have disobeyed and displeased Him very much. He has come to save us and do we believe in this? During the time of Jesus, a few good men and women believed in him and followed him. Though not always faithful and obedient, God’s mercy is enough. It is not of human standards but of God’s. Jesus is God’s best gesture of his love for us for only thru Jesus that we are reconnected to God every time we falter and fail. Do we really believe the great love of God to us? Faith is a gift for those who receive it.

When a person has love, one has salvation. When a person has love, one experiences God. When a person has love, one is not condemned but saved. When a person has love, one grows in grace and lives in peace. The fact is, God the Father sent his Son, and the Son obeyed so must we obey to God. When we are sent to love, do we love without conditions and boundaries? When we are sent to share love, do we share it willingly and joyfully with others?[1]

Collects for Lent 4: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children, and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.[2]

[1] https://interaksyon.philstar.com/lifestyle/2017/06/11/78256/reflection-god-so-loved-the-world-that-he-sent-his-only-son/

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Friday prior to Lent 4

[1]

Luke 15:1-3; 11-32–The Father welcomes the penitent (the response to salvation)

The Gospel lesson for this week assures us of God’s joyous reception for the repentant sinner. Jesus was criticized for associating with sinners. In His defense, Jesus tells the parables recorded in Luke 15 of God’s acceptance of a repentant sinner.

Vv. 1-3 provides the setting. Tax collectors and sinners were the sort who did not have ears to listen to Jesus and yet He welcomes them. At issue is Jesus’ welcome and acceptance of sinners. The parables which follow are a defense and vindication of the Gospel. In particular, Vv. 11-32 has something to say both to “tax collectors and sinners” and to “Pharisees and scribes.”

Jesus associated with sinners not because He approved of their way of life. He knew they needed Him. They needed friendship and understanding. He went to them for a purpose, to lead them to repentance. He did not, nor should we; go to them to become one of them but to get them to become one with Him. This is the reason for today’s church to go to the worst – to win them back to God.

Do you honestly feel about sinners as God does? Are you glad when a sinner sees his error and comes back? Do you love the sinner, and accept him as though nothing happened? Like God will you forgive from the heart without passing judgment or asking questions? Would you take an ex-murderess into your home to care for your youngest child? Really? Then you identify with the Father.

Notice the Father has compassion. Literally he was “moved in the gut,” or “his stomach ached for him.” Significantly, in the New Testament it refers to the Savior, the forgiving King (Matthew 18:27) and the Father in this particular passage. There is a tenderness here in the Father. His heart melts for us.

A prayer for help in times of temptation – Almighty and everlasting God, through Your Son You have promised us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Govern our hearts by Your Holy Spirit that in our daily need and especially in all time of temptation, we may seek Your help and, by a true and lively faith in Your Word, obtain all that You have promised; through Jesus Christ our Lord. [2]

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Thursday prior to Lent 4

2 Corinthians 5:16-21– The cross is the wisdom and power of God.

Paul will admit that before coming to faith in Christ he had a secular understanding of Jesus based purely on human considerations. But now having been united with Christ through faith in Him and committed to Him, now he is a new creation. Everything in his life now centers in Christ. God takes the initiative in redemption. He sustains it and brings it to completion. When the Savior died, God’s justice was satisfied, His anger was appeased. At the cross, God was reconciled to the world.

The central message of Christianity – that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross and in that dying offers us forgiveness and eternal life is a stumbling block; “folly,” Paul writes. He makes it clear that the world did not come to know God through wisdom, that is, through its intellect. Only through the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ crucified has humanity come to know God. The whole idea of Christ, he says, is folly or foolishness –except to those who believe, for whom Christ is the power of God.

In a sense, our reading for today is the key to the other readings for this Sunday. The Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 12:1-6) tells us of God’s coming salvation. The Gospel (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) describes God’s reception of sinners. But how is salvation, forgiveness, and acceptance made possible? The answer is in the cross where the world of salvation is completed.

Because Christ and His atoning work the Father can receive with joy the one who once despised him and ran off. As we approach Holy Week it is good for us to think about the meaning of the cross in anticipation of Good Friday.

A prayer for Home and Family – Visit, we implore You, O Lord, the homes in which Your people dwell, and keep far from them all harm and danger. Grant us to dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels and may Your blessing be with us forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord. [1]

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Wednesday prior to Lent 4

Isaiah 12:1-6– Thanks to God for His salvation. Salvation comes from God

The Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 12 reminds us that salvation is from above; it deals with the basic element of the Christian faith: God’s grace in the cross for man’s reconciliation. Isaiah reminds us that salvation is from God and that salvation is all by grace. This causes us to be thankful as we receive this gift of salvation freely by grace through faith.

Six times the future tense is used: “will.” This passage looks forward to the coming salvation as we look to Good Friday’s cross. It deals with an anticipated joy of deliverance.

Just prior to where our lessons begins, Isaiah has been painting pictures of the coming of the Messiah and the messianic age. Now he writes two brief psalms of thanksgiving. In the opening section, individual thanksgiving is expressed for the salvation which the Messiah will bring. The second portion is a song to be sung when drawing “water from the wells” of salvation.

A Collect for Lent – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment., You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.[1]-