LESSON: PSALM 80

You are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:7

No one is better prepared for the advent of the last day than the one who earnestly desires to be without sin. If you have such a longing, why are you afraid? Thereby you are in full accord with all that this day betokens. Jesus comes to save from sins all who long for His redemption, and this is also what you are longing for. Give thanks to God and remain in this frame of mind! Christ says that His coming means redemption.

But see to it that you are not deceiving yourself when you say that you would be very glad to be free from sin, and that you do not fear the advent of that day. You do not really want to be free of sins but in His presence you cannot sin freely and securely.

See to it that your light is not darkness! For a heart that truly wants to be free of sin rejoices in confidence at the thoughts of that day which will fulfill all longings. If this joy is lacking, there is no real longing to be free of sin.

SL.XI.63,42
AE 75,95

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, fill our hearts with such joy and confidence in connection with your Day, that we really raise our heads as those who await you, knowing that your coming betokens our final entrance into the blessed abode which you have prepared for those who love you, for your name’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 17:20-30

When these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads. Luke 21:28

If we are to pray fervently that God’s kingdom may come, then it is certainly necessary that we should look forward to these signs, horrible as they may be, with joy and eager longing, as Christ admonishes us when He tells us to raise our heads. He means to say, “Do not be afraid or lower your heads, for the object of our earnest prayers is coming.”

If, then, we are really in earnest about getting rid of our sins, death, and hell, we must look forward to this coming with eager and loving longing. In anticipation of this day, St. Paul declares: “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on the Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8.

If He gives the crown to all who have loved this appearing, what will He give to those who have hated it and been afraid of it? Without a doubt He must assign them to hell as His enemies!

Likewise, in the Epistle to Titus, Paul says that we await “our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:3. In Luke’s Gospel we read that we should “be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast.” Luke 12:36.
 

SL.XI.61,38
AE 75,93

PRAYER: Thanks be to you, dear Savior, for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation which you have procured for us by your suffering and death for us, and by which we also await your coming in joy and confidence, for your mercy’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: 2 PETER 3:1-11

When these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:28

You might feel inclined to say in this context, “Who could possibly raise his head in the face of such wrath and judgement? Will not the whole world rather lower its head in terror and look downwards in fear and dismay? How are we in such a situation to look up and raise our heads?” The latter without a doubt signifies joy and eager longing.

The answer to this is: All this is spoken to Christians alone – to real Christians, not to the heathen or the Jews. Real Christians are involved in great temptations and persecutions from sins and all kinds of evil, so that this life often becomes distasteful and quite ugly for them. And so they wait with eager longing and pray to be delivered from sins and all evil, as is also said in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come,” and “deliver us from evil.”

If we are real Christians, we will also pray this earnestly from the depths of our heart. If we do not pray this earnestly from our hearts, we are not yet real Christians.

SL.XI.61,37
AE 75,92

PRAYER: O Lord, you have so often promised in your Word to deliver us from all the trials and tribulations which we experience in a world of sin and sadness. Receive us into your heavenly kingdom, for your truth’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 21:25-33

Then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Luke 21:27

Here you can interpret “power” as referring to the host of angels, saints, and all creatures who will accompany Christ on His coming to judgement. This I consider to be the correct interpretation. The evangelist does not just say, “He will come,” but “they will see the Son of man coming.”

He also came into the world by bodily birth, but that coming was seen by no one. He also comes daily into the hearts of believers in a spiritual manner by means of the Gospel. This coming is also seen by no one.

But his second coming will take place in a public manner in which all men will see Him, as is declared in the book of Revelation: “every eye will see him” [1:7]. They will see that He is none other than the human being Jesus Christ in bodily form, as He was born of Mary and recognized here on earth. He could have merely said, “they will see Me,” without any obvious reference to His human form. But He says here that they will see the Son of man. By this He clearly states that He is referring to a bodily seeing of Himself in human form.

This will take place in great power, with a great host of angels and in great glory. He will sit on a bright cloud and with Him He will bring all the saints. Of His coming, Scripture speaks quite often. It is something of very great importance.
SL.XI.60,36
AE 75,91

PRAYER: Lord, keep us ever mindful of your second glorious coming to judgement so that we, with all your saints, may ever dwell with you in the blessed kingdom you have prepared for us, for your love’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 25:11-22

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

The daughter of Zion receives twofold gifts from Christ. The first is faith and the Spirit in the heart, whereby she is cleansed and freed from sins. The second is Christ himself. And she can glory in the blessings received from Christ just as though all that Christ is and has is her very own, so that she may rely on Christ as her inheritance. Of this Paul speaks when he reminds us that Christ is our Mediator before God (Romans 8:34). If He is our Mediator, He accepts us as His own and we, for our part, accept Him as our own.

In Corinthians, Paul also states that Christ in us is made by God to be our righteousness, wisdom, holiness, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Isaiah says concerning the two-fold gifts, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1,2.

Here, “He comes to you” means, “for your good, as your very own.” Inasmuch as He is your King, you receive grace from Him in your heart. He keeps you from sin and death, and also becomes your King with you as His subject. But inasmuch as He comes to you, He becomes your sin so that you gain command also of His blessings.

This is a delightful and comforting Word! Who is going to despair or become fearful of death and hell if he believes these words and wins Christ as His very own?
SL.XI.10,27
AE 75,35

PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to you, loving heavenly Father, for the wonderful gifts of grace which you have so richly bestowed on us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

LESSON: 1 PETER 2:21-25

To you. Matthew 21:5

“Your king is coming to you.” You do not seek Him, you do not find Him, He finds you; for the preachers come from Him, not from you; their preaching come from Him, not from you; your faith comes from Him, not from you; and all that faith works in you comes from Him, not from you. So you see quite well that if He did not come to you, you would remain on the outside where there is no Gospel and no God, only sin and corruption.

Therefore, do not ask for a beginning of a godly life. There is no beginning of such a life except where this King comes and is proclaimed.

He comes “to you.” “To you” – what is this? Is it not enough that He is “your king”? If He is yours, why does the text say, He comes “to you”?

All that is set forth here by the prophet to depict Christ in the most loving manner and to urge us to faith. It is not enough for Christ to save us from the tyranny and dominion of sin, death, and hell and to become our King. He must give Himself as our very own so that all that He is and has becomes ours. St. Paul speaks of this when he says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?” Romans 8:32.
SL.XI.9,25-26
AE 75,35

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, our King, rule supreme and alone in our hearts and souls so that all the treasures of your truth and salvation may be ours personally now and forever. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 25:1-10 

Your king is coming to you. Matthew 21:5 

Learn from this Gospel what happens when God begins to make us godly, and what is the beginning of becoming godly. There is no other beginning but the fact that your King comes to you and begins to work in you.  

This comes to pass as follows. The Gospel must be the very first thing in this context; it must be preached and heard. In this you hear and learn how your work is nothing before God and that all you do or attempt is sin. But your King must be in you beforehand and rule you. That is the beginning of your salvation. You then give up your own work, and despair of self, because you hear and see that your own work is nothing, as the Gospel tells you. You begin to receive your King through faith, you cling to Him, invoke His grace, and entrust yourself solely to His goodness.  

That you hear and accept this is also not of your own strength but of God’s grace, which has made the Gospel fruitful in you, so that you believe Him when He declares that your own work is nothing.  

You see how few there are who accept His grace. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem. The papists not only reject this doctrine but actually condemn it. They do not want their own work to be sin and nothing. They want to lay the first stone and they rage and storm against the Gospel.  

SL.XI.8,23
AE 75,35 

PRAYER: O Lord, take from our hearts all self-pride and trust in our own works and efforts, and grant us grace to trust solely and wholly in your mercy and grace, granted us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

THE FIRST WEEK IN ADVENT - WEDNESDAY

LESSON: PSALM 24

Your king. Matthew 21:5

Here this King is separated from all other kings. He is “your king,” the one promised to you and whose own you are. He is the one who rules you and no one else. But His rule is a spiritual, not a secular, rule.

This is a comforting word for the believing heart, for apart from Christ, man is subjected to many raging tyrants who are not kings but murderers. Under these he endures great misery and terror.

Such tyrants include the devil, the flesh, the world, and sin, as well as the law, death, and hell. At the hands of all these the wretched conscience is oppressed, suffers heavy imprisonment, and lives a bitter, uneasy life. For where sins are, there is no conscience; where there is no good conscience, everything is quite uncertain and there is unending fear of death and hell before which there can be no firm joy or delight in the heart. As Moses declares, such a heart is terrified at the rustling of a leaf (Leviticus 26:36).

Wherever a heart receives this King in firm faith, it becomes established and does not fear sin, death, hell, or any misfortune. It knows and does not doubt that this King is the Lord over life and death, sin and grace, hell and heaven, and that all things are in His hands.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, my King, establish your rule in my heart in such a way that my heart becomes your throne, and peace and joy may reign therein for evermore. Amen.

LESSON: HEBREWS 10:19-25

Behold! Matthew 21:5

“Behold!” Mark this word well. With this word the Holy Spirit wakens us from sleep and unbelief as one who wants to set forth something important, strange, and noteworthy which one has long desired and should receive with joy. And we really need such an awakening, because our reason and nature despises all that concerns faith and finds it most unsuitable.

How can it possibly be that this man who rides along in such poverty and humility should be the King of Jerusalem and that He is riding only a strange, hired ass? How can nature and reason possibly grasp this? How can such an entrance be squared with that of a great King?

Faith is of such a kind that it does not judge and follow according to what it sees and feels but according to what it hears. It clings to the Word alone. Appearance and outward looks count for nothing at all. Therefore the only ones here who really accepted Christ as a King were those who followed the word of the prophet. They believed in Christ and His kingdom not with their eyes, but accept Him with the spirit.

These are also the true “daughter of Zion.” For the man who wants to follow Christ according to outward appearance and feeling cannot avoid becoming offended at Him. One must cling firmly to the pure Word alone.

SL.XI.4,14
AE 75,29

PRAYER: Enable us at all times, O Lord, to cling with all our faith to your pure Word alone, so that we behold you as you really are and thus ever cling to you in love and obedience, for your truth’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 1:68-79

Faith apart from works is dead. James 2:26

Faith is of two sorts. The first is that you believe that Christ is a man like the Christ described and proclaimed in the whole Gospel, but you do not actually believe that He is such a man for you. You have your doubts that all He achieved is for you. It may be for St. Peter, Paul, and the holy saints, but you are not at all sure that it is for you. 

Such a faith is really nothing. It never really receives Christ or tastes of the things that really count in Him. Even the devils have this faith. 

The one faith which is entitled to be called real, true Christian faith is to believe without any wavering that Christ is not only such a man for St. Peter and the saints, but also for you, indeed, for you more than for all others.  

Your salvation does not consist in believing that Christ is a Christ for the pious, but that He is a Christ for you and is yours. 

This faith brings it to pass that He pleases you in a most delightful manner. Then love and good works follow without any compulsion. 

If works do not follow, it is quite certain that faith is really absent. Where faith exists, the Holy Spirit is also present working love and what is good in us. 

SL.XI.2,8-9
AE 75,28

PRAYER: Bestow your Holy Spirit upon us, O Lord, to lead us into true faith, active in love and producing the works pleasing to you, for the welfare of your kingdom and our neighbor. Amen.