THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - THURSDAY

LESSON: PSALM 33:8-22

“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” Mark 8:2-3

What a friend we have in Jesus! He is even concerned about the welfare of those despicable stomachs of ours. Our hopes must be aroused, and we must certainly find comfort in Christ’s words regarding the multitude on this occasion. They have been waiting upon Him for three days with nothing to eat, and Christ is determined to meet their needs. Here you see that all those who cling steadfastly to God’s Word are fed by God Himself. Here we have an example of the true nature and power of faith; it flows solely from God’s Word.

Hence, my dear friends, let us really make a beginning of believing. Unbelief is the overall reason for all the sin and vice which has gained the upper hand in all social ranks in our day. How does it come about that there are so many silly women and rogues everywhere, so many traitors, thieves, robbers, usurers, murderers, and those who have ecclesiastical livings for sale? All this results from unbelief. All these people form their judgements on human reason alone. Reason follows nothing but what it can see, and what it cannot see it cannot comprehend. And so, reason cannot comprehend how ultimately, by refusing to place its trust in God through faith, it must end in self-despair in the presence of so many rascals and scoundrels. This is what results where men allow reasons to assume all controls and shut out faith in God.

SL 11:1371 (13-14)

PRAYER: Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things, graft in our hearts true love of Your name. Increase in us true religion, nourish us with true goodness, and, of Your great mercy, ever keep us in the same, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.