The Fourth Sunday
after Trinity.
Psalm 119.49-64
vii. Memor esto
verbi tui.
O THINK upon thy servant, as concerning thy word, *
wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust.
50 The same is my comfort in my trouble; * for thy
word hath quickened me.
51 The proud have had me exceedingly in derision; *
yet have I not shrinked from thy law.
52 For I remembered thine everlasting judgments, O
Lord, * and received comfort.
53 I am horribly afraid, * for the ungodly that
forsake thy law.
54 Thy statutes have been my songs, * in the house
of my pilgrimage.
55 I have thought upon thy Name, O Lord, in the
night season, * and have kept thy law.
56 This I had, * because I kept thy commandments.
viii. Portio
mea, Domine.
THOU art my portion, O Lord; * I have promised to
keep thy law.
58 I made my humble petition in thy presence with
my whole heart; * O be merciful unto me, according to thy word.
59 I called mine own ways to remembrance, * and
turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
60 I made haste, and prolonged not the time, * to
keep thy commandments.
61 The snares of the ungodly have compassed me
about; * but I have not forgotten thy law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto
thee, * because of thy righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, *
and keep thy commandments.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: * O
teach me thy statutes.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son * and to the
Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall
be * world without end. Amen.
The Collect.
O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is
strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou
being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we
finally lose not the things eternal: Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus
Christ’s sake our Lord. Amen.
Old
Testament Reading: Lamentations 3.22-33
Psalter:
Psalm 19, 20 | 24, 25
Epistle
Reading: Romans 8.18-23
Gospel
Reading: St. Luke 6.36-42
Homily
This
is the pastoral letter I sent out to my congregation this last week:
I’m thinking about floods in the hill country of Texas, in Ruiodoso,
New Mexico, and more. We often cringe and grieve over such catastrophes, and
rightly so. Sometimes we want to blame someone for the calamities, or even
concoct conspiracy narratives to why they happened and how, wrongly so. Most of
this fingerpointing is because we don’t know how to deal with what might be
called natural evil. But I think our catechsims have a lot to teach us,
in categories and thoughts that are deeply Biblical. For example, after
tackling the fall of humankind, and the created order that was under humankind’s
rule, the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “Q. 19. What is the misery
of that estate whereinto man fell?” The answer grates on our self-centered,
entitiled-to-the-pain-free-life, health-and-wealth nerves, but it’s Biblical
and helpful: “A. All mankind, by their fall, lost communion with
God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in
this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.” That
includes pestilence, plague, floods, drought, Hurricanes, and so much more.
Another of our Reformed Catechisms grounds us even more as we
face the miseries of this life:
“What do you understand by the providence of God? God's
providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand,
He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that
leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and
drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come not by
chance but by His fatherly hand.”
“What does it benefit us to know that God has created all
things and still upholds them by His providence? We can be (1) patient
in adversity, (2) thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future (3) we
can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature
shall separate us from His love; for all creatures are so completely in His
hand that without His will they cannot so much as move” (Heidelberg Catechism #27-28).
Now, this honestly doesn’t answer all of our questions about natural
evils like the disasters and tragedies as we see unfolding in the floods.
But it does anchor us so that we are not blown away by these devastations, and we
can weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). But also, instead of becoming
swallowed up in the finger pointing, wrongheaded notions of conspiracies, and
mind-numbing grief, we can pray and do our part to help.
Pastor Mike
1st
- Here is a short piece by a seminary classmate of mine who is pastoring a PCA church in Kerrville.
2nd
- For a hymn written in the middle of death and plague and natural evil, take
time to sit in the words of Trinity Hymn 98, “Now Thank We All Our God.”
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