LESSON: PSALM 32:1-7

If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 130:3,4

David says in the psalm, “I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord;’ then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). No one can stand before God without bringing this confession of sins with him. That is why the psalmist also declares; “If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Psalm 130:3,4).

Anyone who really wants to stand before God must be quite sure that this confession of sins really comes from his heart and firmly believe that, unless the Lord is merciful to him, all is lost, no matter how pious he is in himself. Even all the saints must acknowledge the need of God’s continual grace and mercy and in all humility confess their sins before Him.

There is no difference here, for all have sinned. If anyone has received special grace, thank God for it and do not boast. If anyone has fallen into sin, it simply demonstrates that he is flesh and blood. But no one has fallen so deeply that one who stands may not fall ever deeper. As far as we are concerned, there is no difference between us and others; it is God’s grace alone that divides us from others.

This confession of sin is so necessary that we dare not overlook it for a moment. It must be our concern during our whole life as a Christian. Without ceasing we must evermore praise God’s grace and recognize that all boasting on our part is vain before God.

SL.XI.584,4-5
AE 76,434

PRAYER: Because of your wonderful grace, Lord God, loving heavenly Father, we poor sinners can stand before you, confessing our sins. When we do this, give us the assurance of the forgiveness of sins, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 26:26-35

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

This life is nothing else but a life of faith, love, and the holy cross. But these three never reach a stage of perfection in us as long as we live here on earth, and no one ever reached perfection in this respect except Christ. He is the Sun and has been given to us and set up for us as an example whom we must imitate.

There are always some to be found in our midst who are weak, others strong, and still others who are stronger. Some can suffer only a little and others much. But we must all continue in the likeness of Christ. For this life follows a course in which we proceed continually from faith to faith, from love to love, from patience to patience, from cross to cross.

It is not a matter of being righteous but of being justified. We have not yet reached our goal; we are all on the path and on the way, but some are further along than others. God is satisfied when He finds us at work with a definite purpose. If He so wills it, He comes quickly and strengthens our faith and love, and He can translate us in a moment from this life into heaven. But as long as we are on this earth, we must bear with each other as Christ bore with us, always remembering also that none of us is ever quite perfect.

SL.XI.600,31
AE 76,447

PRAYER: You know all our weaknesses, shortcomings, failures, and sins, heavenly Father. Help us in your means of grace to the improvement and progress which is a characteristic of your children, through Christ Jesus the Savior. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 26:14-25

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

If we are considering the passion of Christ in the correct way, its immediate effect on us should be a feeling of deep shock and an uneasy conscience. We should be deeply shocked when we see the harsh wrath of God and His unrelenting seriousness in dealing with sin and sinners. He is not prepared to release sinners to His only and dearly beloved Son unless this Son assumes a very heavy penalty on their behalf. He Himself tells us through the prophet that this Son was “stricken for the transgression of my people” (Isaiah 53:8).

What can ever befall the sinner after the most beloved Son has been smitten in this way? There must have been unspeakable and unrelenting seriousness here if it required such an immeasurably great Person to render satisfaction and to suffer and die in this connection.

If you ponder the matter deeply enough and remember that it is God’s own Son, the eternal wisdom of the Father, who is suffering here, you will be shocked, and the deeper you ponder it, the more deeply you will be shocked.

Fix it firmly in your heart and mind and have no doubt at all that it was you who brought all this suffering upon Christ. Your sins were responsible for the sufferings of Christ.

SL.XI.576,4
AE 76,426

PRAYER: Dear heavenly Father, we can only stutter in response to the unspeakable grace and mercy which you have bestowed upon us in the suffering and death of your dearly beloved Son. Accept this stuttering in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.