Rise! To arms! With Prayer Employ You
O Christians, lest the foe destroy you
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
The LORD is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalm 28:7-9
Blessed Saturday! May the peace of Our Lord Jesus be with you and yours.
The hymn of the day for The Third Sunday after Pentecost follows. Check out Ephesians 6:10-18; Romans 8:31-39; Philippians 1:27-28; and 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 as well.
Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you,
O Christians, lest the foe destroy you;
For Satan has designed your fall.
Wield God’s word, the weapon glorious;
Against all foes be thus victorious,
For God protects you from them all.
Fear not the hordes of hell,
Here is Emmanuel.
Hail the Savior!
The strong foes yield
To Christ, our shield,
And we, the victors, hold the field.
Cast afar this world’s vain pleasure
And boldly strive for heav'nly treasure.
Be steadfast in the Savior’s might.
Trust the Lord, who stands beside you,
For Jesus from all harm will hide you.
By faith you conquer in the fight.
Take courage, weary soul!
Look forward to the goal!
Joy awaits you.
The race well run,
Your long war won,
Your crown shines splendid as the sun.
Wisely fight, for time is fleeting;
The hours of grace are fast retreating;
Short, short is this our earthly way.
When the Lord the dead will waken
And sinners all by fear are shaken,
The saints with joy will greet that day.
Praise God, our triumph’s sure.
We need not long endure
Scorn and trial.
Our Savior King
His own will bring
To that great glory which we sing.
LSB 668
Almighty God, grant us a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, a cheerful hope in Your mercy, and a sincere love for You and one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
Join us this year as we continue our study of and meditation on the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Lutheran Study Bible (CPH) teaches:
The old covenant, because it could not permanently address the problem of sin, would “vanish away.” As Priest, Christ came to establish an everlasting covenant and atonement for our sins.
O merciful God, forgive us our sins for the sake of Jesus’ sacrifice. Amen.
Hebrews 8:8-13, Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant (part two)
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Here are a few notes from TLSB:
8:8 establish a new covenant. The promise of the Gospel had been with humanity since Gen 3. At the cross, it would be put into effect.
8:9 The old covenant, despite being given in the miraculous time of the exodus, was not kept by Israel.
8:10 laws into their minds … hearts. Renewal or sanctification. Luther: “To be in the mind means to be understood; to be in the heart means to be loved” (Luther’s Works 29:128).
8:11 they shall all know Me. The saving knowledge of God and the Spirit’s gift will become much clearer. Many more nations will know God. On the Last Day, all people will see the Lord, some with joy, but others with weeping (1 Co 13:12; Mt 13:41-42).
8:12 For I will be merciful. People will grow in the knowledge of God to receive His mercy for Christ’s sake.
8:13 makes the first one obsolete. The first covenant is a shadow of the second and fades in the brightness of Christ’s new work.
The Book of Hebrews, Part 16 (Hebrews 8:8-13) — Pr. Will Weedon, 4/1/20
Introducing the Books of the Bible: Hebrews — Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller, 5/18/20
This Week in the Church Year
Second Sunday after Trinity (1-Year) — 9 Jun
Third Sunday after Pentecost (3-Year) — 9 Jun
St. Barnabas, Apostle — 11 Jun
The Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, AD 325 — 12 Jun
Elisha — 14 Jun
+ The Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, AD 325 +
12 June
The first Council of Nicaea was convened in the early summer of 325 by the Roman Emperor Constantine at what is today Isnuk, Turkey. The emperor presided at the opening of the council. The council ruled against the Arians, who taught that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God but was created by the Father and was called Son of God because of his righteousness. The chief opponents of the Arians were Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, and his deacon, Athanasius. The council confessed the eternal divinity of Jesus and adopted the earliest version of the Nicene Creed, which in its entirety was adopted at the Council of Constantinople in 381. - Treasury of Daily Prayer
Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy) is a short prayer found in the historic liturgy of the Church. It comes into English from Latin, itself a transliteration from the Greek…Κύριε, ἐλέησον.
Pronunciation: KEER-ee-ay il-AY-iss-on
Kyrie Eleison is free. Paid subscriptions are helpful donations.