Second
Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
|
O
|
LORD, who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring
up in thy stedfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the
protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and
love of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Perhaps
beyond any other consideration, it is the SECURITY of the believer in Christ
that gives the greatest comfort and confidence. We have an unfailing LORD who
is able to save to the uttermost, and He will not lose any soul placed in His
hands by the Father. The process by which our security is assured is through
the means of His great help to those who call upon Him, and in His righteous
governance in the hearts of those who claim Him as Sovereign of their souls. This
governance begins in the fear which a lost soul feels for his unforgiven sins,
and is consummated in the deep love that the sinner feels for His Savior once
he has repented and come to claim that grace and mercy made available through
the works of Christ. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of
power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:7) Fear does not come
from God, but from the knowledge of one's sins. When we have come to know God
intimately, that fear engendered by our carnal sins is turned to love, and a
sound conscience, in that state of forgiveness and justification that comes by
the Blood of Christ. O LORD, who never failest to help and govern
those whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast fear and love. Please
note the order of emotions offered in this first line of the prayer – fear
PRECEDES love, but love is the finality and victorious emotion that we have in
Christ….and it is steadfast! Fear, conditioned by forgiveness and mercy, is
converted to an increasing love much like the poisonous gas, chlorine added to
sodium, results in an essential compound for life. There is no fear in
love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that
feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence,
Yes, we are dearly `kept for the Master's use.' Regardless of the vessels we
represent in the Lord's Vineyard – whether of wood, stone, gold, or silver –
each vessel has a place in a great house. It is not the nature of the vessel
that is most important, but the treasure which the vessel contains that lends
meaningfulness and usefulness to the vessel. But in a great house there are not
only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to
honour, and some to dishonour. But in a great house there are not
only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth;
and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge
himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for
the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (2 Tim 2:20-21) I
should prefer to be an earthen vessel of clay, filled with precious souls of
children brought before the LORD on the Last Day, than a vessel of pure gold
filled with the unprofitable works of this world. A vessel of clay in the
Master's House is of far greater worth than those of silver and gold which will
dissolve in the fervent heat of Hell. Being kept by God under His providential
protection is the safest of all places regardless the external circumstances of
our lives. He knows all things – future, past, and present – He therefore knows
the very best course for our lives.
". . . . make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy
Name." This is not the same kind of fear mentioned prior
to salvation – it is the kind of fear a son or daughter feels toward their
parents in not wanting to disobey them or bring humiliation and shame upon
their name. Honoring our parents makes their name respectable, but that
respectability does not come close to the Holiness that attaches to the Name of
our Almighty God. Our concern for not violating the Holiness of God's Name must
not be a mere passing whim, but it must be a matter of perpetual consciousness
in our hearts. It is this kind of fear that increases love at the same
instance. No man can love that which he does not respect, but a high regard for
loved ones always increases our love for them. It is for this reason that we
are commanded to honor our fathers and our mothers. Such honor places them
above the common plain of familiar affection. As you will know, there are two
Tables of the Law of Commandments. We often believe the first four to reflect
our duties to God, and the last six our duties to man. But I believe the first
five reflect our whole duty to God – because God is our ultimate Father. So the
fifth Commandment is a transition Commandment between our duties to God and man
– it reflects both our duty to God and our duty to parents.
". . . through Jesus Christ our Lord. Need this
phrase be explained? At that day ye shall ask
in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For
the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that
I came out from God. (John 16:26-27) All prayer must be made
through that Redeemer who has made answer to our prayers possible – the Lord
Jesus Christ! You may recall that the very last word of the Old Testament seals
the meaning thereof: the word is CURSE, because the Law is a curse to us in our
frailty and inability to obey. However, the very last line (and prayer) of the
New Testament answers the meaning of that Gospel taught to us by Christ and
propagated by the Apostles: GRACE! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all. Amen. (Rev 22:21)
