The Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called
Passion Sunday.
The
Collect.
|
W
|
E beseech
thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great
goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
1 Let not your
heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me. 2 In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1-3)
In His earthly ministry, Passion, and death, our Lord not
only purchased our salvation and liberty, but He also purchased that Kingdom to
which all Christian people aspire; but He also purchased a Kingdom Home for us
beyond the skies. Today’s sermon will focus on the
Prayer of Collect for Passion Sunday as it relates to that government of God.
The Collect Prayer for Passion Sunday relates to the just and orderly
government of the people of God in His trust and preservation. This COLLECT,
too, is taken from the Gregorian Sacramentary.
The original (in the Latin) for “thy people” was familia. I prefer the older term
for it means the “Household, or family, of God” and that is what those who
trust in God should be called.
The
government of God is just and equitable, and all
governments incorporate to some extent the Laws of God for governance; but
those that corrupt aspects of these laws in contempt of the Maker are those
tyrants and despots that are so common in our day around the world. I need not remind the Christian ALL
just laws derive from the Law of God and are subordinate thereto. The French
economist and Parliamentarian, Frederick Bastiat recognized this principle and very
well articulated it in his short commentary entitled,
The Law of 1848. But even sooner than this, the Holy Bible also
held forth the same principle lest any forget: It is better to trust in the
LORD than to put confidence in man. (Psalms 118:8) We ought to obey God rather
than men. (Acts 5:29) I hope no minister of God ever doubts his allegiance to God over the
traditions or deceits of man-made government. If the government forbids the
admonition of sins such as homosexuality, abortion, or adultery, I hope every
Christian and minister reading this devotion will be
faithful to his Christian vows and follow God rather than man. If the laws and
purposes of government become contrary to Scriptural truth, then they are not
legally binding on the Christian. God did not give us a conscience to be
squandered away at the bar of government.
Our Founding Fathers well knew the
legitimate limits of governmental power and included a clear definition in the
Declaration of Independence – an oft disregarded formulary of our freedoms: “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever
any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety
and Happiness.” Declaration of
Independence, unanimously ratified by the Thirteen United States of America, 4 July 1776, Anno Domini. Righteous governments will also enforce righteous laws. Put them in mind to be
subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work (Titus
3:1) Every good work is not possible under the tyranny of oppression and
religious persecution. It is noteworthy the Founding Fathers of the most flourishing Republic in
history acknowledged the Source of legitimate governmental powers to descend
from God.
In today’s Collect, we petition for God’s government and
preservation of His own people. We beseech thee, Almighty God,
mercifully to look upon thy people. Our prayers have no effect
on the government of the ungodly, but they indeed do have application to the
national character and morals of the nation in which His people dwell. You will
recall from 2 Chronicles 7:14, that well-worn
petition and counsel for national healing: If my people, which are
called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2
Chron 7:14) Though modern-day America has become overpopulated by heathen and
lukewarm Christians, only those who are called by HIS name, with serious
intent, will suffice in prayer. All the false professor and legal idiots do not need to offer prayer at all for no one would
hear them.
“………that by thy great goodness
they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul.” What result may we expect if we are a nation well favored
by God for our faith and obedience? The amazing testimony of America in her
first 175 years has been characterized by faith and righteousness before the
Lord. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to
thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance,
and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be
filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with
new wine. (Prov 3:7-10) The blessings of God on a nation
obedient to His laws are inexhaustible and extend not only the health of the
soul, but the health and preservation of the body as well. Blessed is the nation whose
God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen
for his own inheritance. (Psalms 33:12) What a tragic downfall
that is destined for the favored-nation who has known well the blessings of God
but, yet, has fallen for the filth and slop of the world – a nation that once
honored God in all her public institutions and
expressions, but has now abandoned every reference to God and embraced the sins
of abortion and homosexuality along with every other abominable thing.
It has
long been the yearning of my heart to write in
truth and good conscience of my beloved nation’s turn back to the God that gave
her standing from her ancient founding; but I cannot do so. I have prayed that
God would place a hook in our hearts, if we awaken not to our peril, and draw
is by force back to His favored ground. He may do so
yet, but I fear we are approaching that impasses of which Jeremiah prophesied.
He at first preached repentance for national salvation, yet, the apostasy
became so great and tragic that he changed his prophesying to a preaching of going into bondage as a chastisement, and then a
national salvation based on repentance from the land of bondage at Babylon. How
earnestly I pray that such bondage will not overtake our beloved America, but
if it cause a national repentance, I plead that the
Lord will bring it on sooner rather than later. It will be a sad day when the
American Song is sung in bondage to strangers as in Babylon: 1 By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3 For there they that carried us away
captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required
of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of
Zion. (Psalm 137:1-3) Will it not be far more
edifying to sing our national song by the
Mississippi, or Missouri, Rivers than on the riverbanks of some strange and
hateful enemy of our people? Unfortunately, the enemy is encamped among us
today and will have a song in mirth of Christ and our God. Again, beware the fateful words of that ancient Roman proponent of Republican
forms of government, Marcus Tullius Cicero in 42 BC: "Power and law are not
synonymous. In truth they are frequently in opposition and irreconcilable.
There is God's Law from which all Equitable laws of man
emerge and by which men must live if they are not to die in oppression, chaos
and despair. Divorced from God's eternal and immutable Law, established before
the founding of the suns, man's power is evil no matter the noble words with
which it is employed or the motives urged when
enforcing it. Men of good will, mindful therefore of the Law laid down by God,
will oppose governments whose rule is by men, and if they wish to survive as a
nation they will destroy the government which attempts to adjudicate by the whim of venal judges."
