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The
Collect for The Fifth Sunday after Easter,
commonly
called Rogation Sunday.
The
Collect.
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O
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LORD, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble
servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that are good,
and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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T
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hen will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. 31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. 32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. 33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. 37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. 38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD. (Ezek 36:25-38)
Have
you ever tried to clean a really filthy basin by starting on the outside? Which
is more important for our health, the cleanliness of the outside of the basin
or the inside? If we start by cleaning the outside first, we may find that the
outside will become just as soiled as before when we begin cleaning the inside
later. If a plumbing fixture in our house is clogged, do we clean the outside
and surrounding environment first, or do we unclog the fixture first and then
clean the outside?
God
works in the same way – he cleans our hearts so that the outside may be cleaned
with the sprinkling of water. By the outward sprinkling of water shall the
outward sign of cleansing be made. That inward, spiritual grace of the
Sacrament occurs in the heart. The whole being of man, as well as his eternal
destiny depends more on the condition of his heart than does the life of his
body. When God abides in our hearts, there will be left no room for
idols or perversions. 25 Then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from
all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A
new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart
of flesh. The old, malicious and legal heart of stone must
be replaced by a heart of tender flesh. What does this mean to the Christian?
How do we receive this new Spirit and this new Heart?
We
receive this New Heart by genuinely professing a true faith and belief in the
Lord Jesus Christ. We must know, by faith, that He has died in payment of our
sin debt, that He was buried and rose again on the third day, and that He sits
on the right hand of God the Father to make constant intercession on our
behalf. It is our faith and our believing that will open the DOOR
(Jesus Christ) of the Sheepfold to us. Our faith cannot be fickle if it is to
be saving. It must be a somber and earnest faith that Christ is Savior,
Redeemer, Lord, and King of our lives. He will be a God of the Sunday Lord’s
Day only, but the Lord of the continual seven-days-a-week Sabbath. 27 And I will put my
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. Wherever Christ is, there will also be
the Holy Spirit. If Christ is in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will take
possession and drive out the spirits of lust, greed, and deception. We
come to obey God, not through the compulsion of legality and Laws engraved on
Tables of Stone, but out of that Law of Love that is written in Crimson on the
soft sinews of our hearts. Not only will we avoid doing evil (keep my
judgments), but we will not commit, as the General Confession states,
sins of omission by seeking good to do toward others.
28 And ye shall dwell in
the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be
your God. Which land…Canaan? No, not at all. He will give
us that land which Moses entered from atop the heights of Mount Nebo. Moses
looked over into Canaan, but was taken to be with God instead of going to
Canaan. The next time Moses appears in Scripture, he is on the Mount of
Transfiguration with Jesus and Elijah. This is a beautiful illustration of the
complete Word of God. Elijah represents the Prophets and Moses the Law. Both
together represent the whole of the Old Testament. Christ represents the
consummation of the long thirsted after Purpose of God by crowning both
the Law and the Prophets with the Grace and Mercy of His Person. The Law and
the Prophets are not separate from Christ, but are an integral part of His
revelation in the fullness of the Scriptures. The old school was given to teach
us to know our frailty and depravity. They both prepared the hearts of man for
the coming Savior who would redeem us from those frailties of a sinful nature.
29 I will also save you
from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase
it, and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will
multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall
receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Do you, or do
you not belief, that Christ is the Lord of the Harvest? We cannot wash our
robes as the NIV version claims in Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are
those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life
and may go through the gates into the city. (Rev
22:14) (NIV) Only God can wash us, and only Christ can provide that White Robe
of Righteousness typified by the returning prodigal’s father. God
will call for the Harvest and increase our yields by the same Voice that spoke
Light into existence on the first day of Creation. He will forestall the famine
and pestilence from afflicting our fields. He will make our way straight and
not narrow.
31 Then shall ye
remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and
shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your
abominations. This is the dawn of first-light in the soul
called to God – to recognize, with tears of repentance, their true natures that
have been at enmity to God. It is important – very important – that we remember
from what swamps of sin from which we have been drawn out. It is important that
we despise our sins and our complicity with it. We have looked at the murderous
Cain, the adulterous and murderous King David, the treachery of Judas, the
profligacy of Herod – and we have seen ourselves as if by looking in a mirror.
That mirror is the Word of God. It reveals our total hopelessness without a
Redeemer.
32 Not for your sakes do
I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and
confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. God does not
act to amend our characters and redeem our souls for the benefit of the sinful
soul that we are at the Calling, but of the virtuous character that the former
thief, robber, liar, murderer and adulterer may acquire through the efficacious
working of God’s Holy Spirit. Thankfully, god never beholds us as what we
currently are, but what we may become under the comforting and gentle influence
of His Holy Spirit.
Though
these passages have a reference to that fallen Israel of the Old Testament, it
has an even more relevant meaning to that new Israel of Promise expressed in
Romans, Galatians, and other parts of New Testament Scripture. That new Israel
is the same Israel to which Abraham laid claim all the way back in Genesis.
33 Thus saith the Lord
GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will
also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be
builded. 34 And the desolate land
shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say,
This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste
and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are
inhabited. Though the Jewish nation-state of modern Israel
has reclaimed land that has lain in waste for centuries, the state does not
meet the descriptive marks of the Israel of God – neither racially nor
nationally. There is no place on earth today that can compare with the Garden
of Eden. The desolate and ruined cities are still desolate and lie in ruins.
The miracle of that nation which claims God as its Lord will certainly produce
a greater wealth of faith and virtue than that war-torn little acre in the
Middle East. Blessed is the nation whose God is the
LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own
inheritance. (Psalm 33:12) If we attempt to force any description of the
people of God other than those who have believed and accepted the Promise, we
labor in vain. God’s people are not a people of a certain race or nationally,
but those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Neither
give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather
than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. (1
Tim 1:4)
and But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions,
and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
(Titus 3:9)
In
the process of blessing His people, either nationally (as in the great history
of the once-Godly nation), or individually, the unbelievers are always amazed
at our resilience and joy in peace as well as in moments of trial. 36 Then the heathen that
are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places,
and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I
will do it. He blesses always, without distinction of
race, that nation bearing the fruits of righteousness. Blessed is the
nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he
hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12) All peoples of the
earth – Jews, Gentiles, blacks, whites, Asians, Indians, men, women – all have
had the DOOR opened to the redeeming blood of Christ.
37 Thus saith the Lord
GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for
them; I will increase them with men like a flock. It is to be
prayed and hoped for that God will bring the modern Jewish nation into the fold
of believers. But it is not consistent with the nature and Word of God to bring
them into God’s fold as a people who cling to the legal system of ancient days,
or sacrifice lambs and bulls for a remission of sin. When they ACCEPT, and not
REJECT, Christ, they have assurance of being reconciled to God. In remonstrating
with the rulers of Israel in the Temple, Jesus was clear in His warning to
them: Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from
you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. (Matt
21:43)
What nation? ANY nation that bears the fruits of the Gospel faith.
38 As the holy flock, as
the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be
filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD. Thus shall the Lord
bring to pass His Kingdom in the Latter Day. The waste cities shall,
indeed, be filled wherever the Gospel of Christ is preached and received by the
people of that land. The vast stretches of prairie and meadow of
America lay in waste for centuries until a people, bearing the cross of Christ,
came seeking religious liberty. Then were the waste places filled and the land
knew the Lord. Such a prosperous people were never before known in the world,
nor since that Godly nation dominated the continent. Can we restore the Bright
Hope of Liberty? The same can happen to any people until such time as the Lord
draws the curtain of time down on our human undertakings.
