Opening Prayer
Lord, wake us and keep us awake by Your Spirit and Your Word. Amen.
Text: Malachi 4:1-6
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts. “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
Devotion
Shouldn’t the Word about the Day of the Lord wake us, humble us, yes, crush us and make us truly penitent? When He spoke through Jonah to the people in Nineveh about judgment and destruction, it made them put on sackcloth and ashes, for they believed the Word. Whoever believes God’s Word about the Lord’s coming again humbles himself by acknowledging his sin, fearing God, and seeking grace. The ungodly despise the Word, so they feel so secure and hurry to meet their destruction without fear. There is no lack of warning from the merciful God. As He sent Elijah to Israel in their apostasy and chastised them with the piercing words of the prophet and with hunger and the sword, as He sent John the Baptizer to Israel later and by His genuine preaching of repentance called Jerusalem and all Judea, so He always awakens voices of repentance and raises up spiritual movements here and there, while unbelief must show its emptiness just like the Baal worship in the days of Ahab. And in the time that still remains, He shall give His witnesses great power before the peoples and tribes (Rev 11). All in vain! Most continue in their sinful-security and will not repent. So then the day must become a burning oven that burns them up and not a root or branch of them remains. For only the regenerate and holy can stand before Him who comes.
Christian soul, live in daily repentance until the last day. Never feel too secure, never arrogant, but walk in holy fear, and with David become lower and lower in your own eyes. You have learned to lay your sins on Jesus and you have found healing under His wings. Never abandon your first love (Rev 2:4). By the Spirit’s enlightening you shall see yourself more and more clearly and continually feel a deeper need for grace. Troubles shall not be lacking for your daily wakening and humbling. Along with the Lord you shall be led from the judgment hall to the way of sorrows2 toward Golgotha. But go deeper into communion with His sufferings, and deeper into the blessedness of grace! It leads to the mountain of the Ascension, and soon with unveiled eyes you shall see the Sun that makes all the saints rejoice with eternal joy, but sends the terrors of death through all the proud.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, give us God-fearing and humble hearts, and prepare our souls by Your grace, so that we can enjoy the day of Your coming and stand before You. Amen.
Hymn
Savior of sinners, now revive us
With Thy free mercy from above;
Friend of the sinful and the weary,
Turn unto us Thy heart of love!
O come, Thy sweet compassion showing,
On our poor souls Thy grace bestowing.
O Thou, our only hope and helper;
The Wonderful is still Thy name,
Who come to Thee in every sorrow
Shall ever find Thy love the same,
Thy grace and mercy never failing,
O’er ev’ry foe Thy might prevailing.
Thou knowest how poor mortals wander
In error’s shade, deceived and blind;
Come, Lord, and graciously enlighten
The darkness of our heart and mind.
Thy glory ev’ry truth revealing,
Which sin and Satan are concealing.
Father, our misery Thou knowest,
Our joy, our peace, our glory gone.
The message of Thy mercy send us,
The precious gospel of Thy Son.
Then life shall change to peace and blessing,
In Christ our Lord our good possessing.
Gotter: Savior of sinners, now revive us L 118:8-10 (HCH 221) LHy 171 tr. J. Borthwick;
tune: Bryd frem, mit Hjertes Trang at lindre (LHy 171); alternate hymn: I lay my sins on Jesus ELH 239