Teach Me to Do Your Will, For You Are My God

Sermon: Teach Me to Do Your Will, For You Are My God (Psalm 143)

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our text for tonight is Psalm 143, which we prayed earlier in the service. We will also be examining the explanation of the Office of the Keys as we prayed from the catechism earlier as well.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! ²Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. ³For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. ⁴Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. ⁵I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. ⁶I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah ⁷Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. ⁸Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. ⁹Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge! ¹⁰Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! ¹¹For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.

"The enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground" (Psalm 143:3). That is how Satan works, my friends. Satan follows after the Christian and hounds him until the day he dies. Satan's one and only goal is to get you to deny Christ and His Word of forgiveness.

Satan's greatest weapon of war is the lie. Satan lies and deceives the Christian into believing that you don't sin. Or, he deceives you into believing that your sin isn't so very bad, that you don't really need Christ and His Word of forgiveness.

This is why we as Christians must pray the penitential psalms, including Psalm 143 before us. They teach us who we are as sinners who cling to Christ alone and His Word of Absolution. The psalms teach us what the Christian life is all about. They teach us about sin and forgiveness. In other words, we may well say with Luther that the psalms are a little Bible that teach us everything we need to know to believe in Jesus and go to heaven.

But notice how very common the sins are that are before us. Let's look at the catechism again.

Which [sins]are these?

Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm?

There is no murder listed there. No grand theft auto or adultery or rebellion. These sins are a part of your daily life. And notice where they start. Who are you? Father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker. Each of us has a calling, a vocation where God has placed us. This is where God has given you to live and to work. And it is in that calling, in that vocation, that we need Law and Gospel, condemnation and absolution.

Who among us has not been unfaithful or lazy, hot-tempered or rude or quarrelsome? Have you picked a verbal fight with a co-worker or friend because you didn't get your way? Have you hurt others by your words or deeds? Have you stolen from your employer by not working as you should? Have you wasted the gifts God has given you? Have you stolen from God by not giving to the Church?

These are real sins. To the eyes of the world, these aren't big sins. They are trifles, nothing to be so concerned about. But they are real sins that deserve and result in God's judgment and eternal condemnation. Jesus said to those on his left hand: "I was hungry and you did not give me food. I was thirsty and you did not give me drink. Naked and you did not clothe me....Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Sins that condemn to hell are not only the bad things we do, large and small, but are also the love and compassion we have failed to have for others. To the eyes of the world these aren't even sins. Satan lies to us here too. He makes us think that since I'm not a bad person, I don't do bad things, then I am fine with God. But to God's judgment these are the worst sins. Failing to love your neighbor and serve him is the very greatest sin. Yet it is these very sins that God died on the cross to forgive. If God takes them so seriously, perhaps we should as well.

So that is why we have Confession and Absolution. God wants these sins gone from your life forever. He wants them cast into the depth of the sea, so that you may arise again as a new son or daughter in Jesus' name.

This Lent we have taken a journey into God's gift of absolution. It is easy to focus on the sins, on the act of confession. Some of you have partaken of God's gift of Individual Confession and Absolution. For those who have done this, you know that it is hard to confess. The words don't come out right. It's embarrassing. Or, it almost seems like much ado about nothing. I mean, who cares about how I treat my family or what I did at work or whatever my sin might be?

That is the whole point. God cares. He cares so much He gave His Son over to death so that you might live. When Jesus said "It is finished" from the cross, He is talking about your sin. Yes, He is talking about the time you were angry with your wife. He's talking about the time you nagged your husband and wouldn't give him any rest. He's talking about the time you gave your parents the silent treatment and rebelled against their wishes. He's talking about the time you refused to do what your boss asked of you at work. He's talking about the time you did not help a neighbor in need, or feed a hungry person, or shelter to a homeless person, or tell about Christ to an unbelieving friend. All of these and more.

We've learned a lot about God's gift of Individual Confession and Absolution this Lent. I know this has been a new journey for many, and perhaps at times a bit strange. It can be a hard journey, but a wonderful journey. God has so many things to teach you and give you that He can hardly wait for you to hear His Word and be reconciled by His love. He longs to hear you say with David, "Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God! Let Your good Spirit lead me" (Psalm 143:10).

So flee to God's Word of Absolution! Our psalmist cries out, "My soul thirsts for You like a parched land" (143:6). In a land and a time when sin is ignored or held up as good, flee to God's Word! He will not hold your sins against you who believe and are baptized, but will forgive you for the sake of Jesus Christ, His Son. That is our hope. That is our trust. That is our life as children of God. In the name of Jesus. Amen.