Tuesday after the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on November 14, 2023 by under
Scripture: Isaiah 49:12-17 (NKJV)
49:12 “Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.
16 “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.
17 “Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you.”
Devotion
The physical Zion, the city of Jerusalem, was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman army. The Jews had thought that since they had the temple, God would never forsake them, even if they crucified His beloved Son. But by rejecting Jesus Christ, the Jews also rejected all of the promises that God made concerning Zion. So God abandoned Zion to the “abomination of desolation.”
The beautiful and comforting promises made through the prophet Isaiah apply to the true, spiritual Zion, that is, the faithful Christian Church. The Church is where the Lord has mercy upon us and comforts us with the forgiveness of sins. To worldly eyes, it often seems like the Church has been forgotten by her Lord and is about to be destroyed by her persecutors. The number of Christians is shrinking rapidly and our enemies are becoming more brazen in their attacks against us. But Christ says that He cares more for His Church than a mother does for her baby. Unlike the physical city of Jerusalem, the Church will never be destroyed or forsaken. Christ has promised that even the gates of Hell will not prevail against her (Matt. 16:18). He will protect her until His Second Coming, when He will complete His victory over her enemies.
Collect: Almighty God, we beseech Thee, show Thy mercy unto Thy humble servants, that we who put no trust in our own merits may not be dealt with after the severity of Thy judgment, but according to Thy mercy; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
