“Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word,” ELW 517 and LBW 230
1 Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word;
Curb those who by deceit or sword
Would wrest the kingdom from your Son
And bring to naught all he has done.
2 Lord Jesus Christ, your pow’r make know,
For you are Lord of lords alone;
Defend your holy Church, that we
May sing your praise triumphantly.
3 O Comforter of priceless worth,
Send peace and unity on earth;
Support us in our final strife
And lead us out of death to life.
Devotion
As we celebrate the victory of the Reformation with the saints in Christ today, we especially commemorate Martin Luther as a man of the Word. Luther’s well-known speech in Worms convinced us he was not afraid of the death threat from the emperor and church officials, for his conscience was captive to the word of God. What a powerful statement he made by his willingness to lay down his life for truth that could set us free from evil.
Two years ago one of my students in the seminary shared his reflection on the story about what happened to Luther in 1517. The student confessed he had taken justification by faith for granted all his life. After he saw the movie about Luther, he could never say thank you enough for what Luther did to defend the truth of justification by faith. The other students and I all agreed with him.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we give thanks to you for Martin Luther, who fought for the truth for us without regard for his life. Forgive us, for we usually take your grace for granted. Also help us to be more eager to study your Word, that we might stand firmly for you and have a better understanding of the eternal fact -- as Luther defended fo rus in the Reformation -- that it is by grace we have been saved. Amen.