Saturday, March 12, 2011
Psalm 91:15-16 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.
INVOCAVIT
In the old Latin Bibles, Psalm 91:15 began with the word "Invocavit" which came to be the traditional title for the first Sunday in Lent, the day of the church year when that verse was given a prominent place in the worship service.
Is it worth calling upon this God who invites us to petition His throne? Will He hear and answer as He says? Will He stand up for us in our hour of need? Look at the historic gospel lesson for the same Sunday. It (Matthew 4:1-11) tells of Jesus, our Substitute, resisting the temptations of the devil in the wilderness. There was Christ, standing up for us as no one else ever could. In those 40 days and in many other days He fought Satan as our representative and emerged victorious. He conquered sin and He conquered it for us, remaining holy and blameless to offer Himself on the cross as the innocent Lamb of God.
Surely we can trust our God when we call upon Him. He who stood up for us then will not fail to answer us now according to His good and gracious will -- even bringing us in the end to His heavenly kingdom.
O wondrous Love, to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners such as I
Might plead Thy gracious name!
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 456:5)
