2ND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

Grace and,peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ,, our Lord. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ.

If a flock of sheep is not to be quickly scattered and destroyed, it needs a shepherd who leads the way, pastures it, protects it, and in the evening brings it back to a secure sheepfold. Sheep by. themselves do not know the places where they can find good pasture nor the springs from which they can drink; defenseless

as they are, they would easily be the prey of the wolf and other ravening animals, if they had none to defend them; still less could they of themselves prepare places where they could rest securely.

In Holy Writ the human race is compared to such a flock of sheep. And who can fail to recognize that mankind cannot be pictured more fittingly? Yes, we are also such a flock which, if it should not be scattered and destroyed, likewise needs a shepherd who leads the way, pastures it, protects it, and finally brings it into the fold of eternal rest.

By nature we all have an ineradicable hunger and thirst for perfect happiness, but who knows where the true, the perfect happiness is to be found? If we consider a man's actions, we indeed see that every one pursues and vexes itself with, slaves and is very anxious for, happiness; the one seeks it in ? riches, another in lust, a third in honor; the one seeks it in low, grossly sensual pleasures; another in so-called higher and spiritual things, as art and science, and the like; but do men find the things they are looking for? Though a person may have found the riches, the lust, the honor he looked for, he did not find the happiness for which he was searching. His unsatisfied wishes have become only the greater, his soul-hunger only the more terrible, his soul-thirst only the more burning.

Furthermore, we all by nature have in our souls a deep yearning after the truth. What is truth? This question lives in the hearts of all men without them often knowing it. Everyone would be glad if he could be certain about such questions as whether there is a God, where the world came from, the ultimate purpose of man, his lot after death, etc. In these important matters no one wants to err, no one wants to deceive himself. But which person has found the truth by himself? More than 5,000 years have already gone by since the creation of the world and the wisest are still engaged in seeking the answers; most have given up the hope of ever finding the truth and view men as animals whose soul vanishes with the body like smoke.

Finally, we are also concerned by nature on how we will fare in and after death. We all feel a certain gnawing of conscience; we all feel that many trespasses are burdening us; we all by nature, therefore, secretly fear a future accounting, which we perhaps will have to give and in which we will not be able to stand. Where is the man who can give himself peace in the face of the accusations of his conscience and give himself the absolute hope of a future blessed peace? Of course, for a time a person can succeed in causing his conscience to sleep, but how often does it not awaken only too soon and constantly reminds him of the old unforgiven guilt!

Oh, how unhappy we would, therefore, be if in this world we would have to rely only on ourselves! if God would have banished us from heaven to this world and there were no one who could give us an answer to the question, Where do we come from? where are we going? How unhappy we would be if our mortal body found food here on earth but our immortal soul would have to languish, and perish of hunger and. thirst! if our physical eye would have light but our spirit would remain in darkness! if we could get through this wretched world but did not know a better way to another, better world of eternal rest and perfect peace!

But happy, happy are we! We are not like a flock which does not have a shepherd and must, therefore, scatter itself and die and be a helpless prey of misery and death. No, we all have a common, great, mighty, gracious, loving Shepherd, who will guide and feed us, protect and defend us, and finally lead

us into the heavenly fold of eternal rest and perfect security and peace, if only we will accept him as our Shepherd and follow his Shepherd's voice. And this Shepherd is Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God and our Savior. Oh, permit me today, since our Gospel gives us this opportunity, to show you why we should accept this Christ as our Shepherd.

The text. John 10:11-16.

"I am the good shepherd;" thus Christ cries out twice in our Gospel text. He means to say that he is the Good Shepherd whom all the prophets have predicted would come to take to himself his flock and seek them. That Christ is this Good Shepherd who .has been promised to us, he shows us in all the words of pur text. Therefore, let us now ponder:

WHY WE SHOULD ACCEPT CHRIST AS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD

Our text gives us three main reasons for so doing:

I. He and Only He is the True Shepherd.

II. He is so Concerned About His Sheep, and finally,

III. He is Also Friendly Toward the Lost Sheep.

Lord Jesus Christ, the only Shepherd of all men! Once again you have let your Shepherd's voice resound among us in order to call, us all to you. Grant that your voice will penetrate all hearts, that your followers will become more warmed by your love, the weak strengthened, the sick and ill healed, and the lost brought to you. Oh Jesus., I am not the true shepherd of this flock; how can I provide for them, lead, protect, and bring them to heaven? You alone are that and you are able and will to do that through your wretched servant. Oh, then, make me your mouth, so that I speak as you want me to speak and lead all these people to you by your power. Hear me for the sake of your Shepherd's faithfulness. Amen. Amen.

I.

To accept Christ as his Shepherd, means, my friends, not only to recognize Christ as his teacher or to follow him as his example in the way of virtue. Today that is what is very often understood when one calls Christ the Good Shepherd of men. However, that is not explaining the words of Christ but diluting and making them trite. No, to accept Christ as one's Shepherd is infinitely more. This is: to seek all that from Christ which sheep have and enjoy from their shepherd, hence, safe guidance through the world, full pasture, protection and defence against all foes, and. finally, being brought into the eternal fold of perfect peace.

Now can we really seek all this in Christ? Yes, my friends, for in the first place, he and only he is our true Shepherd. He says in our text, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, ,and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep." Vv.11-13,15.

In order to understand these words correctly, we must know the following. When God created man, God was the Shepherd of all men. God dwelt in their hearts and guided them with his heavenly light; Paradise was the pasture for their body, and God's love and goodness for their soul. God's power was their protection

against sin, misfortune, distress, and death, and heaven was the safe enclosure toward which God led men.

However, what happened? Satan, this fallen angel, this hellish wolf, enviously saw that mankind was well off under God's Shepherd's staff. He thirsted for man's blood and life. What did he therefore do? He crept up to man under a plausible appearance, caused him to become suspicious of his heavenly Shepherd as though his gracious guidance were a harsh dominance, and dazzled him by showing how well off they would be if they would set themselves completely free and were their own guide.

And alas! The plan succeeded. Mankind ceased to listen to God's Shepherd's voice, and withdrew from his gentle rule. The result was that mankind was driven out of the pasture of Paradise into the wilderness of this world; now by nature we all wander about in darkness, sin, and under God's wrath, surrendered into misery and death, without true peace and without the hope of eternal life.

If we were to be helped, we needed a new Shepherd who would kill the hellish wolf, so that sin and God's wrath over sin would be wiped out and again win for us light, grace, righteousness, life, and salvation.

From olden times mankind has indeed tried to help itself and man have set themselves up as shepherds who would deliver their brethren. But could they help themselves and others? No; in vain have men tried to rescue themselves from darkness and kindle the light of truth; in so doing they have wandered only the more deeply into the dark forests of their own perverted thoughts. In vain men have themselves tried to conquer sin and produce a righteousness which availed before God; in so doing them have fallen only the deeper into the abyss of pride and estrangement from the life that is in God. In vain have, men tried to reconcile themselves to God and labored to open heaven; in so doing they have fallen into the abomination of sacrifices to men and other idols. All men, especially the wise of this world, who have wanted to lead men through the world to heaven, have proven to be hirelings who could not stand before the hellish wolf, before sin, God's wrath, distress, death, and hell, and could not conquer them but had to flee, leave the human flock in the lurch, and give themselves up as lost.

There was only one who could again wrest the flock of mankind from the hellish wolf, namely, he who had been the Shepherd of mankind from the beginning, Christ himself. And behold. God did this. The moment man had been snatched and scattered by the wolf, God began to gather them again; he gave man the promise that at the right time God himself would appear on earth and crush the head of the serpent; mankind should just take comfort in this. And after 4,000 years had gone by, God's Son appeared in the world, immediately after his birth let himself be heralded by the angels to the poor shepherds on the fields of Bethlehem as the promised Shepherd, took our sins upon himself and let himself be punished for them; however, as a Lamb swallowed and killed by the hellish wolf he immediately descended into hell, bound the wolf of hell, destroyed his dark ambush from which he had lain in wait for the sheep, there upon arose as a victor from the dead with righteousness, life, and salvation; then he established the holy office of the ministry through which, by means of the shepherd's horn of the Gospel, the entire flock of mankind wandering about in the world should be called to him as their true Shepherd until the end of days.

You see from this my friends: Christ is truthful, and only he is indeed our true Shepherd; all other men are mercenaries. Christ alone has been victorious for us in the great battle with the hellish wolf and conquered him by

letting himself be torn and swallowed by him. Only he had erased our sins and God's displeasure; only he has again brought to our languishing souls the bread and water of life; only he is able to protect us from misery, death, and hell, and lead us through death to life and in spite of hell lead us into heaven as into the mansions of eternal peace. True, preachers of the Gospel are also called shepherds, but only as believers are called Christians; that is, only insofar as the preachers point to Christ who is the only Good Shepherd, and only as Christ, the only Good Shepherd speaks through them; wherever this does not take place, the preachers are all mercenaries and if they would let themselves be burned; Oh, then, let us cast away all trust in everything else; let us cast away our own wisdom and righteousness, and all the teachings and works of all men as mercenaries who can never be victorious in the battle with sin, God's wrath, misery, death, Judgment, hell, and Satan but will have to flee. Christ, only Christ, is our true Good Shepherd; let us accept him, then we have help.

II.

In order that we may be even more urgently moved to do this, let us hear in the second place how carefully Christ watches over his sheep.

Christ expresses this in our text with the words, "I am the good shepherd. and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father." Vv.14,15a. If one ponders these words only superficially, he could easily think that in these words Christ does not praise his Shepherd's faithfulness very highly. He merely says that he knows his own and, on the other hand, that his own know him! However, if we ponder the meaning of this word correctly, we discover that more lies in it than could be expressed by any other longer description. For when Christ knows those as his own who accept him as their Shepherd, what more could they desire, what more could they wish? How can they ever lack anything which they need? Of what do they have to fear? Which promise of salvation and glory can there be for which they would not confidently dare to hope?

Oh, blessed people who accept Christ as their Shepherd1. Though they are great sinners and, therefore, worthy of no grace, no love, no blessing, Christ knows them as his sheep; he is, therefore, gracious to them; he loves them and overwhelms them with temporal, spiritual, and eternal blessings. If they are despised and rejected by the whole world, if they find none who want, to be their friend and brother, if no one will acknowledge them to be Christians and God's children, if all men, pious and godless, are ashamed of them, if they accept Christ as their Shepherd, he nevertheless knows them as his sheep, is not ashamed of them but goes after them as their Shepherd, and leads them in and out.

If they themselves are uncertain whether they dare regard themselves as Christians, if their own consciences accuse them, their own heart condemns them, what does it matter if they choose Christ as their Shepherd? He does not accuse them, he does not condemn them but knows them as his own.

Yes, if it seems as if God himself has rejected them, if it seems as if they are already condemned and sentenced through God's Word, if God himself seems to fight against them since God allows a thousand tribulations to come upon them, they still have no reason to despair and doubt; Christ says to them: Be comforted! Just do not be afraid and doubt! My Father knows me as his dear Son, since I hung on the cross as a curse for the world; even as my Father still knew me on the accursed tree, so I also know you, even though all the storms of his wrath burst upon you.

If they are in trouble, in sickness, in poverty, how happy they can be! The Good Shepherd knows them and provides for them and helps them. If they are sore at heart, if they don't know where to turn, if perhaps through their own fault

they have fallen into a deep pit of misery out of which they do not know how to climb, how undismayed they can be! Christ knows them as his own and, therefore, he must counsel them, they dare and can and should cast all their care upon him, for he cares for them as a shepherd cares for his sheep.

If they come before God with prayers and supplications and their conscience tells them that they are noteworthy, God will not hear them, blessed are they! They don't have not pay attention to this; Christ regards them as his own; and for that reason all their prayers are pleasing to him and he certainly hears them even before they call.

If they are dying; if the world world forsakes them; if the sins of their entire life and their unfaithfulness throughout their entire Christian life rise up before their deathbed like accusers, oh, how calm they can be! Then Christ stands at their side and says, Be not afraid, you have accepted me as your Shepherd; I know you even now; you are mine and I am yours, no sin, no death, no hell will separate us.

Finally, when those who have accepted Christ as their Shepherd come before God's judgment: oh, even then they have no reason to tremble and quake; for Christ does not let them come alone before God; he appears with them before his Father and says: Father, this soul is my sheep; I have bought it with my blood and it has accepted me; therefore, open the gates to my heavenly meadows, so that I may now forever pasture it there and lead it to the stream of eternal joy and refreshment.

See, my friends, according to this, who can be more blessed here and in eternity than he who accepts Christ as his Shepherd? Do not think that I have said too much. Listen to David; he speaks from his own experience; and how does he speak? Rapturously he exclaims, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake; Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Ps 23:1-6.

III.

Now accordingly, who should not be inclined to accept Christ as his Shepherd? Only one thing will perhaps prevent man, the thought that it is not so easy to become Christ's sheep and be able to say with David, "The Lord is my Shepherd." In order to remove this hindrance, let us finally ponder Christ's disposition toward erring sheep.

To be sure, one would think that since it is such great happiness to belong to Christ's flock, it would indeed cost much, very much before one would be accepted as one of the flock and have a right to Christ's Shepherd's concern. That, however, is not at all the case. For thus Christ himself speaks at the end of our text, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." V. 16. Christ spoke these words as he stood in the midst of the flock which he had gathered about himself from the Jewish people. He declared, however, that he was not satisfied with this number. He had other sheep who were not of this fold. That is, there were still millions of heathen wandering about in this world; these lost and scattered sheep lay upon his heart; yes, he says bluntly, he must bring them in also. Since at that time mankind was divided into two groups, heathen and Jews, we see from this: there is no person

whom Christ would not gladly accept as one of his flock and whose Shepherd he would not be.

Be you whoever you may be, my dear hearer, whether you are descended from the Jews or heathen, Christ bears also you upon his heart; he seeks also you; he would gladly have also you in his flock; he would gladly be also your Shepherd; he gave his life for all sheep, also for you.

But still more! Christ tells us how he will gather the lost sheep and become their Shepherd; he says, "They shall hear my voice." He intends to say: I am like every shepherd; if a sheep has run away and been lost, the shepherd does not prescribe severe conditions to the poor sheep under which he will again accept it, but he goes after the sheep and calls it in his most friendly voice with his old well-known shepherd's voice: Come back! come back! If the sheep hears the voice of the shepherd and runs back to him, or if it lets itself be found by him, the shepherd takes it joyfully upon his shoulders and rejoicingly carries it back to the flock. So, says Christ, I also call through my Gospel to all lost mankind as a sympathetic friend, Oh, come back, my people, who have gone astray in. the world; you who have drunk from the muddy springs of the lust of the world; you who have fallen into the abyss of vice; you who have climbed the steep heights of pride; you who have wandered about in the maze of human wisdom, come back! I, I am your Shepherd; you will find the correct pasture from me; I will lead you to the fresh waters of comfort; I will finally bring you into the heavenly fold where the fullness of joy and pleasures forever more will be your, forever and ever.

See from this, my friends, how easily, therefore, everyone of us can become one of Christ's sheep and have Christ as the Shepherd and Bishop of his soul. The moment we listen to the Word of the Gospel, which Christ calls out to us, that is, the moment we know that we have erred and.no longer resist Christ's Shepherd's voice but forsake the world and sin and return to him and say: You have me, my, Shepherd, receive your poor sheep, in that moment we are in Christ's care, we are his sheep and he is our Shepherd.

3rd SUNDAY after EASTER John 16:16:23

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus.

What is a true Christian? What is the essence of true Christianity? This question is nowadays answered in very different ways and naturally the answer is often false.

As a rule, those think that they are safest who say that the essence of a true Christian does not consist in his being diligent in going to church and Holy Communion and praying and singing much, but in living uprightly, loving his neighbor, and helping him, in short, in doing good works. And it is true: Christianity is not a dead thing; it does not consist in observing certain outward religious acts, ceremonies, and pious practises; for the most diligent

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churchgoer can in spite of all his zeal be a hypocrite.

Yet it is just as wrong to suppose that the essence of true Christianity is an honorable life, a civil integrity, a generally useful life. For in spite of all this one can just as easily be a hypocrite who is proud of his supposedly good heart, his noble principles, and his good works.

The essence of true Christianity is true faith in Jesus Christ; if this faith is not the chief thing, the heart, the soul of our entire Christianity, it is fundamentally nothing but heathenism, which is whitewashed, palliated, and adorned with a few Christian truths.

If you search through all the Gospels, you will find: at all times that alone was why Christ comforted souls, why he recognized them as belonging to him, and promised them eternal life: because they believed in him.

Yes, they say, how is it possible for faith alone to do that? The simple reason is this: Since man by nature is a sinner and with his works cannot stand before God, Christ, true God and man, redeemed us, by his life, suffering, and death, reconciled us with God again, and satisfied God's righteousness in our place. And whoever wishes to share in it dare not reject this redemption but must accept it; and that is faith.

Faith is the open door of heaven; whoever does not want to enter into it through it is forever and ever excluded from God's kingdom. Of course, it is true: A Christian does good works; but whoever relies upon what he considers good works and wants to be righteous before God and be saved by them is not a Christian and will be lost despite all his seemingly good works.

God alone wishes to have the praise for saving us miserable sinners. Our boast must fall completely to pieces. Not even repentance and improvement can be the basis of our hope. Whoever thinks: since I regret my sins and want to improve my life, God will take pity on me, deceives himself most miserably. If you want to be righteous before God and be saved, you must rely upon pure grace and mercy, for this is that true repentance, that you despair completely of yourself and turn to Christ with all the miserable things which you perceive in yourself. That is the way one becomes a Christian, that is the way one remains a Christian, that is the way one is saved.

A true Christian is earnestly concerned about his soul's salvation; but he does not build upon a mechanical performance of certain good works; rather he lets go of everything and relies alone upon Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world and his sins also; a true Christian can, therefore, truthfully say with the apostle, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Tim 1:15.

You see, my friends, that, yes, that is the only true foundation; all others are of no use; all of one's works, and though they are connected with millions of tears, is work in vain; only faith in Christ conquers God's glowing wrath and extinguishes the flames of hell.

The question now arises: What about the heart of a Christian, when he has laid this basis for his faith? I will now speak to you in detail about that.

The text. John 16:16-23.

In this Gospel Christ predicts two things to his disciples; he says,

"Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." V. 20. That is the chief content of our entire Gospel. I will speak to you about that.

TRUE CHRISTIANITY, A CONSTANT CHANGE BETWEEN SORROW AND JOY

I. We Want to Learn to Know This Change, and

II. Hear from God's Word How one is to Act.

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, it is your will that those who belong to you do not insult your valid merit by always being uncertain and doubtful but to honor your cross by being firmly convinced of their salvation. Oh, therefore, give us all this precious thing, a firm heart which your grace alone can work. To that end bless also the present preaching of your precious Gospel for your own sake. Amen.

I.

It is true, my friends: true Christianity is something happy, wonderful, blessed; for should he not be a blessed person who knows that through Christ he has a gracious God and through death will certainly enter into the heaven of the blessed? Yet many .suppose that the life of faith is a perpetual happiness of heart, and undisturbed peace, constant blessed rest and quiet of soul, and that Christianity is an endless basking of the spirit in a sweet feeling. Many are misled to hold this opinion by false teachers who seek to incite their hearers to true Christianity by first picturing it as something very easy and lovely and most wonderful, as a state of spiritual rapture which at least returns often.

Others, on the other hand, reject all experiences of heavenly refreshment and the taste of the gracious Word of God and the powers of the world to come as enthusiasm; or, they present Christianity as though it were a constant lamentation and groaning without the joyful certainty that one is in grace; as though a Christian must continually tremble, quake, and doubt as to whether he will be accepted or not; as though it would be fleshly security if he were to say with that Christian poet:

My manifold transgression

Henceforth can harm me none

Since Jesus' bloody Passion

For me God's grace hath won.

His precious blood my debts hath paid;

Of hell and all its torments

I am no more afraid. (152,3)

But, my friends, both opinions are false, against God's Word, and against the universal experience of all true Christians. True Christianity is neither an unbroken joyfulness nor perpetual anxiety. What it really is we learn from our Gospel, in which the Lord says to the apostles, "A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." V. 16. Since the disciples did not understand this veiled talk, Christ explained it to them in the words, "Verily, verily, I say unto you. That ye shall weep, and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into, joy." V. 20. Here Christ predicted not only to the apostles but also to all Christians the ways of their life of faith; it would be a constant change between sorrow and joy.

When the apostles came to Christ and perceived that he was the Savior of the world, they were filled with pure joy. What a good, gracious, friendly, merciful Lord they found in him! How joyfully they forsook everything and followed him! They could well have thought that thus it would continue and when Christ

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would finally set up his Messianic kingdom, it would be even better. But lo, since he would soon go away from them to the Father, he told them something which they had least of all expected: Weeping, lamentation, and sorrow; yet he declared that in only a little while their sorrow would again be turned into joy.

And that is the way Christ still does it. When people accept him in faith, oh, how blessed they are in Christ! what new heavenly impulses they discover in their hearts! how blessed they feel they are when they can exclaim:

Now I have found the firm foundation

Which holds mine anchor ever sure;

'Twas laid before the world's creation

In Christ my Savior's wounds secure;

Foundation which unmoved shall stay

When heaven and earth will pass away. (385,1)

But it does not always remain that way. As bright as the believers' state of grace often is in the beginning, so that they might, cry to all the world,and all devils, "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ who justifies!" so it often is for only a little while; their heart becomes dark again; doubt arises and that firm confidence begins to waver. At first they often think that sin died out in their hearts through faith, and lo, in a little while it begins again to rule powerfully in them; they are also overcome and spotted now and again by. sin; then do the wings of faith and trust collapse. At first believers often think: If the Lord slay me, yet will I trust in him. But then, if many tribulations enter into his life, if one tribulation follows upon another; if their affairs go as though God were against them; if God leads them over such rough ways that it seems as though he does not consider them his children, as though he persecuted them as his foes, and rejected them, then a strong mistrust of God arises in them, and sorrow depresses them.

At times the believers feel such great zeal against sin that they .suppose that they would never again let a sinful thought into their heart nor let an idle word cross their lips; and in a little while they feel to exhausted and disinclined to battle against sin. At times the world with its vanities is so vain that believers are almost consumed by the yearning for their heavenly home; and in a little while they sorrowfully perceive in their hearts a secret yearning for the things and joys of the world. At times believers are so courageous in their confession of the truth, that they joyfully go to meet the world and rejoice if they suffer much shame and persecution for Jesus' sake; and in a little while they are in the grips of despondency and fearfulness. At times believers can so pray that they are amazed at themselves, that they themselves do not know whence it comes that the words of ardent devotion spring from their heart like a mighty stream; and in a little while they can but weakly groan and coo like doves. Today they perhaps find pure light and life, inexpressible comfort, power, strength, and the sweet refreshment of God's Word; and in a little while they are as though dead and powerless. At times they have the most blessed experiences when they partake of the true body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Holy Supper; and a little while later they must again depart from the Table of the Lord in a sorrowful frame of mind.

You see, my friends, such alternating between sorrow and joy, strength and weakness, courage and despondency takes place in true Christianity. We find that in the saints about whom we read in God's Word. How David wavered back and forth! He himself speaks of that in the 30th Psalm in the words, "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved....Thou didst hide thy face, and I

was troubled." v.6,7b. Now he rejoices, "By my God have I leaped over a wall," 2 Sam 22:30b, and in a little while he groans, "My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken thou me according to thy word." Ps 119:25. Now he rejoices, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is' within me, bless his holy name. Bless' the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases." Ps 103:1-3; and in a little while we again hear him groan thus, "Out of the depth have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord hear my voice....tf thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand?.... My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning." Ps 130: 1,2a.3,6a. "Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. I remember the days of old....My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth." Ps 143: 2,3,5a.6b.7a.

II.

Now that we have learned to know the change between sorrow and joy in true Christianity, let us hear secondly from God's Word how one is to act.

My friends, there are very few who remain absolutely certain of their state of grace. Though there be many who know that they are poor sinners who cannot help themselves, who consider Jesus as the only Savior, yet most are never truly certain of their faith. And no doubt the chief reason for this is that they experience how often the voice, the feeling of their heart changes. If they discover joy in their hearts, they think: now God is gracious to me, now he is smiling graciously upon me, now he is giving me the testimony that I am his child; if, on the other hand, they discover sorrow, weakness, feebleness, and impulses of the flesh and their evil lusts, ah, then they think: Jesus has left my heart completely! Alas, I have suffered shipwreck of faith and have fallen from life into death.

Believe me, this is nothing else but a deceit of your heart and the trick of Satan who wants to force us without our noticing it from the eternal Rock, Jesus Christ and his precious Gospel, and lead us upon the sinking sand of our own heart.

Clearly has Christ predicted to all his followers that they will have not only hours of joy but also times of sorrow, when they must weep and lament, when anxiety will come upon them like a woman travailing with child; but the end will be wonderful; their heart will rejoice and their joy no one will take from them.

From this you see that as little as the joyful feeling which we at times have should be the real foundation of our ease of mind, so little should we also let the foundation Of our faith be overthrown by the experience of sorrow and weakness. The only foundation upon which we build should be Jesus Christ the Savior of the whole world.

Oh, therefore, be warned of the false spirit which now is poured out over the world and guard yourselves against the many false teachers who have nowadays arisen, who under the best aura of a living Christianity nevertheless place the poor soul upon slippery ways when they teach them not to find the certainty of their salvation in Christ, his Word and Sacraments but in themselves in their heart!

It sounds good when they preach, First you must experience this and this,

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first you must feel the testimony of the Holy Spirit, then you can believe and comfort yourself in Christ; but this is nothing else than reversing the order of salvation. God's Word rather tells us: Believe first, and then you will experience. Thus Christ said to Martha, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" Jn 11:40. Paul says to the Ephesians, "In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." Eph 1:13. Moreover John says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God....He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." 1 Jn 5:1a.10a.

It is indeed a precious gift of God if he pours his sweet peace into our heart; not this peace here on this world but that peace which Christ's blood has instituted with God in heaven on the cross when he reconciled God should be. the anchor of our hope. But if we think: because it is so and so with me, I will also comfort myself in Christ, we rob Christ of all. his honor, our faith is wormy and our eye of faith squints. We must rather think this, way: Christ is the Savior of all sinners; since I am a sinner and would be lost without him, I take refuge in him; because by myself I am naked, I will clothe myself in the wedding garment of his righteousness.

Now, as the experiences of peace are not the basis of our peace of mind, neither should the experiences of sorrow and weakness overthrow it.

We live here, as the apostle says, by faith and not by sight. This is not the time of being satisfied but of hunger and thirst after righteousness and of sorrow. Therefore, we should not let ourselves be misled when we, as the disciples, must often weep and lament, when we feel nothing in us but misery, distress, and death. The believer is indeed at peace with God but he still, has many disturbers of the peace; he indeed has Christ's righteousness, yet he must often painfully feel his own unrighteousness; he indeed enjoys peace in the Lord, but sin, world, and the devil cast much bitter gall into his cup of joy. Faith is indeed a confident, firm relying upon Christ but although Christ the foundation remains firm, the believer nevertheless often becomes very weak; faith is not always a triumphant certainty, not always the exulting of the conqueror over sin, death, the devil, and hell, but it is often only a hidden spark glowing amid the ashes, a secret prostrate sighing for grace.

You who know your salvation, in Christ, do not let your heart and Satan deceive you in regard to your salvation; do not make yourselves uncertain about your salvation; God's Word remains firm, though everything else wavers; as long as you cling to that you will remain standing. Holy Baptism is a covenant which does not fall, which God never regrets; as long as you appeal before God to this covenant, God cannot reject you. The Holy Supper is an absolute pledge of your reconciliation; as long as you accept this pledge in faith, God must redeem it with your salvation.

Oh, then guard yourselves against all doubt and claim the right which you have in the face of all the opposition of your reason and heart. "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." Amen.