“Salvation Belongs to the Lord”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.” What a state to be in, to be surrounded by your enemies, outnumbered by your foes, and to have voices continually whispering in your ear that your faith is a lie and your God is a fraud.

Many are saying of your soul, “There is no salvation for you in your God.” The devil's lies float on clouds of air and land as softly as a butterfly. But they bite like the worst mosquito in history. And they itch and fester and plague just as badly as any mosquito bite. The whispers, or shouts, that tell you that God is dead, if He ever existed in the first place. Or maybe it is that He is there, but He does not love you. How could your God be a God of love when He committed the most heinous example of divine child abuse ever?

It is no secret that many foes are rising against the faithful people of God. You need only watch the news, read a newspaper, or roam the internet to encounter reports of the persecution and martyrdom being inflicted on Christians throughout the world. But it is not only those who face imminent death who are surrounded by the enemies of the Faith. You, here and now, are pressed close by those in our land who would persecute you by more subtle means: deprivation of the freedoms of speech and religion, enforcement of “politically correct” words and actions in the public square, open attacks against the character of those who confess the Faith.

“But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” The Lord is, truly, the Protector of His people. He is the shield of all who call upon Him. He sustains His children in times of good and in times of evil. He will not leave you without refuge or strength. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you.

This is, after all, what He has promised to do for you, and for what you pray in the Seventh Petition: “But deliver us from evil.” What are you asking when you pray this petition? Luther teaches us that “We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.” You pray in the Lord's Prayer that our Lord would deliver you from evil now, and finally deliver you from this cruel, evil world when your final breath is exhaled.

And He does, and will do, just exactly that. For consider what our Lord has already done. David says that the Lord is a shield. What does a shield do? It absorbs the impact of whatever might be hurled against you from the outside, so that it does not harm you. How, you might ask, is God a shield? He is a shield round about you because He stations His Son between you and your enemies. More importantly, He stations His Son between you and your own evil.

For the very Son of God, your Savior Jesus Christ, stands between you and the evil that threatens you. He stands, and not just Him in blazing glory, but He stands with the cross as your shield and refuge. For the worst that could come upon you is not the jeering and insults of the devil, the world, and your own sinful nature, but the righteous judgment and holy wrath of the Father. But the wrath of God has been poured out, not upon you, but upon Jesus, the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world. He has taken upon Himself the wrath of God, and it is left hanging upon that accursed tree.

So long as the cross of Christ stands between you and your enemies, what have you to fear? Shall you fear “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35) No. For the Lord is your shield and refuge, your help in trouble, your fortress and castle.

You are the Church of God, elect and glorious. You are the people of God, the humble sheep for whom the Lamb of God gave His life. Salvation belongs to your God, and His blessing is upon your people, the people who fear the Lord and cry aloud to Him in distress and in thanksgiving. He is your glory, and no one can rob you of that. Therefore, you can say, with David, “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” Many thousands of people, even many thousands of devils, are no match for one God, one cross, one Christ, who stands between you and the evil that would assail you.

Church of God, elect and holy,
Be the people He intends;
Strong in faith and swift to answer
Each command your Master sends:
Royal priests, fulfill your calling
Through your sacrifice and prayer;
Give your lives in joyful service –
Sing His praise, His love declare. (LSB 646.4)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.