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Worship for Sunday, April 5, 2020
Palm Sunday (Palmarum)
Hymn
“All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” by Theodulf of Orléans, c. 762-821
Refrain:
All glory, laud, and honor
To You, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.
1 You are the King of Israel
And David’s royal Son,
Now in the Lord’s Name coming,
Our King and Blessèd One. [Refrain]
2 The company of angels
Is praising You on high,
And we with all creation
In chorus make reply. [Refrain]
3 The multitude of pilgrims
With palms before You went:
Our praise and prayers and anthems
Before You we present. [Refrain]
4 To you before Your passion
They sang their hymns of praise;
To You, now high exalted,
Our melody we raise. [Refrain]
5 As You received their praises,
Accept the prayers we bring,
O Source of ev’ry blessing,
Our good and gracious King. [Refrain]
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. +
Confession
Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. Therefore, we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Then the Minister shall say: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us, and has given His only-begotten Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in His Name, He gives power to become the sons of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes, and is baptized, shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen.
Psalm: Psalm 118:19-29 NKJV
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross that we should look to Him in faith and be saved; grant unto us such faith and preserve us through all we must suffer in this life that we may be raised up and reign with Him in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Catechism Lesson
85. What does God threaten upon all who hate Him and transgress His Commandments? His wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation.
139) Deut. 27:26. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this Law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
140) Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death.
86. Upon what children will God visit the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth generation? Upon such as likewise hate Him and follow their parents in their transgression.
141) Ezek. 18:20. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
B.H. Gen. 9:25. Canaan. — Matt. 27:25. The unbelieving Jews.
87. Whereunto should this threat induce us? That we may fear His wrath and not act contrary to His Commandments.
B. H. Gen. 7. The Deluge. — Gen. 19. Sodom. — Luke 19:43-44. The destruction of Jerusalem.
88. What does God promise those who love Him and keep His Commandments? Grace and every blessing.
142) Luke 10:28. This do, and thou shalt live.
143) 1 Tim. 4:8. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
89. Whereunto should this promise tenderly invite us? That we may love God and trust in Him, and willingly do according to His Commandments.
Scripture Readings
Zechariah 9:9-12 NKJV
9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.’ 11 “As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Matthew 21:1-9 NKJV
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
Apostles’ Creed
I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn
“Ride On, Ride On in Majesty” by Henry H. Milman, 1791-1868
1. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry.
O Savior meek, pursue Thy road,
With palms and scattered garments strowed.
2. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin.
3. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wond’ring eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice.
4. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh.
The Father on His sapphire throne
Awaits His own anointed Son.
5. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain,
Then take, O God, Thy pow’r, and reign.
The Sermon
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!’
Palm Sunday (Palmarum)
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 (Read Matthew 21:1-9)
These words of the prophet Zechariah were fulfilled when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey colt and “the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” (Matt. 21:9).
And we too each Sunday, and especially on this day, offer up the same praises to Jesus, our Savior and King. We did so in the words of our first hymn when we sang: “All glory, laud, and honor to Thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David’s royal Son, who in the Lord’s name comest, the King and Blessed One.”
In the Sanctus, sung during our Communion liturgy, we sing with the angels, archangels and all the company of heaven: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”
These words are taken from the praise of the followers of Jesus on that first Palm Sunday, as well as from the vision of the Lord God in His holy temple, recorded in Isaiah 6:1-3: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’”
Isaiah recognized His unworthiness to stand in the presence of the Lord. He said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (v. 5). It was not until one of the seraphim took a coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips that he could stand before the Lord God and be a messenger and spokesman for the Lord (v. 6-7).
We might wonder why Jesus’ followers sang such words of praise, echoing the word of Psalm 118:25-26: “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”
And why do we sing such praises to Jesus on Palm Sunday and in our Communion services when we know that He entered into Jerusalem that He might go to the cross and suffer and die — that He might be betrayed, forsaken, denied, condemned, nailed to the cross, forsaken and condemned by God the Father, and die in bitter pain and agony of both body and soul? How can we rejoice when we see Him ride into Jerusalem, hailed as the Son of David and the Son of God, as Zechariah prophesied, when we know that He was entering Jerusalem to die?
In fact, we just sang such words in our last hymn: “Ride on, ride on, in majesty! Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry. 0 Savior meek, pursue Thy road, with palms and scattered garments strowed … Ride on, ride on, in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die. Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain, then take, 0 Christ, Thy power and reign.”
Though the world may rejoice at Jesus’ crucifixion because it rejects Jesus’ doctrine — His call to turn from our sinful ways to Him for mercy and forgiveness, and for the needed help and strength to amend our lives and live for Him — we too, the daughters of Zion and daughters of Jerusalem, Christ’s church, true believers of all time, can shout for joy and rejoice at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem because He went there to atone for the sins of the world by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross. He went to atone for our sins and win for us forgiveness and life eternal!
Jesus entered Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with His disciples but also to institute a new Sacrament by the shedding of His blood in which He gives to His disciples to partake of His sacrifice — of His body given into death for our sins and of His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the entire world. He is our Passover Lamb, “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19); and when we trust in Him, His blood is upon us and shields us from the coming judgment of God upon this sinful world (cf. Exo. 12:1ff.; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
We rejoice and shout His praises because our “King is coming … He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
“Christ Jesus … being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).
Jesus humbled Himself and went to the cross to redeem us and to win for us salvation.
And Jesus still comes to us today, “lowly” and “having salvation.” He comes to us through the preaching of the Gospel and through the administration of the Sacraments — humble means — and offers to us and gives to us the salvation He procured for us upon the cross.
God’s law condemns us and reveals to us our failures to keep God’s commandments; it reveals to us the just punishment demanded on account of our disobedience and sin. But, Christ Jesus, through the preaching of the cross, comes to us and offers and promises to us God’s pardon and forgiveness through faith in His name. In our Baptism and in the Lord’s Supper, He assures to us the new covenant promises of forgiveness of sins and eternal life when we look to Him in faith.
That is why St. Paul could write in Rom. 1:16-17: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”
The Gospel preached to us assures us that “He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself…” (Eph. 1:6-9).
Why do we “rejoice greatly” and “shout” for joy at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem? “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
We pray: O gracious and merciful Savior, we praise Your name for willingly entering Jerusalem that You might go to the cross, die for our sins and make full atonement for the sins of the entire world. And we thank You for coming to us humbly through Your Word and Sacrament that You might convey unto us mercy and forgiveness and the eternal joys of heaven, which You won for us on the cross. Grant us Your Holy Spirit and faith to believe. Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Offertory
Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation: and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
General Prayer
Almighty and most merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We give Thee thanks for all Thy goodness and tender mercies, especially for the gift of Thy dear Son, and for the revelation of Thy will and grace: and we beseech Thee so to implant Thy Word in us, that in good and honest hearts we may keep it, and bring forth fruit by patient continuance in well-doing. Most heartily we beseech thee so to rule and govern Thy Church universal, with all its pastors and ministers, that it may be preserved in the pure doctrine of Thy saving Word, whereby faith toward Thee may be strengthened, and charity increased in us toward all mankind. Grant also health and prosperity to all that are in authority, especially to the President and Congress of the United States, the Governor and Legislature of this state, and to all our Judges and Magistrates; and endue them with grace to rule after Thy good pleasure, to the maintenance of righteousness, and to the hindrance and punishment of wickedness, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty. May it please Thee also to turn the hearts of our enemies and adversaries, that they may cease their enmity, and be inclined to walk with us in meekness and in peace. All who are in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity, especially those who are in suffering for Thy Name and for Thy truth’s sake, comfort, O God, with Thy Holy Spirit, that they may receive and acknowledge their afflictions as the manifestation of Thy fatherly will. And although we have deserved Thy righteous wrath and manifold punishments, yet, we entreat Thee, O most merciful Father, remember not the sins of our youth, nor our many transgressions; but out of Thine unspeakable goodness, grace and mercy, defend us from all harm and danger of body and soul. Preserve us from false and pernicious doctrine, from war and bloodshed, from plague and pestilence, from all calamity by fire and water, from hail and tempest, from failure of harvest and from famine, from anguish of heart and despair of Thy mercy, and from an evil death. And in every time of trouble, show Thyself a very present Help, the Savior of all men, and especially of them that believe. Cause also the needful fruits of the earth to prosper, that we may enjoy them in due season. Give success to the Christian training of the young, to all lawful occupations on land and sea, and to all pure arts and useful knowledge; and crown them with Thy blessing. These, and whatsoever other things Thou wouldest have us ask of Thee, O God, grant unto us for the sake of the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord and Savior, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.
Hymn
“Christ Is the World’s Redeemer” by Columba, 521-97; tr. Duncan MacGregor, 1854-1923
1 Christ is the world’s Redeemer,
The lover of the pure,
The font of heav’nly wisdom,
Our trust and hope secure,
The armor of His soldiers,
The Lord of earth and sky,
Our health while we are living,
Our life when we shall die.
2 Christ has our host surrounded
With clouds of martyrs bright,
Who wave their palms in triumph
And fire us for the fight.
This Christ the cross ascended
To save a world undone
And, suff’ring for the sinful,
Our full redemption won.
3 Down in the realm of darkness
He strode in victory,
And at the hour appointed
He rose triumphantly.
And now, to heav’n ascended,
He sits upon the throne
Whence He had ne’er departed,
His Father’s and His own.
4 Glory to God the Father,
The unbegotten One,
All honor be to Jesus,
His sole begotten Son,
And to the Holy Spirit—
The perfect Trinity.
Let all the worlds give answer:
Amen! So let it be.