That one is Christ who e'er remains
Our unassail'ble castle,
Who all our enemies disdains,
And 'gainst them all shall wrestle.
They shall not stand;
Christ is at hand
To drive them back confounded,
They then are surely routed!

The fight was fierce, yet He has won
Though sore well-armed looked His foes.
It seemed that He had been undone,
When death and grave dealt their blows,
But forth He burst;
They are dispersed,
And cannot stay in battle.
With Christ they cannot grapple.

As warrior mighty He went out,
And fought the battle for us.
We now should never be in doubt
That He has conquered for us.
Though satan rave
And threaten grave,
He's but a foolish mocker
For Christ removed his power.

No matter what that foe may do
We can still mock and jeer him;
His strength shall ne'er again hold true,
For Christ tot'lly o'erwhelmed him.
Christ did at length
Remove his strength
That we may heav'n inherit,
And that through His own merit.

Not foes, nor fears, nor any pow'r
Can e'er remove this vict'ry.
Fore'er 'twas sealed e'er since the hour
That Christ died and made us free;
That 'twas the end.
His blood now stands
As our constant redemption;
Now naught can steal our heaven.

No other word can joy my heart

And ever bid my fears depart

Save that which cometh forth from Christ:

“Thou too receivest Paradise.”

A certain Word this e’er remains.

‘Tis sure!  It also e’er contains

A pardon which is full and free

Therefore, O Lord, I sing to Thee:

“O blessed Christ I give Thee praise

For Thou hast giv’n those wondrous keys

Which shall unlock the gates to heav’n

For those who’ve had their sins forgiv’n.”

Such grace divine is giv’n to men,

O Lord, ‘tis great - beyond our ken - 

And giv’n so we assured may be

That our sins were absolved by Thee.

It that great day of the Lord.  All things of man are passing away.  The Lord is bringing his judgment to bear upon the earth.  He alone is exalted in that day.  He alone the sole actor.  He alone the only God.

Everything that has beauty, everything that man deems lofty shall be brought down.  "The day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up - and it shall be brought low" (Is. 2:12 NKJV).  Logan, UT is surrounded by majestic mountains and valleys which are absolutely beautiful.  Those who have lived in the area boast of their beauty, but even these shall not remain.  Whatever we deem lofty, shall be brought down.

The ships of the sea will be removed.  All our proud and tall building shall be gone.  Your nice car.  Your nice house.  All fancy computer gadgets will be taken away.  All things we hold dear in this life shall be consumed in that day of the Lord.

This judgment reaches us as well.  We look to those things more than the Lord.  We would worry more about our house than the Lord in that day.  It is a terrifying thought to look at all we own, all we plan, all we want to do and it to be taken away.  "I've just got to get such and such done…"  "I don't want to die before…"

"The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down" (Is. 2:11 NKJV).  "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil" (James 4:13-16).  Moreover, we shall gain the opposite of our desires:

"Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;

Instead of a sash, a rope;

Instead of well-set hair, baldness;

Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;

And branding instead of beauty" (Is. 3:24 NKJV)

If such judgments are rendered, who shall stand?  You will.  And I will too.  We all will because we've been washed and clothed with Christ in baptism.  We shall dwell in the glory of GOd in that day.  There is no reason to fear that judgment.  All our haughtiness, all our desires for the things of this world, all vain hopes are taken from our midst.  They are taken away "by the Spirit of judgment and by the Spirit of burning" (Is. 4:4).  Such a spirit of judgment came once before on the world: at the flood.  And this spirit of judgment came upon you in the waters of baptism, which St. Peter says is what the flood is all about.

Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  The later is that "spirit of burning."  This is not an all consuming and destructive fire, but a purifying fire which saves our souls.  The fiery coal from heaven purifies Isaiah.  The purifying fire of the font, supper, and keys take away your blood-guilt and give you instead forgiveness life and salvation.  Yes we desire many other things besides the one thing needful (Jesus Christ), but we need not fear.  The Lord will save you anyway.  "Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.  If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

It may not be joyful to see the Lord's judgment come down against all lofty things of this world, but it is a joy to know that in this judgment he comes to save.  This judgment brings us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.  The Spirit of judgment and fire came to you already in baptism and continues to come in the Supper.  We are in Christ and he in us.  THe judgment can't harm us.

The judgment of the Spirit

Bestows a wat'ry grave,

Yet the burning of the SPirit

Doth purify and save!

It hasn't been celebrated in all this same pomp and exuberance since the Early Church. At that time, every Sunday was a little Easter. The Resurrection on Sunday morning motivated the Christians to meet on that day rather than Saturday (the Sabbath of their Jewish roots). Eventually, celebrations on the anniversary of Easter itself sprang up - turning Easter into a big Sunday!

This was filled with a lot of controversy as the Church decided how to implement this wonderful festival into its life and practice. An important emphasis then was Baptism. This revolved around the celebration of the Holy Triduum (the three days Christ was in the tomb). The newly converted would all be baptized on Holy Saturday, the eve of Jesus' Resurrection. This emphasizes the tie between being baptized into Christ's death and resurrection with the celebration of the resurrection itself. This is still practiced by some Christians today where they baptize, or at least attempt to, all the new adult members, and the practice is echoed in this ancient Easter hymn:

Now no more can death appall,
Now no more the grave enthrall;
You have opened paradise,
And Your saints in You shall rise.
Alleluia!

The final word of that stanza gives us another practice which we still hold today – the Alleluia. Alleluia is returned on Easter with full exuberance and joy. Our church even retains the ancient Easter greeting: “Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!” All this is done to continually confess the Resurrection of Jesus and the joy with which this event fills our hearts.

The entire season of Easter (Eastertide) is a tide of joy. It is overflowing with the joy knowing that death is dead, the Accuser is silenced, and the grave is opened for Christ and even for us. This is a joy which flows from the tide of water which washed us at the Holy Font. For we were baptized so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Rom. 6).

This joy doesn't stop with just baptism which washed us in the tide of water flowing from his pierced side, but it continues in the other tide – the blood. It is a cup of gladness that we take. We eat and drink the body and blood of not a dead Christ Jesus, but of a resurrected and living Jesus. The life and salvation from Easter morn is given to us in this blessed meal.

Alleluias, water, body and blood all telling us the same thing: Christ is risen! The Resurrection fills our hearts with joy, and our faith clings to it. There is just Easter joy, and no more fear of sin, death, and the devil. As Luther puts it:

See, His blood now marks our door;
Faith points to it; death passes o'er,
And Satan cannot harm us.
Alleluia!

(Hymns stanzas are LSB 633 & 458)

Such is our Lenten prayer. Such is the summary of what Christ came to do. Yet this is not some down-in-the-dumps or depressing sort of list. This is not something that should cause us to wail, or bemoan these most holy and blessed deeds. This prayer is not something that is just prayed in Lent, but it is the constant prayer of the Church: an Easter prayer, an Advent prayer, a Christmas prayer, but most assuredly it is a Lenten prayer.

It is not a sad Lenten prayer, but a joyous one! Because the reason these works and actions of Christ can help us is simply because he did them for you! Not only you, but the whole world. Everything Christ did Christmas to Pentecost and everything in between and afterward was all for you.

Today we commemorate St. Patrick; it is not simply about green beverages, rivers, leprechauns, and four-leaf clovers, but it is about this Litany prayer. It is about St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland, by preaching this litany prayer. He preached all these deeds of Jesus done for the people of Ireland. He preached a baptism that gave to them all this, even eternal life.

St. Patrick still preaches to us today. His voice is still clearly heard:

I bind this day to me forever,
By pow'r of faith, Christ's incarnation,
His Baptism in the Jordan River,
His cross of death for my salvation.
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heav'nly way,
His coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today. (LSB 604:2).

This preaching to us removes all the snakes from our life. Such baptism removes the reign of that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan. Such baptism removes the snakes of sin, their sting, their guilt; such baptism removes death and its sting. The message of St. Patrick reminds us that the cross on our foreheads is not just the cross of Christ, but the whole life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

This is a Lenten message as well. St. Patrick and the Litany all tell us the same thing: “Rejoice! Christ did all these things for you.” What joy, especially in Lent. Thus we can rejoice with St. Patrick, the Litany in this “rejoice week.” Singing out with ever more joy:

Then, for all that wrought my pardon,
For Thy sorrows deep and sore,
For Thine anguish in the Garden,
I will thank Thee evermore,
Thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing,
For Thy bleeding and Thy dying,
For that last triumphant cry,
And shall praise Thee, Lord, on high. (LSB 420:7).

Though death his gruesome teeth doth bear
We hold our ground and have no fear
For Jesus is beside us there.
In Christ fore'er we stand!

Grim death a show of strength may make -
Our confidence he shall not shake.
Our Lord doth all death's weapons break.
In Christ fore'er we stand!

The grave its jaws doth open wide;
At this we shan't be terrified -
Through Jesus' death this grave has died!
In Christ fore'er we stand!

Of all who live Christ is the first.
Now, through His life, death's curse is cursed,
Yea, all his fetters now are burst!
In Christ fore'er we stand!

Our loved one lieth fore us there -
Let this sight make our hearts prepare
For when we, with him/her heav'n will share.
In Christ fore'er we stand!

Our grief may tarry for the day,
Yet we shall ever boldly say,
“Christ Jesus is our Life and Stay!”
In Christ fore'er we stand!

Preserve Thy holy church, O Lord,

From ev'ry strife and all discord

That pure and holy she may be

To sing Thy praise eternally.

Grant doctrine pure that she may stand
Against the foes on ev'ry hand -
They seek to slay Thy truth outright
And fill the church with falsehood's blight.

O heav'nly Truth please dwell herein

So that Thy bride be kept from sin;

Defend from all satanic wiles,

And purge all error which beguiles.

Defiling masses press us sore,

And heretics sprout all the more

When purely preached, Lord, is Thy word;

Thy church thence crieth, “Come quicly Lord!”

Chief Shepherd come so that at length

We my be guarded by Thy strength;

Repel each error by Thy stave,

And us from all th'impious save.

Man's pride is great – Lord it subdue,

For it doth war 'gainst all that's true!

It seeks to cast o'er Christ a shade,

'Tis only curbed by heav'nly aid.

Our pride it also wars within;

It brings us doubt so that we sin.

We think we're wise, and e'en so bold

To tell Thee how to guide Thy fold.

Our aid is Christ, who tarrieth not

For He removeth ev'ry blot,

He too doth end His bride's lament

By means of Word and Sacrament.

We know that Thou defendest us

And so our gladness shall be thus -

That of Thy Church Thou art the guide

For she came forth from Thy riv'n side.

This consolation standeth e'er

That Christ shall always be with her.

He is the best and trusty One,

The Overseer who leads from heav'n.

O Christ we know what the truth is,

And our confession shall be this:

“A holy Christian church shall be

On earth and through eternity.”

It is a wond'rous thing;
Mine heart doth leap for joy -
Just as an hart doth in the spring -
When I Thy grace enjoy.

O Christ, my precious gem,
Thou art mine heart's desire;
Thy pastor sins doth not condemn,
When I Thy grace require.

A soothing word is giv'n
And balm to end despair,
And opened are the gates of heav'n,
When Christ the keys doth bear.

Those keys, which bind and free,
Oft cause my heart to wail
Because I doubt that there can be
Forgiveness when I fail.

My pastor is a man,
But he is there to be
The mouth of Christ so that Christ can
Release my sins from me.

When doubts assail my mind
About this wond'rous grace
I look unto Christ's words to find
Where I may flee apace.

The Office standeth e'er
A bastion strong and sound,
For Christ's forgiveness is found there,
And there it doth abound!

O Jesus, blessed Lord,
To me Thou art so dear;
Within Thy Office with Thy word
For me be ever near!

Tune

 Psalm 87 is a wonderful Psalm.  It's about the city of God.  Mount Zion, you know, the church.  It says, "Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God."  What is this psalm talking about?  We surely don't hear many good things said day to day about the church.  The world scorns us saying, "They're closed minded, haters of men, just plain unfriendly, and not with the times."  Even in the church we scoff at one another, "They're too small, they do that, they invite those people, they just don't do it my way."  Where are these glorious things spoken?

They're spoken by the angels in heaven.  They rejoice at one sinner who turns from his wicked ways.  Just imagine the rejoice that a whole church of sinners gets!!!  They speak glorious things of the church.  And so does Christ, the church is his bride - what earthly husband would speak ill of his wife, and so it is with Christ.  The psalmist continues, "Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, withCush—"This one was born there," they say. And of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; for the Most High himself will establish her.  The LORD records as he registers the peoples, This one was born there.""

Today it could be said this way.  Eventually all at the Last Day, all nations will come before Jesus and have to confess the same thing.  We would say it, "Among those who know me I mention America, Germany, China, Africa."  These will all confess, "He or she was born there."  We were all born in the church in Baptism.  All the springs are within the church.  Springs of living water flowing to eternal life.  Springs of words flowing from Pastors mouth, and a spring of Christs body and blood going into our mouths.  So Psalm 87 is a wonderful baptismal psalm.  It tells us that no matter what anyone says about the church, that it contains the Baptized - those born in her.  No more a glorious thing can be said of the church than "She holds the baptized." In the Name of Jesus.  Amen.

We've all been in church surrounded by kids.  We think, "Great, now lets hope they pay attention and don't bother me."  We all know the kids I'm talking about.  The ones with toys, or those coloring books passed out by the elder, or are just fidgety and full of energy.  You know, just regular kids.  We look down on them - I know I have.  "They should pay attention.  Jesus is here.  Don't they know that.  They should know that.  We'll have to teach them...."

Don't be bashful - you've thought it.  Or something close, at least once... I have.  But what of Jesus' words?  "Of such is the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus says Heaven will be full of those who are like children, and not like crabby adults.  What does that mean?

Well, we think that those kids need to sit up straight, look forward...you know pay attention like we do.  Oh sure we adults pay attention, don't we?  What was pastor's sermon about this week?  What was one of the readings?  What hymns did we sing?  We're just as bad as the kids, but we can hide it.

That's right.  We're just as fidgety, and full of energy.  What of the kids?  The sparrow finds a home around the altars of God, can't the child play in the presence of JEsus?  I mean not even a little?  Or do we think that all the kids Jesus took into his arms were as stoic, well behaved, and well kempt like we do?  I'm sure they were full of energy, playing, and maybe a bit dirty for Jesus, but he loved the kids.  He wanted them.  ALl of them.  I'm sure he even smiled when they came around!!!

We don't really pay attention all the time, do we?  We can zone, in and out, but at least we look like we're paying attention...  Such pride.  At least the kids are honest about it.  But look at the children, talk to them.  Do they love Jesus? You bet they do!  Do they ever not trust Jesus?  Nope, they always trust him.  No doubts in their minds...not one.  "That can't be," we might think; but did you ever think that its true because their baptism works?

We're the ones who doubt.  Our love fails.  But we look like we're the best in church when we're the most stoic, well mannered, and the one who has the best posture in the pew.  The kids?  No doubts, all love for Jesus.  And their joy spills over into playing (dancing?).

Sure our love fails, and we have our doubts, but our Baptism works too!!! It covers us with Jesus, like the blanket the kid might have, and that Jesus covers our failed love and doubts.  What joy!!!  So be like a kid...smile a little.  We might sing in our joy, "This little Gospel light of mine..."  As we should.  But lets not forget that Jesus says, "This little child of God is Mine - in Baptism I made him mine!"  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.