Immanuel Lutheran Church (LCMS), Sheridan, Wyoming: Sermon for 30 March 2011, Wednesday of Lent 3: Venite

The Rev. Paul J Cain

Psalm 95:1-7

Venite

Wednesday of Lent 3, 30 March 2011

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. [Amen.]
Psalm 96:1-2 ESV.

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Like the Benedictus, last Wednesday’s canticle, the Venite, most of Psalm 95, is sung at the beginning of Morning Prayer or Matins. You can see it for yourself in Lutheran Service Book on page 235 and following. We have been practicing it during Sunday School Opening this Lent.

Brief liturgical psalm-like phrases, Antiphons, introduce and conclude the canticle:

Antiphon (Common), LSB 235

L Give glory to God, our light and our life.

C O come, let us worship Him.

Eventually, the Pastor’s part of the Antiphon changes according to the season. The congregation continues singing, “O Come, let us worship Him.”

“Venite” is Latin for our English words, “O Come.” The Lutheran reformers used Latin alongside German for centuries. Latin faded with the switch to English, but is making a comeback in schools like ours as a help in medicine, science, church work, and better understanding English.

C O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Now that the Lord has opened our lips according to the words of Psalm 51 at the beginning of Matins or Morning Prayer, we sing and make a joyful noise to the Lord. Our choirs sing and play beautifully. The most important thing is to make a joyful noise to the Lord. We can always work on pitch! Faith in Christ our Savior always sounds best to God!

! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.

We are in God’s presence this evening. He is present with us according to His promises. Heaven and earth intersect every time Christians worship. No wonder we make a joyful noise with songs of praise to our Creator.

@ For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.

! In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also.

@ The sea is His, for He made it; and His hand formed the dry land.

! O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.

The middle verses point to the Lord’s caring hand in creation. He is a king above all “gods,” whether those small-g gods are angels, human beings, or idolatrous pretenders to the True God’s throne.

He is our Father twice over: by means of creation and by means of redemption in Christ.

@ For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

As this portion of Psalm 95 concludes, we confess that we are His sheep, His people, those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb who is also our Good Shepherd.

Antiphon (Common), LSB 237

L Give glory to God, our light and our life.

C O come, let us worship Him.

Our young scholars at Martin Luther Grammar School sing Morning Prayer, including this version of the Venite and last Wednesday’s Benedictus each Wednesday morning at 8:05 when school is in session. We will begin using Morning Prayer as one of our non-communion Sunday liturgy options coming up in June.

Amen.

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. [Amen.]
Psalm 98:1-2 ESV

Antiphon (Common), LSB 235

L Give glory to God, our light and our life.

C O come, let us worship Him.

Venite, LSB 236