Monday, July 5, 2010

Christ have Mercy/ I don't know what number

[I am NOT reading a book.  This is from the Treasury of Daily Prayer which Martin and I use every day (almost).  This is basic necessity. Just three pages a day, most of it scripture readings.]

Yesterday, there was this, below, from the Large Catechism that involved looking after poor.  To my chagrin, I have no idea where exactly it is from.  It only says:  Large Catechism I 247, 252-253.  --  Aha, which book?  Am I missing something?  Someone tell me.


This is how it reads:

Beware of this:  The poor man will come to you (there are so many now).  He must buy things with the penny of his daily wages and live upon it.  When you are harsh to him, as though everyone lived by your favor, and you skin and scrape him to the bone, and when you turn him away with pride and arrogance to whom you ought to give things without payment, he will go away wretched and sorrowful.  since he can complaint no one else, he will cry and call to heaven [Psalm 20:6;  146: 8-9].  Then beware, I say again,  as of the devil himself.  For such groaning and calling will be no joke.  It will have a weight that will prove too heavy for you and all the world.  For it will reach Him who takes care of the poor, sorrowful hearts.  He will not allow them to go unavenged [Isaiah 61:1-3].  but if you despise this and become defiant, see the One you have brought upon you.  If you succeed and prosper, before all the world, you may call God and me a liar.
And the other one.

Whoever now seeks and desires good works will find here more than enough to do that are heartily acceptable and pleasing to God.  In addition, they are favored and crowned with excellent blessings.  So we are to be richly compensated for all that we do for our neighbor's good and from friendship.  King Solomon also teaches this in Proverbs 19:17, "Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his deed."  Here, then , you have a rich Lord.  He is certainly enough for you.  He will not allow you to come up short in anything or to lack [Psalm 37:25].  So you can with a joyful conscience enjoy a hundred times more than you could scrape together with unfaithfulness and wrong.  Now, whoever does not desire this blessing will find enough wrath and misfortune.

This is somewhere in the Large Catechism.  I don't have time to read it right now to find it.  From reading the Large Catechism before, however, I did find that Luther was very interested in building a better society--all based on the ten commandments and from faith in Christ. Especially on the ten commandments, he stressed how these should be brought close to the generation being reared so something like useful citizens would become of the young people.  It's definitely there.

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