I am the LORD… your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (Lev 11:45 NIV)

Remain confessing until the End! He remains absolving. He says the same again and again. That doesn’t bother and concern him really as it serves a good purpose, namely to confirm us in the true faith of the full validity of Christ’s merit and vicarious salvation. Therefore remain faithful confessors of your sin and adherents to his holy absolution by which he remits all of your trespasses and forgives all your iniquities! That’s how you remain standing in this struggle and that’s how you enter through to victory finally. That’s how you get admitted to the victor over death and devil so that you too can fall down and worship him, who alone is worthy of praise, honour and glory + Let us strive in this way and desire to reach there, where no shadows taint our faith and where at last we will see the fulfilment of the clear demand and promise: I am the LORD… your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Lord Jesus, you are the life and light of your people. We ask you to illuminate us with your Holy Spirit so that we may recognize ourselves and you properly – us in our sinfulness and you in your holy love and grace. Help us self-centred people to earnestly and realistically deny ourselves. Lord Jesus, in our lives we have take far too much time away from you and for idleness and spiritual sloth and laziness. Enlighten and strengthen us through your Holy Spirit, that we seriously resist our sin and strive to give up all sinfulness. That we will no longer embellish or whitewash our corruption and rather crucify ourselves onto your cross. Tear us away from our own sinful being o Lord Jesus. Wherever this struggle of self-denial is fought amongst us – even in privacy and hiddenness, there assist and enter the fray to strengthen the embattled and grant victory to those under attack. Where you find pride and false security among us, come and destroy all that can’t live up to your ways and good will. O Lord Jesus, create in us a new heart and grant us willing spirit to commit ourselves entirely to you – even unto death. Amen. (H. Lauerer)

Let me be Thine forever, Thou faithful God and Lord; Let me forsake Thee never, nor wander from Thy Word. Lord, do not let me waver, but give me steadfastness, And for such grace forever Thy holy name I’ll bless.

Lord Jesus, my salvation, my light, my life divine, My only consolation, oh, make me wholly Thine! For Thou hast dearly bought me with blood and bitter pain. Let me, since Thou hast sought me, eternal life obtain.

And Thou, O Holy Spirit, my comforter and guide, Grant that in Jesus’ merit I always may confide, Him to the end confessing whom I have known by faith. Give me Thy constant blessing and grant a Christian death. (Nikolaus Selnecker, 1532-1592 tr Matthias Loy, 1828-1915)

This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Saturday after the thirteenth Sunday after the high holiday and festival of the Holy Trinity. It is found on Pg. 312 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu!   (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.