Hope for the Dismayed

"Change and decay in all around I see,

O Thou who changest not, abide with me!"

Listen to the sermon from August 21, "Hope for the Dismayed," here.

Heavenly Father,

We look around to the heavens and the earth, and we fear.  We see change and decay, we see sickness and death, and we see no place to hide.  We look inside ourselves and we see sin and darkness.  We know that we have been made in your image, but we see how we have stained that image; we have mixed poison in all that you have given.  We are sinners, and we are mortals, and we cannot free ourselves from our condition.

We look back, not to our own pasts to see what good we have done, for we know that we will not find hope there.  We look instead to the past of Your people, and we take heart when we see Your steadfast love towards other sinners like us. You had mercy on Abraham and called him out of idolatry.  You had mercy on Noah, on Israel despite their hard hearts.  You are a God who has mercy on sinners.  In Jesus we see Your open arms for us, we receive Your healing grace.  In this world of decay and sadness, we find our security in Your promise.

The heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

Isaiah 51:6