1. First Sermon
FIRST SERMON
I saiah, Chapter LII 13. Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted, he shall be lifted up, he shall be raised very high. 14. As many were astonished at thee, because thy visage was more marred than any man's, and thy form more than the sons of men — 15. so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Chapter LIII 1. Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
*** The Prophet, having spoken in general of the whole people of the Jews, now comes to the Head on whom all that he has said above depended. For their redemption was founded on nothing other than our Lord Jesus Christ, just as it is in him that all the promises of God are fulfilled. Now the
Redeemer had already been promised long before; but when it seemed that the line of David was quite extinguished, the hope of the faithful might likewise have been abolished. It had been said that God would always establish a King and seat him on the throne of David, and that as long as there was sun and moon in heaven, that Kingdom would be maintained and preserved; and that even if the whole world should perish, there would be there such firmness that one would clearly see it was a Kingdom wholly dedicated to God. Yet it dwindled away; indeed, soon after, and little by little, it fell into decay, until the second-to-last king was led away captive, and the whole royal line was carried off and virtually cut off. The last, made king at the pleasure of an unbelieving man, an enemy of all religion, and finally having rebelled against him, was seized, his eyes put out, put on trial, his children slaughtered, and he was condemned amid every disgrace; the Temple and all the houses were burned. What could one make of all this? The Jews needed to be assured by the Prophet that God would in the end have pity on them, and that he would bring them back from their captivity; he needed to show them that what had been said long ago to Abraham was not vain — that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed — but that there would be a King seated of the line of David, whose Empire would have no end, but would be eternal. This is why Isaiah now restricts his discourse to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that (I say) what he has declared above concerning the redemption and the return of the people might be held as certain and infallible.
Now we have seen above that our Lord was called the Servant of God, inasmuch as he submitted himself in all obedience for the sake of our salvation — he who was the Lord of glory, the head of the Angels, before whom every knee ought to bow. When, then, this name of Servant is
attributed to him, let us recognise that it is because he clothed himself in our nature, and that in it he was willing not only to humble himself but to empty himself utterly. For it was necessary that our transgressions and iniquities be repaired by his obedience. And as he also said to John the Baptist, it was necessary that he fulfil all righteousness. Thus, we see how our Lord Jesus
Christ, although all majesty belongs to him and he is the eternal God, does not therefore fail, in the time when he clothed himself with our flesh and conformed himself to us, to be in a lower degree; in this there is no contradiction. For although in his divine nature nothing was changed, yet if we consider him as mediator between God and us, it is necessary that he abase himself, as it is also said that he was made under the Law, although he was in no way a debtor to it, and was himself he who must govern it, and to whom all subjection is due; but he placed himself in that rank in order to set us free from the yoke that was unbearable to us. For the Law was a burden to overwhelm us, except insofar as our Lord Jesus bore it and thereby freed us from it. And we ought not to find it strange that he is called the Servant of God, seeing that he did not refuse to be ours as well — which is far more. For if we look at our condition, there is nothing but vanity; we are poor worms of the earth, the devil and sin even dominate over us; and yet behold the only Son of God abasing himself to the point of employing himself in our service, as St. Paul speaks of it: he is (he says) a minister of the circumcision. Moreover, the Prophet has notably used this word so that we may know that all that is here recounted of him is for the good and the common salvation of the whole Church. Now we must consider to what
Jesus Christ was called: namely, to be the Redeemer of all the faithful and all the elect of God. Since, then, this charge was committed to him, and such is his calling, let us not doubt that all that is declared of his person is
common to us, and that we shall derive profit from what we shall see hereafter. So much, then, for the Prophet's intention.
Now he says that Jesus Christ, being called to this office of saving all his own, shall prosper, that he shall be exalted and marvellously magnified.
This is to arm the faithful against the temptation they might have had before Jesus Christ appeared in his glory and majesty — that is, before he who is the eternal God, full of glory, was manifested in flesh. For when the Jews are carried away to Babylon (as we have already said), there is no more dignity in the line of David; all of it is scraped away. It is true that when some portion returns, there is Zerubbabel, who is held as captain and chief; but there is no royal diadem, there is only some reputation of honour, inasmuch as the people still retain some reverence toward this house of David. Behold, I say, Zerubbabel who is obeyed — yes, but there is no appearance of an Empire in it. The faithful therefore needed to be fortified against such a temptation, and God needed to assure them that the Redeemer would come forth, and that even if the earth should have to open, and all the abysses to give him passage and to lift him on high, nevertheless the thing must come to pass. Thus there is no doubt that the Prophet here draws a comparison between two opposite things: that Jesus Christ must for a long time be as it were hidden, indeed plunged into the depths of the abysses, and even when he came, that he would have no great pomp to be prized by men, but quite the contrary — that he would be rejected, or that he would be so contemptible that one would think the salvation of the people could never be accomplished by his means — and yet that he shall be exalted.
And this is expressed still more fully when the Prophet says that he was more marred than any man, and that no form was recognised in him — as if
he were not worthy to be counted among created things, but was to be held as detestable, and men would have horror even at the sight of him. Behold, then, what the Prophet intends when he says that Jesus Christ is exalted.
These are two things which at first sight would seem contrary, and would be held incompatible: namely, that Jesus Christ should not be known, that he should be sought and not be found, and that when he is seen, he should be rejected, that nothing worthy of any esteem should be found in him — and yet that God exalts him, magnifies him, and lifts him up so that he surpasses all we can conceive of his majesty in this world. One would not say these two things could be reconciled any more than fire and water; and yet the Prophet says we must hope that God will so work that these small beginnings will not prevent the perfection from reaching its goal. And this is also why he says that he shall be lifted up, that he shall be exalted and marvellously advanced on high — for this temptation was difficult to overcome. And it is not enough that God declares to us in a word what he intends to do; when we perceive resistances, and it seems that what God has spoken is impossible, we must be confirmed; we must have that with which to overcome all that could be objected, and all that might hinder us from giving credence to the promise of God. It is thus as if the Prophet said: My friends, wait for God to lift up the Redeemer, for he will do it. And if we reply, Yes, but how? for the means seem too strange — do not doubt it, for there is a power in God that is hidden from you; but (whatever the case) if you doubt, if you waver, if you enter into dispute, when this word alone does not suffice you, resist all these imaginations, take heart, defy all your unbelief, and hold to this resolve — that whatever happens, God will work beyond your expectation, beyond your opinion and your senses.
This, then, is what the Prophet intended in using these three words — indeed four — which signify one and the same thing. And he shows it well in saying that he was disfigured, and that no one deigned to look upon him, because there was neither beauty nor form in him, but that he was as one cut off from all company of men, and not worthy to be numbered among mortal creatures. Now this will be still more fully declared in what follows, for this same statement will be repeated for fuller explanation. But whatever the case, the Prophet already shows that the Jews, in awaiting their
Redeemer, needed to close their eyes to all that men are accustomed to look for, and to give place to faith, so as to hold themselves certain of the goodness of God, however much everything ran contrary to their opinion.
And this is said not only of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of the whole course of his Gospel and of the entire order he maintains in governing his faithful. If, then, we wish to be assured of our salvation in Jesus Christ, we must first not be ashamed that he was thus disfigured in the eyes of men, and that, being sent into the world, he was held as execrable and accursed; and then further that his Gospel too has been exposed to all manner of reproach, as we still see the like today.
For if we are ashamed to receive our Lord Jesus Christ crucified, it is certain that we are excluded from all hope of salvation. For how are we saved by him? How does the inheritance of heaven belong to us, except that he was made a curse for us, and was not only cursed before men but from the mouth of God his Father? Behold how Jesus Christ, who is the fountain of all blessing, nevertheless bore our sins, and was made like the ancient sacrifices which were called Sin-offerings, because it was necessary that the wrath of God be declared there, so that men might be delivered and absolved from it. And how is Jesus Christ our life, except in that he
swallowed up death by dying? And how are we lifted up by him, except in that he descended even to the abysses of hell — that is, he bore the horrors that were upon us because of our sin, and by which we would have been overwhelmed? For it was necessary that we should always have had God for our judge, and it is a thing more dreadful than anything else that God should be against us. It was necessary that Jesus Christ should there enter as our surety, the one who was to pay for us and to bear our condemnation in order to absolve us from it. Thus let us not find it strange when we see that he was thus disfigured; and if this is folly to our understanding, let us know
(as St. Paul says) that the foolishness of God surpasses all the wisdom of the world.
He calls it the foolishness of God that our Lord Jesus was thus cast down; for if men wish to sit in judgment here, it is certain they will say it is an absurd thing. What? That he who ought to be adored in heaven and on earth should be exposed to such reproach? And to what purpose? Thus, according to their arrogance and presumption, men will always condemn — with a boldness and audacity as great as anything — all that God does for their redemption; but meanwhile God, in his own counsel, will show that he has more wisdom than all men could conceive. And therefore let us in the first place hold this as altogether settled: that if our Lord Jesus was contemptible, and if he not only abased himself for us but utterly emptied himself (as St. Paul speaks of it), we should not fail to attribute to him the honour that belongs to him. For his glory was not diminished by this, although it was not known to all; rather his goodness had all the greater lustre for it. And we ought also to be seized with wonder, seeing that the Son of God did not refuse to be as it were disfigured — he who is as the image of God his Father — and all this so that this image might be repaired
in us. For it is certain that we are so filled with blemishes that, appearing before God, we must be rejected, until our Lord Jesus imprints his mark upon us, by which we may come to be pleasing to God and to find favour before him. Thus, when we are told that he was disfigured, let us look to ourselves, and recognise that it was necessary that he receive all our blots and blemishes, so that we might be purged and cleansed of them, and that now we might bring to the judgment of God nothing but justice and holiness, which we would not have unless God communicated it to us in Jesus Christ.
Now hereupon he adds that even the kings shall shut their mouths when he has thus been exalted, and when they see such a change as men would never have thought. Here he shows that we ought not to judge rashly when we see that our Lord Jesus thus humbled and even annihilated himself, but that we must look to the end, and to what God the Father has brought him
— namely, that a Name has been given to him sovereign above all, so that every knee must bow before him, as St. Paul speaks in the second chapter of Philippians. For when he exhorted us to modesty, and showed that we ought not to esteem ourselves highly, he sets before us the mirror and pattern of our Lord Jesus Christ. He, says St. Paul, who is true God, and to whom it would not have been robbery had he appeared in his heavenly glory, emptied himself, and took the estate and condition of a servant; and even he willed to be crucified, and did not refuse that death, so ignominious and accursed, both before God and before men — and all this in order to bear upon himself all that was owed by us. Now for this cause, says he, the Father has exalted him and given him such a Name that all creatures must do him homage, both high and low, and all confess that truly he is in the glory of God his Father — and that if we wish to contemplate the majesty
of God, so as to glorify him according as he is worthy, we must come to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Behold, in sum, what the Prophet meant to say: that we should not let the fact that he was abased for a time close the door to our believing in Jesus
Christ and setting our whole heart on him — but that we must consider what the end of it was, and when we speak of his death, that we should come immediately to his resurrection and join the two together, as being two things inseparable — that Jesus Christ willed to suffer in the infirmity he had taken from us, and that he is risen in the power of his Holy Spirit — and that in this he declared himself the true Son of God, as St. Paul speaks of it both in the first Epistle to Timothy and in the second to the Corinthians, and again in the first chapter of Romans. And this is also what the Prophet intended in this passage. Now we have said that this is seen not only in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ but also in his Gospel. For how was Jesus Christ known, and what obedience did the world render him, when the Gospel was preached? We see that those to whom he had given all authority were not only mocked and condemned by men, but beaten and scourged, and finally put to a shameful death. Since this is so, let us surmount such scandals, and, being armed with what is said here by the Prophet, let us look to the end to which our Lord Jesus has come, so as to close the mouth — that is, so that men may be astonished and have no reply
— even as we see unbelievers still chattering on. Yet this is so, and they can never come to our Lord Jesus Christ to do him homage, because in their own eyes they have some reason, as it seems to them, to argue against it.
But we are told here that when we look well at what our Lord Jesus has attained, and what has been the end and the fruit of his death and passion, which he endured for our salvation, then our mouth shall be closed. For
when Scripture speaks thus, it signifies a wholly settled and composed consideration of the works of God. For while men keep their mouths open
(as has already been touched on) they wish to enter into dispute; they wish to argue back and forth, so that God is set aside there, and all that he has done is as it were rejected. But when it is said that every mouth is silenced to keep silence before God, it is to show that we must have all our senses subdued and captive, indeed our tongues bridled, so as peaceably to confess that God deserves to be glorified in the person of his only Son. And if this is said of kings, what shall it be of the common people? We must, then, well retain the order that the Prophet sets forth here; for he warns us that our
Lord Jesus needed to be as it were disfigured, and that the world would reject him. Since, then, we are forewarned of this by the Holy Spirit, let us not find it strange, and let us not fail to embrace him with true faith; and although at first sight his cross (which is a detestable gibbet in the eyes of men) might turn us away and estrange us wholly from him, let us nevertheless not fail to seek there all our glory — that is, in Jesus Christ crucified. And for the rest, let us not stop at what he suffered, so as to conceive in him only this ignominy to which he voluntarily submitted for us
— but let us join his resurrection with his death, and know that, being crucified, he nonetheless sits as Lieutenant of God his Father, to exercise sovereign Empire and to have all power both in heaven and on earth. And this is why it is said that he shall be exalted. It is true that his being lifted up on the gibbet was, in the eyes of men, a reproach; but nevertheless he mocks the devil and defies the whole world, saying that he shall indeed be exalted, and that when he has been exposed to such ignominy, when everyone has stuck out their tongue at him and vomited forth their blasphemies and vile insults against him, nonetheless he is seated on his
throne, as we have already cited from the passage of St. Paul. And in another place he says notably that the cross, though beforehand it was a gibbet full of shame, has become like a triumphal chariot, and that Jesus
Christ not only conquered the devil there, but showed that we may now glory, in that we are now absolved from all condemnation — that sin has no more power over us, and that all the devils of hell are cast out of all they might claim against us.
Behold, then, in sum, how by faith we must rise up to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we are not ashamed to seek our salvation in his cross, our blessing in his curse, our life in his death, and then our glory in his having been exposed to such ignominy, and our joy in his having had such anguish that he sweat blood and water because of it. Behold in sum what we must retain from this passage. Now the Prophet notably says that he shall sprinkle. It is true that by way of similitude this word can also mean "to cause to speak"; but on close examination one finds that the natural sense intended by the Prophet is that Jesus Christ shall sprinkle all nations — that is, although he be a dry and sterile stump of wood, nevertheless the whole world shall be watered by his power. In short, he shows that God will work in an incomprehensible way, and that the Jews should not expect any human means, but should hope that God would surmount all that men can think. For when we are told of miracles, our senses must fail us; and when we are told of mysteries — that is, of secrets
— we must recognise that we are not competent judges or arbiters, to say, "It must be so," but that we have to adore what cannot enter into our heads, and whose reason is unknown to us. This, then, is what we must further retain. Now this admonition belongs to us today, that (as I have already said) we should suffer ourselves to be watered by our Lord Jesus Christ;
and although he appeared as it were sterile, and nothing worthy of esteem was found in him, yet when he presents himself to us, and wishes to draw near, let us not repel him by our unbelief, but rather give him access by faith. Behold in sum what we must retain of this teaching of the Prophet.
And furthermore, he adds how the whole world shall be sprinkled by our Lord Jesus Christ — namely, by the preaching of the Gospel. For those (he says) to whom it had not been told shall see it, and those who had not heard shall understand. Here the Prophet amplifies his discourse, showing that our
Lord Jesus would be sent by God his Father not only for the Jews (although he had expressly been promised to them) but that he would be the Saviour of the whole world. That this is indeed the Prophet's meaning, St. Paul declares in the fifteenth chapter of Romans, applying these words to the fact that he was sent among foreign nations and had run to and fro, filling every region with the Gospel, where God had never before been spoken of — and that he preached not only among the Jews but also among the Gentiles. We see, then, what the Prophet intended, and this passage ought to be for us like a key giving us entry into the Kingdom of God.
For if Jesus Christ had been promised only to the line of Abraham, of what profit would he be to us? Even were he Saviour and Redeemer, that would be useless to us; we would have no share or part in it. But since it was foretold so long before he was sent that he would sprinkle all peoples
— indeed, that those who beforehand had not understood should understand, and that those to whom it had not been told should hear it — let us recognise that our Lord has adopted us, in that Jesus Christ has come into the world and accomplished what was required and necessary for our salvation; so that the doctrine of the Gospel is now to us like rain to give us heavenly vigour, where we were altogether sterile, and because we are
starved and empty of the race of God, we must receive substance from the doctrine of the Gospel, and feel what the death our Redeemer suffered is worth to us, and how we profit by it, and that his life is the perfection of our righteousness.
Now it is certain that the Prophet did not mean here to speak of the Jews, who from their infancy had been nourished and trained in the Law, but included the foreign nations, who beforehand had nothing but superstitions and idolatries. For the God of Israel was rejected by the whole world; he was despised, and the Gentiles held the true religion in mockery. Now it is said that these shall hear, and having heard, that they shall understand. By these words the Prophet shows whence faith comes, namely from hearing the word of God; but at the same time he signifies also that it is not enough for our ears to be struck by the preaching of the Gospel, unless understanding be joined to it. Now this is not given to all; we must, then, restrict this statement to the elect of God, and to those who are renewed by the Holy Spirit — as he also declares more expressly in what he adds:
"Who shall believe our doctrine? And on whom shall the arm of the Lord be revealed, or displayed?" Here the Prophet stops in the midst of his discourse, and, as one astonished and marvelling, cries out. And this is a passage well worthy to be noted. We have seen that he was exhorting the faithful to magnanimity and constancy, as if to say: My friends, do not be dismayed if there is no dignity in your Redeemer, and if he is not prized by the world, but rather everyone spits in his face and despises him, and holds him even in execration — do not for all that be turned away from him. For God had so ordained it; and yet you see the outcome: that, having been drawn up from the abysses of death, he was exalted on high, indeed given authority over all creatures. So then, do not fail to adore this Redeemer who
has thus humbled himself for your good. And indeed he compares him to the rain, and says that God will water those who had never understood anything of the truth, who had been like poor brute beasts. These, he says, shall be taught, and shall be made partakers of the salvation that has been acquired, and the Church of God shall be spread throughout the whole world, so that those who have blasphemed against the pure doctrine shall have their mouths closed, except to confess with all reverence and sobriety that there is none but the God of Israel who ought to be honoured, and that his only Son, in whom is the express Image of his glory and majesty, ought to be received so as to do him homage. Even kings, although blinded by their pride, shall be constrained to humble themselves, and shall be forced to submit in all obedience. Behold the magnificent words the Prophet has spoken.
Now he foresees that when the Gospel shall be preached throughout the world, some will mock it, others will oppose it, others will take no pleasure in it, others will remain stupid, others will hypocritically lie to God and put on some show of obedience to the doctrine, but it will be nothing but false pretence. The Prophet, then, seeing the world so malicious, and foreseeing that God will not be listened to, that his Word will not be received with the reverence it deserves, is filled with wonder, and cries out: Who is it that shall believe our doctrine? As if he said: Alas, I preach here the salvation of the world, and all is desperate and lost unless this remedy be given — namely, that God send his only Son, who, doing battle against the devil and death, thereby acquires for us righteousness and life; for this doctrine must water the whole world, otherwise we are sterile. There is nothing in us but utter dryness and poverty; yet God does not wait for us to ask him to water us, but comes forward, and offers himself freely, and presents to us there his
only Son with his doctrine; and in this he shows himself so gracious that he ought indeed to be received without any contradiction — indeed, ought not everyone to be so inflamed with zeal that he would despise everything else in order to embrace this Redeemer who has appeared?
Yet far from this happening, scarcely a tenth part of those who hear are genuinely touched. And indeed, experience shows that some mock — such as are despisers of God, who have neither faith nor religion any more than dogs, and hold as a fable all that is preached to them of eternal life. Others are not content merely to hold the Word of God in such contempt; they must go further, for they are inflamed with rage and fury against it. On the other hand, there are some who blaspheme with open mouth, others who ask only to hold to what they have conceived in their own brain. Then one will find many stupid folk, who are moved by nothing, and cannot be touched any more than stones; others again, though they have some fine covering of piety, are liars and perjurers, in whom there is nothing but deceit and hypocrisy. We see this; and even if the Prophet had not said it, let us open our eyes, and we will find it fulfilled. And is this not a dreadful thing, a monstrosity against nature? It is certainly so. Now here we might be greatly scandalised, and this might even be like a barrier to hinder us from coming to the Gospel, when we consider what the world does, and say: How can this be? The word of God ought to be the sovereign good and the happiness of men — how is it thus rejected? And how does God suffer men thus to mock him and resist him, and not make himself heard, not gain the credit due to him? Behold how we are tempted not to believe the Gospel — as if the unbelief of men detracted from the truth of God, and diminished the honour that belongs to him.
Thus, not without cause the Prophet Isaiah has inserted this statement. For if he had simply said what we have seen before — that the whole world was to be watered by our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the doctrine of the Gospel was to have its extension everywhere, and that kings would submit themselves to him — now we would say: Oh, it is not for our time that the Prophet Isaiah spoke, for we see quite the opposite; instead of the earth being watered to obtain salvation, we see a flood of all iniquity; we see men as brutalized, with an infernal rebellion, rejecting all that is of God. One sees, in short, that the Gospel is so poorly received that it is a horror. Since this is so, what the Prophet said must not yet be fulfilled. Now this (as I have said) would serve to overturn our faith; but when he joins this statement with what we have seen above — that while God sends the rain to give life to men, he does not grant this special grace of his Holy Spirit to all to receive what he says — but that most will be unbelievers, who will have stopped ears, or will harden themselves and become all the more envenomed toward evil, while others will take no account of the inestimable good that is communicated to them. When, then, the Prophet has declared all these things, and we see them, we ought no longer to be astonished by them, but rather our faith should be confirmed by them.
Behold then, in sum, what we must retain. Let us thus reckon that the world will never be so converted to God that there will not be the greater part possessed by Satan, who will remain stupid there, and who will prefer to perish rather than receive the good that is offered them. And there are various kinds, as we have said: some will be stupid, others will have a haughtiness to mock God, and a foolish presumption to condemn all that is contained in the Gospel; others will be wrapped up in the cares of this world; they will be preoccupied with their own cunning and deceits, so that
they taste nothing of what is of heaven; others will be so brutish that one cannot even enter into their spirit to show them any doctrine. When, then, we see all this, let us reckon that although the Gospel is preached, and the voice of God resounds and echoes everywhere, nevertheless many people will remain as they were, and will not change, and all doctrine will be to them as dead. So much for one point. And thus, we see the number of believers to be small. It remains that for this we should not be discouraged, but rather recognise that God accomplishes what he has pronounced with his mouth. And meanwhile we ought to be all the more careful to gather ourselves as it were under the wings of God, when today the whole world is full of malice and rebellion.
It is true that we ought to be afraid, and must walk in greater watchfulness. For if all were well disposed to serve God, we would have examples on every side sufficient to spur us to apply ourselves valiantly to it on our part; but when it is said that most of those to whom the Gospel is preached will be as devils, and that nowhere will one find anything but debauchery, so that it will seem the world has conspired to alienate us entirely from God — then we have good reason to walk in fear. For if we were not miraculously preserved by God, what would become of us? Thus, whoever wishes to hold fast to the Gospel must be prepared to resist all scandals, and when he does not see others doing their duty, must not for that be turned aside — but when we see the whole world trample the Word of God underfoot, let us be all the more devoted to it, and not only that, but let us take all the more pains to set ourselves in order toward our God when we see that scandals and bad examples might turn us away from him — and let us remain in the integrity to which God calls us.
Behold, then, what we must retain concerning the Prophet's cry here, "Who is it that shall believe our report?" For he presupposes that the number will be sparsely scattered, and that when the Gospel is published everywhere, if one considers how much it has profited, one will find very few who have a living root, who have been reformed and changed, who alter their lives, who renounce themselves to dedicate themselves wholly to God — one will find, I say, that the number of such will be small. But at the same time he adds the cause, which we cannot fully expound now — namely, that we must also note here that faith is a special gift of God, and that it is not enough to have the doctrine, and to have our ears struck by it, but that God must touch us, and work in us by a secret power, so that we are drawn to him, and are edified by the preaching we have heard. But this could not be fully dealt with now, so we will reserve it for another day.
Now let us prostrate ourselves before the majesty of our good God, in acknowledgment of our faults, praying to him, etc.