Melodic Mondays
Those of you who know me know that I love music even though I am not musical myself. I listen to good music as often as I can. It is beneficial to the brain, valuable to the vocabulary, and strengthening to the soul. Isaiah 12:2-3 is a lovely passage that includes this soaring statement of surety: “The Lord JEHOVAH [YAHWEH] is my strength and my song.” This could be translated, “God is my mountaintop and my music.” Yes, He is! Each Monday, I want to study this subject and suggest a song to listen to. Anyone reading this devotional has easy access to any song. (I am an exception because I do not go on a computer or other information device.) If you do not like my suggestion (and we all have different tastes), you can think of or search for one that speaks to you. Then, it can become a source of encouragement throughout the week.
After the birth of Jesus, events moved quickly. King Herod, who might have been more appropriately named King Hatred, tried to kill the infant Savior. Wisemen came, providing gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh – gifts that were fit for the King of Kings and, in a practical sense, that enabled this impoverished family of three to flee to Egypt for a time. The hymn “What Child Is This?” by William Dix, with the familiar tune “Greensleeves,” meditates upon the earth-altering results of this miraculous birth of the Savior. The version by Francesca Battistelli is quite traditional.