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.
One of my favorite hymns is “The Love of God,” written by Frederick Lehman. It is a fine combination of orthodox theology and creative imagery. Even “when men, who here refuse to pray, on rocks and hills and mountains call” (a reference to Revelation 7:12-17), God’s love will abide and will be available to all. Let us not make the mistake of measuring the love of God by our own love, which can fluctuate and can also be self-serving: “We love Him, because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). The version by the Worship Initiative captures Lehman’s awe of both the sweeping scope and the personal propinquity of the love which is found in Jesus Christ, God the Son.