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.
As we have considered the last two Mondays, the second half of I Timothy 3:16 likely provides a glimpse into the early Church’s hymnody: “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” The expression “seen of angels” seems obvious, for the heavenly angels have gazed upon Jesus, God the Son, since their creation. It is likely, then, that this phrase refers to the presence of angels on earth during Jesus’ time here when He “was manifest in the flesh.” For example, at the end of Jesus’ forty days of fasting, “behold, angels came and ministered unto Him” (Matthew 4:11b). In the agonizing time of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, “there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him” (Luke 22:43). At His illegal arrest, Jesus said to His followers in Matthew 26:53, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels?” A Gospel song that explores this last verse is “The Thousand Angels.” Folks in our church remember Linwood singing this song; we will listen to a version by Jill Mason and the Heartland Bluegrass Band.