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.
For the last six weeks, we have been studying I Timothy 3:16, which likely includes part of an early Christian hymn: “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.” We have briefly examined each phrase. Let us not lose sight of the obvious: Jesus is “God.” From the beginning of the Church, the full divinity of Jesus was preached and believed. Any contrary teaching was dismissed as abominable heresy. “Join All the Glorious Names,” written by the esteemed Isaac Watts, teaches much about Jesus, including His full deity (“Divine, almighty Lord”). We will listen to a rendition of this old hymn by Hymns of Grace.