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.
Even though it is now November and not Rocktober, I want to consider another rock (really, Rock) song. Two years ago, I wrote briefly about the familiar Augustus Toplady hymn “Rock of Ages.” The Biblical basis for applying this imagery to our Savior, Jesus Christ, is found in I Corinthians 10:4 (based on Exodus 17:1-9 and Numbers 20:1-13), where we find that the Israelites “did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” The current queen of Americana, Gillian Welch, uses the same symbolism in her deeply personal song also entitled “Rock of Ages,” recorded in 1998. Like many traditional Gospel songs, it is relatively simple in structure and mentions both mother and father.