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.
Last week we listened to the hymn “Rock of Ages.” The story song “I’ve Just Seen the Rock of Ages” by Ralph Stanley builds on that familiar imagery and is a statement of faith at the most trying of times – the moment of death. The Biblical references include Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28:10-22) and The Jordan River (Joshua 3). The death of a Christian is sad for us but not for the believer, “for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:8).