Daily Devotion for October 21, 2015
Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
The lyrics of this wonderful South African gospel song are “We are marching in the light of God”, repeated over and over. The second piece they sing, “Siyabonga Baba (Jesu)” means simply “Thank you, God (Jesus)”.
Prayer for This Day
Holy God, I pray in the name of Christ that you will this day increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel. Give me repentance from dead works. Pardon my wanderings, & direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation. Teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments.
Make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber. But daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life.
Bless my family, friends & kindred; unite us all in praising & glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed Saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, our Father.
For the Human Family
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human race, O Lord; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth.
That, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Meditation
[Life becomes easier when you accept the apology you never got.]
Benediction
Now, to God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved; to God the Son, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts, be all love and all glory in time and to all eternity.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
To the left, a Hebrew army walks over flopping fish. In the center, Moses (in a toga) appears under the hands of God, while Aaron stretches his staff over the drowning Egyptians. (Full size)
Proverbs 20:1-3 (The Message)
Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome —
a staggering drunk is not much fun.
Quick-tempered leaders are like mad dogs —
cross them and they bite your head off.
It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels,
but fools love to pick fights.
Exodus 15:1-12 (ESV)
The Song of Moses [1]
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is his name.
“Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.”
Notes on the Scripture
This very early psalm, also called The Song of the Sea, is probably the oldest (i.e., first composed) part of Exodus. Moses' sister, Miriam, taught it to the women of Israel and it would have been a well-known song already when Moses wrote the narrative. Jews reading the Book of Exodus for the first time would have enjoyed coming across it and learning how it came to be written — like hearing "She Loves You" in a film biography of the Beatles.
The song, like many enduring songs, was written in a short period. It gave the Hebrews something to sing for the next forty years and would help to keep their spirits up during a time where despair loomed around every corner, by reminding them of their purpose and heartening them to their ordeal. Also, we must remember that people not yet born who would share this hardship; the song would serve to brand the history into the minds of those who had not lived it.
And they needed heartening. The Israelites have now been tossed into a hostile and primitive world, both geographical and socio-political. They are utterly alone in a desert, a roaming band of marauders; and on either side of them are strong empires (Egyptians and Philistines) used to dealing with such bands. But, unlike most warlike nomads, they are thoroughly unprepared. These are not Tatars or Vikings or Goths. They are sedentary slaves and laborers, not foragers and soldiers accustomed to constant movement and combat.
Yahweh is unmistakably their only hope; and so, this combination of creed, history, and worship is vital to their determination and morale. "The LORD" (original YHWH) "is my strength and my song." God being their "strength" meant more to them than to most of us; for it was every day apparent that, if they did not have God's hand, their own strength was so lacking that they faced quick annihilation. And He is their song; He is at the forefront of their mind and on their lips as they prepare to move forward.
