Daily Devotion for July 10, 2013
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.
This quiet ballad reminds me of Melissa Manchester. In the Presence of Jehovah sung by Damaris Carbaugh, with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.
that tug of war at me,
All day long I struggle
for the answers that I need.
But when I come into His presence
All my questions become clear,
And in that sacred moment
No doubts can interfere.
Chorus:
In the presence of Jehovah,
God Almighty, Prince of Peace,
Troubles vanish, hearts are mended,
In the presence of the King.
Through His love the Lord provided
A place for us to rest,
A place to find the answers,
In our hour of distress.
Now there's never any reason
For you to give up in despair;
Just slip away and breathe His name,
You will surely find Him there.
Music and Lyrics by Becky Davis and Geron Davis
Prayer for the Morning
Blessed are you, O Lord my God, King of the universe, who removes sleep from my eyes, that I may see the returning light of the your day. I thank you for all that you have done while I was asleep, watching over me and all your children while we slept unaware, and I pray that my thoughts and acts this day may show forth my love and thanks for you and all you have done for me.
Help me through your Holy Spirit, that I may remember what you have taught me in the Bible and it may show forth in my every deed. Let me not wander into the hands of sin, nor into the hands of pride or perversity, nor into the hands of temptation, nor into the hands of shame, but steer my inclinations towards goodness and charity this morning and all the day. In the name of Christ I pray.
Simple Thanks
For our restful sleep at night,
for the rain and sunshine bright,
For the love that Thou dost send,
For our homes and for each friend,
For the day and all its pleasures,
Grateful thanks I render now.
May our lives pass on the blessings,
None can give to us, but Thou.
Benediction
Now to Him who has given me grace in accordance with His gospel, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for many ages past, but now revealed and made known by the command of the eternal God, so that all mankind might find the obedience that comes from faith; to the only God, the God of wisdom and truth, be glory forever through His only son, Jesus Christ.
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.
Proverbs 28:1 (KJV)
The wicked flee when no man pursueth:
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Isaiah 11:1-6, 9-10 (KJV)
The Wolf and the Lamb
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Notes on the Scripture
We are taking a one-day diversion from Matthew 1 to look at one of the more important prophesies that motivate and inform Matthew's Gospel. This beautiful passage from Isaiah was critical to establishing Christ's legitimacy. Isaiah prophesies that the Messiah will be a branch growing on the tree from the root of Jesse, i.e. that He will be a direct blood descendant of Jesse. Notice also the reference to the little child.
Every line of this passage is a gem unto itself, such as, "with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth." The second phrase is a little difficult in its wording. "Reprove" means to give a scolding or a criticism, but the reproval here is not directed at the meek of the earth, but for them. It means that Christ is going to scold people because they treat the poor without equity, that is, without fairness or equality. He is going to judge the poor with righteousness, instead of just pushing them around.
It is hard to tell whether the expression "the lion will lie down with the lamb" actually exists as a quote from antiquity. It is probably a misquote of this passage from Isaiah. There is a lion, and a lamb, and a predator "lying down" with prey, but they all occur in different phrases. But however one quotes it, it is a beautiful image of a changed world, where even the weak and poor can find comfort.
The final two verses are that most peculiar of prophecies in the Old Testament, one in which the Jewish Messiah — the “root of Jesse” — will be sought by the Gentiles, a foresight that the day of the old covenant will end and there will be the dawn of salvation, not for only the Jews, but for the entire world. The entire world will look to Christ, a symbol or “ensign” of the God of the Hebrews, and the glory (or knowledge) of God will extend over the entire earth.
