What Are you Singing?

-


Scripture:

Mark 14:26  ¶ When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Observation:

Jesus and his disciples were celebrating the passover together; the last supper.  Jesus knew what was coming but his disciples still did not understand.  It was customary to close out the celebration of the Passover by singing the hallel Psalms, found in Psalms 115-118.  As they closed out the evening they would have finished by singing the following lines:

Psalm 118
22The stone the builders rejected
   
has become the cornerstone;

23 the Lord has done this,
   
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 The Lord has done it this very day;
   
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
   
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
   
From the house of the Lord we bless you.

27 The Lord is God,
   
and he has made his light shine on us.

With boughs in hand,
join in the festal procession
   
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
   
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   
his love endures forever.

Application:

The song that was sung spoke directly to Jesus’ life; he was the stone that the builders had rejected.  Jesus would suffer and die — but he wanted everything in his life to give glory to God.  His song, the song he was willing to sing was one in which God would be given the praise even as he knew that he was walking into a trap that would lead to his death.

Paul and Silas sang songs and hymns to the Lord as they sat in a prison cell. 

In my moments of pain and of frustration — what am I singing?  What is my song?  What is my hymn?  Can I find a song in which God is found, or am I unable to sing at all?

Somehow I think there was something cathartic for Jesus to sing these hymns on that evening.  Through song we can often sense the presence of the Lord.  In the midst of our deepest trials may we seek out our hymn and allow God to speak to and minister to us as we worship him. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your song.  Amen.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more