Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.
Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains. New International Version (NIV)
Don’t you love music? If not, why not? Some of my college roommates were singers. Mark Johnson had a rich baritone voice. Part of the BRH choir, he sometimes sang at the church where I preached. He put this psalm to music. “I love the Lord because he hears my prayers and answers them, because he bends down and listens and I will praise him as long as I live.”
The Psalmist teaches us about God’s grace, compassion and goodness. With the psalmist we wonder, in view of these things, how will we ever repay God? As I prepare to preach my father-in-law’s funeral tomorrow, I remember him singing in the choir and singing solos. Now he sings in the greatest choir of all. A faithful servant of our Lord, Jim’s death is precious to God. He was ready to go home.
Like Jim, I learned about the Lord through my mom. I remember her singing in church. In the last days of her life, I sang for her the hymns she had taught me as a boy. We serve the Lord as our mothers and fathers did. We learn to worship in our families. Since this is true, what are we teaching our kids and grandkids about worship?
Audrey Assad captures the spirit of this psalm as she sings, “Lover of my soul, even unto death, with my every breath, I will love you.” May this be true of me and you.
Pray with me:
Father, we love you for hearing our prayers and answering them. Because you bend down and listen we will praise you as long as we live. Lover of our souls, even unto death, with our every breath, we will love you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan. Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download the app at readscripture.org. Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully,
Duane
Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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