Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Saturday after Quasimodogeniti

Posted on May 4, 2019 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: Isaiah 42:10-17 (NKJV)


42:10 Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them!


11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.


12 Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise in the coastlands.


13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.


14 “I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.


15 “I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, and I will dry up the pools.


16 “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.


17 “They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, who trust in carved images, who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’”


Devotion


“Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth.”


The Lord would send His judgment upon Judah, but it would not end there. When the Lord unleashes “Law,” whether it is on their heads or ours, this is only His “alien” work. He does it so that we will receive His “proper” work, the Gospel of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.


Do a little extra reading today: go back and read Isaiah 42:1-4. [1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”] Clearly this chapter is a prophecy of Christ! And as His salvation is revealed, His praises are sung well beyond the borders of Israel.


We are now thirteen days out from Easter. We have heard the good news of the death and resurrection of our Lord, and the promise this gives us that we are loved by God, made faithful and forgiven by Him, and able to look forward to the everlasting life that Christ has won for us. The Law has been fulfilled, kept perfectly for us by Jesus. And we now live in a freedom that goes beyond what even the faithful in the Old Testament knew. So then, sing to the Lord a new song. Declare His saving mercies “from the ends of the earth.” And may God use our praises so that many others would know the salvation of Christ in which we live.


We pray: Most Merciful heavenly Father, we thank and praise You that You have given us eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus. Grant that the words of our mouths and the actions of our lives would so clearly praise You, that others would be drawn to Christ also. Amen.


Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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