Devotions from Songs

Note: The devotions listed below are also on various other pages, but some have other titles.

1. The Psalms

2. Jesus Loves Me

3. My Savior First of All

4. Nearer My God to Thee

5. What a Friend We Have in Jesus

5. Stayed upon Jehovah

1. The Psalms

Verse: "I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies" (Psalm 18:3). The Psalms were songs sung for worship. This verse has become popular lately through someone putting a tune to it for our day. When we think of our enemies we usually think of people. Throughout David's life he had to flee from many enemies and asked God's help to deliver him from them. At one time, the enemy was his own son, Absalom. Many verses in Psalms tell us about God's protection from His enemies. Recently I read the Psalms again. As I read those verses, I could not help but think about our enemies as bad feelings, such as depression, stress, anger, pride, aggravation, or bitterness. The Bible tells us never to be bitter, angry, or mad. Eph. 4:31 says "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" Sometimes, these enemies are worse than people who do not like us for they can harm our health and well being. It is hard to never be bitter, angry, or mad, but we can call on God to deliver us from these enemies as well as enemies who are people who would do us harm. Prayer: Please, Dear God, help us to call upon You to deliver us from all our enemies whether bad feelings or people. Amen

2. Jesus Loves Me

Verse: "And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them" (Mark 10:16). Jesus Loves Me is a favorite song of children and adults around the world. There are more verses than the one we usually sing, though. Verse 2 goes like this: "Jesus Loves me! He who died, Heaven's gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in." Verse 3: "Jesus Loves me! He will stay, Close beside me all the way, Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee." Anna Warner wrote this poem in 1860. It was printed in a novel written by her sister, Susan. Later, Dr. William Bradbury wrote the music for it. For more than a hundred years it has been popular throughout the world. I am glad we can sing these words and know Jesus loves us. He loves all the people of the world. He came to earth to die on a cross for us. Then He rose from the dead to prove He truly is God. Now He is preparing a place for any who will accept His gift of salvation. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" ( John 3:16). Prayer: Thank You, Jesus for loving us. Thank You for giving your life so we can go to Heaven one day. Amen

3. My Savior First of All

Verse: "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Peter 1:8). "When my lifework is ended and I cross the swelling tide, When the bright and glorious morning I shall see, I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side, And His smile will be the first to welcome me." This song, My Savior First of All, was written by Fanny Crosby. From the ages of 44-95 she wrote more than 8,000 hymns. These songs are still blessing hearts today. She wrote urging the lost to come and accept Jesus as Savior. She also wrote songs encouraging Christians as they follow Jesus. Her songs tell of the praise, power, glory, and love of God. She was a true follower of Jesus and worked in missions reaching out to others. Peter tells us in I Peter 1:3-8 to rejoice, even when we have problems. God will keep us through them and one day we will see Him, whom we have trusted. Fanny Crosby's testimony was a good example of this trust. She enjoyed her life and all the beauties God bestowed upon her. She also knew Jesus would be the first person she would see, because as a six week old baby, she became blind. Prayer: Dear God, Help me not to be blind to the world around me, but be a witness for You each day. Amen

4. Nearer My God to Thee

Verse: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). "Nearer my God to Thee, Nearer to Thee! E'en tho it be a cross that raiseth me; Still all my song shall be, Nearer my God to Thee, Nearer to Thee." Sarah F. Adams wrote this song of five verses in the early 1800's. She was born in Harlow, England Feb. 22, 1805 and only lived to the age of 43 before she went to be even nearer to God her Father. This hymn is based on an incident in Jacob's life. (Genesis 10-22) He had run away from home because his brother, Esau, wanted to kill him. While in the desert he had a dream. A ladder reached to Heaven and angels went up and down it. God stood at the top and promised Jacob he would be the one to continue His promise to Abraham. Sometimes, we may be fleeing something in our lives. Whether we actually leave a certain place or stay and 'make do.' We can always be assured that we can draw close to God and He will comfort us in whatever problems we have. He is the God of all comfort and will be there to help us through any situation. Another verse: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;" (2 Corinthians 1:3) Prayer: Dear God, Help me to remember You are the God of all comfort and to draw nearer to You each day. Amen

5. What a friend we have in Jesus

Verses: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" (John 15:13-15). What a friend we have in Jesus is a poem that Joseph Scriven wrote in the 1800's. He lived in Canada, and his mother lived in Ireland. She was seriously ill. He wrote the poem to send to her. Later, Charles C. Converse put the words of the poem to music. Here are the words to the song: "What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit. O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer! Can we find friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer!" I like to sing this song. When I sign this song for deaf people, I sign "wonderful friend" instead of "what a friend," because Jesus is a wonderful friend. This is the first hymn I remember learning as a child. Its words always comfort me. We have many friends in this life. These friends cheer us when we are sad and are glad when we are happy. But none of these friends can heal our heart of worry and sorrow like Jesus. He truly is our best friend! Prayer: Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to save my life from sin and be my best friend. Amen.

6. Stayed upon Jehovah

Verse: Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” The wonderful world of computers! They accomplish many different jobs and make our life easier. It seems like they think for themselves! The computer can only do what it is told, though. What comes out must first go into its memory. This verse from Proverbs tells us to commit our works unto the Lord. We need to do what God wants and trust Him with the results. Then our thoughts will be stable. We will not have to worry about thinking wrong thoughts if we are working for God and have our minds on Him. Frances Havergal wrote a song in the 1800’s that goes like this, “Stayed upon Jehovah, Hearts are fully blest -- Finding as he Promised, Perfect peace and rest.” The thought life is a hard part of living the Christian life. In Noah’s day people’s thoughts were continually evil (Genesis 6:5). Jesus said “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). Phillippians 4:7 “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Verse 8 tells us if anything is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, be of any virtue, or of any praise to think on those things. Just as the computer only puts out what is put in, we should guard what is put into our minds!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).