Devotional Thoughts Based on the Glory to God Hymnal

Isaiah 50:4

The later portions on the book of Isaiah point toward the work of the Suffering Servant and the deliverance of God’s people. There is a message of hope for people who have been living in what has seemed hopeless times. There was a lot to be learned, and through the prophet God was instructing the people.

The opening verses of Isaiah chapter 50 pave the way for the messages to come:

⁴ The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,^[b]
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.

Isaiah 50:4

The editors of the Glory to God Hymnal couple this scripture with the hymn “Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak”. Two verses in particular help us to appreciate the roles of teacher and student:

Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.

God teaches us, through God’s Word, to look for hope, and to share hope with others. God speaks to us so that we might share what we hear. God teaches us life lessons so that others might be touched with the knowledge.

Prayer

God, let me be eager student of Your word, as I live my life as a faithful disciple of my Lord and Savior, Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.