The hymn for our devotion this week is hymn 857 Glorious Things of You Are Spoken.
Our worship this coming weekend is centered around a lesson from John’s gospel, in which Jesus confronts the crowds of people following him. These people had been following him incessantly since the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. They had dogged his steps chasing him back and forth across the Sea of Galilee. In the story, Jesus confronts them for this behavior because he knows why they’re fervently seeking after him. Jesus understands what they really want. They aren’t following him because they think he’s the savior, nor do they follow him to learn from him. Instead, they follow only because Jesus had been able to feed them and they wanted that same kind of food without the work to get it. Jesus, however, sets the record straight with these words: “‘I am the Bread of Life,’ Jesus told them. ‘The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”
Our savior bountifully provides for us! He gives us daily bread, which is all that we need for body and life. Yet he provides something that is far more precious and important: the bread of life itself! The forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternity with him in heaven, which is all that we need to sustain our souls as long as we walk this earth. All it takes is one bite of this bread of life to be completely satisfied with the providence of our savior. What an amazing thing to receive!
Our hymn for this week focuses on the amazing things that God has done and will do for his people. Using pictures from the Old Testament, the hymn writer draws the singer’s attention to the abundance of God’s care and protection, and the complete lack of the world in comparison to the glory of our God.
Verse 1: Glorious things of you are spoken, Zion, city of our God; he whose word cannot be broken formed you for his own abode. On the Rock of Ages founded, what can shake your sure repose? With salvation’s walls surrounded, you may smile at all your foes.
Imagine for a moment that someone was able to create an unbreakable brick. It would be impervious to all outside damage. No tornado, hurricane, earthquake, fire, or war could destroy a building made of those bricks. Everyone in the world would want that kind of brick for their buildings! People would pay millions of dollars to guarantee they would never have to fear the building passing away. Now what if I told you that such a brick exists? The thing is, it’s not a literal physical brick. It’s the incarnate word of God, Jesus Christ, who is the cornerstone on which the church is built. And those bricks aren’t physical objects made of stone or clay. They’re people. People who have been made into something far greater. We, through the cleansing of our sins, have been formed into God’s living house. We are made into a stronghold that no earthly trouble can penetrate or destroy. Through the work of our savior, surrounded by his protecting arms, we can laugh at the weak and pitiful assaults of the devil, the world, and our own sinful natures.
Verse 2: See, the streams of living waters, springing from eternal love, well supply your sons and daughters and all fear of want remove. Who can faint while such a river ever will their thirst assuage? Grace which, like the Lord, the giver, never fails from age to age.
In medieval times, a castle served many purposes. The primary purpose a lord would construct a castle would be to provide shelter for his subjects in the event of an attack from an enemy army. One of the main things a castle would need to do is withstand a siege, and so one of the first things that would be put in when a castle was built was a dependable well. So long as the people in the castle have water and food stored up, they can survive a siege for months if needed. In the same way, our savior’s grace is a neverending stream of living water which daily renews the heart and mind. Just like those people sheltering in the castle don’t need to fear or wonder what will happen if they run out of water, we too don’t need to fear anything this world throws at us. When we feel weak or miserable or when we inevitably fall in our task of loving and serving, this water fills us up again, giving us strength for another day of God’s grace.
Verse 3: Round each habitation hov’ring, see the cloud and fire appear for a glory and a cov’ring, showing that the Lord is near. Thus deriving from their banner light by night and shade by day, safe they feed upon the manna which God gives them on their way.
When God’s people were on their exodus from Egypt and in the years of wandering, they faced many dangers and perils in the wilderness. There were venomous animals, little food, no water, and the risk of getting lost. They were also constantly exposed to the elements, with high temperatures and hot, dusty wind. To survive in this wasteland, the people would need help from the Lord their protector and provider. And that’s exactly what he did. With the pillars of fire and cloud, he provided shelter and light for his people, as well as a clear beacon of where they were to go. Through manna which was provided daily, he ensured that they would never run out of food to eat in a place where food was scarce. But even after the people were settled in the promised land and no longer had manna or the pillars of fire and cloud, God still provided for them. He sent his son, Jesus, to be the true bread of life. And Jesus would provide true freedom, not from slavery in Egypt nor from wandering in the wilderness. He provided the full forgiveness of sins and life everlasting to all who believe in him.
Verse 4: Savior, since of Zion’s city I thro’ grace a member am, let the world deride or pity, I will glory in your name. Fading are the world’s vain pleasures, all their boasted pomp and show; solid joys and lasting treasures none but Zion’s children know.
One of the main criticisms people have about Christianity is that it draws people out of their world and deposits them in the next one. By this, I mean there are those who are critical of Christianity because they feel like it makes Christians not care at all about what happens in this world, because we have a second, far better home waiting for us. This makes Christians withdrawn and indifferent to the real problems and suffering that nonbelievers go through here on earth. While this is a danger that Christians can fall into, we also recognize how much of a blessing it is to be freed from this earth and its petty ambitions. We have been brought into something that is far greater than the fleeting treasures of this world. We have been made members of the eternal city! All the finest things this earth has to offer like money, power, fame, and earthly pleasure are only temporary, and they don’t last. But what heaven has to offer, a home, a family, and a purpose are far greater. This is why we ignore the petty distractions of this world. Because in the end, our true home is beyond this world.
When the crowds pursued Jesus to make him their bread king, they didn’t understand what kind of a king he was. Along with that, they didn’t understand what he, the almighty king, would ask of his subjects. Jesus told them: “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Do not continue to work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Our purpose in this world isn’t to seek after the petty, fleeting things of this world. Rather, it is to serve God gladly and pursue him with our whole hearts! By being connected to the Word of God, that bread of life, we are strengthened and kept in the true faith. By listening to and gladly obeying and teaching his instruction, we are fed and strengthened to do his will. May Jesus continue to feed us, and may we continue to strive for him and chase after him all the days of our lives. Amen.