MONDAY

Think and Meditate

How does recognizing God as the Creator help us trust Him in daily life?

Listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67TvJwTTdxA&list=RD67TvJwTTdxA&start_radio=1

Read Lyrics

Verse 1

Who has held the oceans in His hands

Who has numbered every grain of sand

Kings and nations tremble at His voice

All creation rises to rejoice

Chorus

Behold our God seated on His throne

Come let us adore Him

Behold our King nothing can compare

Come let us adore Him

Verse 2

Who has given counsel to the Lord

Who can question any of His words

Who can teach the One who knows all things

Who can fathom all His wondrous deeds

Verse 3

Who has felt the nails upon His hands

Bearing all the guilt of sinful man

God eternal humbled to the grave

Jesus Savior risen now to reign

Bridge

You will reign forever

(Let Your glory fill the earth)

Read the Word (Job 38:4-18)

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

9 when I made clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 and prescribed limits for it

and set bars and doors,

11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be shaken out of it?

14 It is changed like clay under the seal,

and its features stand out like a garment.

15 From the wicked their light is withheld,

and their uplifted arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?

Declare, if you know all this.

PRAY

Praise God for His majesty displayed in creation—the vastness of the universe, the precision of nature, and the power of His voice.

Confess any tendency to shrink God to the size of our understanding or control.

Ask for a renewed awe of God’s greatness that displaces fear, pride, or self-reliance.

Pray that the church would tremble at His voice and rejoice in His presence.

TUESDAY

Think and Meditate

Have you ever found yourself trying to counsel God? What does that reveal about your heart?

What does it mean to trust in the Lord’s wisdom, even when we don’t understand His ways?

Listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-tgGHZNQJw&list=RDP-tgGHZNQJw&start_radio=1

Song Story

Behold Our God started in the place that many Sovereign Grace songs start – at a songwriter’s retreat experiencing writer’s block.

After working on a song for a while with no progress, Stephen Altrogge mentioned he had been meditating on Isaiah 40, and wondered if they could develop something from the questions of vss. 12-14:

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:12–14, ESV)

That was enough of an inspiration to write two verses fairly quickly. But they needed a chorus. Everyone agreed it should start with, “Behold our God.” After a series of ideas that didn’t work, Jonathan sang out the chorus just as it ended up on the recording. They added the men/women response bridge and felt like they had a song.

After the retreat, they wisely ignored the counsel of the evaluation team and introduced it to their church in California. The church loved it. But Lynn Baird, father to three of the writers, said it needed a reference to the gospel. “You’ve got to write about Jesus next!”

Over the next year, the writers worked on a third verse that connected the greatness of God to Christ. At the same time, Sovereign Grace Music was working on an album with a resurrection theme, and we asked if the last verse could reference Jesus rising from the dead. No small task for four short lines! Here’s a snapshot of the not quite finished verse.

Finally, through the encouragement of a friend who said they could do it, was well as the stick-to-it perseverance of the writers, the Holy Spirit inspired the last verse, which beautifully and succinctly communicates the gospel.

As the Bairds continued to lead the song in different contexts, they were amazed by the response. Congregations sang it so LOUD! But the song wasn’t finished just yet. That chorus of the first version of the song began like this:

Who has felt the nails upon his hands

Bearing all the shame of sinful man

After leading the song at a conference, Bruce Ware, one of the speakers, came up to thank them for writing it. He then suggested they change the word “shame” to “guilt.” He thought it would draw attention to the fact that our problem before God isn’t simply shame, which can minimize our sinfulness, but actual guilt. The songwriters agreed, and the song reached its final form.

People all over the world have sung and recorded Behold Our God, including this version in 19 languages. We think that’s due not only to the God-exalting, gospel-centered lyrics, but the “ordinary” melody that people can pick up and sing with passion almost immediately.

We pray this new version will encourage you, your family, and your church to worship the God who dwells “in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15) There is no one like him. (Full story here)

Read the Word (Isaiah 40:9-14)

9 Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand

and marked off the heavens with a span,

enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure

and weighed the mountains in scales

and the hills in a balance?

13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,

or what man shows him his counsel?

14 Whom did he consult,

and who made him understand?

Who taught him the path of justice,

and taught him knowledge,

and showed him the way of understanding?

Pray

Thank God for being the all-wise and sovereign ruler, whose plans are always good—even when we don’t see it.

Confess times we have doubted His wisdom, questioned His will, or leaned on our own understanding.

Ask for humility and trust in areas where His ways are beyond our grasp.

Pray for spiritual discernment as individuals and as a church to follow His Word faithfully.

WEDNESDAY

Think and Meditate

What does it mean that “God eternal” was “humbled to the grave”?

How should Christ’s suffering shape your own attitude toward sin, humility, and obedience?

Listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEErsy4Oj_M&list=RDkEErsy4Oj_M&start_radio=1

Read the Word (Philippians 2:5-11 & Isaiah 53:3-6)

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Seek to Understand

My last word is that, if you are healed by his stripes, you should go and live like healthy men. When a man is healed of disease, he does not continue to lie in bed; so, dear friends, do not any of you be lazy Christians. When a man is healed, he does not sit down and groan about the disease that is gone; so do not you be continually groaning and croaking and sighing. When a man is healed, he likes to go and tell about the remedy to others; so, dear friends, do not keep to yourselves the news of this blessed heavenly balsam, but go and tell the tidings everywhere, “With his stripes we are healed.” When a man is healed, he is joyful, and begins to sing with gladness; so, go and sing, and praise and bless the Lord all your days.

When Christ heals, you know, people do not get the sickness back again. His cures are cures for life, and cures for eternity. If the devil goes out of a man of his own accord, he always comes back again, and brings seven others with him; but, if Christ turns him out, I warrant you that he will never be allowed to come back again. When the strong Man armed has dislodged the devil, he keeps the house that he has won, and takes good care that, neither by the front door nor by the back, shall the old enemy ever come back again. Having by his own right hand and his holy arm gotten the victory, he challenges the foeman to take back his spoil, crying, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?” No; that shall never be, so you may go on your way rejoicing, and sing as you go, “With his stripes we are healed.” This is not a temporary remedy; it is a medicine which, when it once gets into the soul, breeds therein health that shall make that soul perfectly whole, so that at last, among the holy ones before the throne of God on high, that man shall sing with all his fellows, “ ‘With his stripes we are healed.’ Glory be to the bleeding Christ! All honour, and majesty, and dominion, and praise be unto him for ever and ever!” And let all the healed ones say, “Amen, and Amen.”

Pray

Thank Jesus for bearing the guilt of sinful man and for humbling Himself to the grave.

Confess any casual attitude toward sin or forgetfulness of the cross.

Ask for a deeper appreciation of Christ’s love and a heart moved to live in response to His sacrifice.

Pray for lives that reflect humility, grace, and the beauty of redemption in all we do.

Thursday

Think and Meditate

How does the promise of His eternal rule give hope in the face of earthly instability?

Listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqrli3Lkf58&list=RDGqrli3Lkf58&start_radio=1

Read the Word (Hebrews 1:1-4)

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Seek to Understand

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).

Hebrews confirms that Jesus is the answer. And our text certainly is a good one in describing Christ. Our text says at least five important truths about the Person, Jesus Christ

FIRST—HIS PORTRAYING

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Christ portrayed God to mankind. No revelation of God was so accurate, so detailed, and so true as the one in which Jesus Christ revealed God to mankind.

SECOND—HIS PERSON

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” This says that Jesus Christ was God. It is a text to verify the Deity of Christ. Christ could portray God well for He was God and as such He reflected the “brightness of his glory” in the transfiguration. Jesus said, “He that hath seen men hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). No man dared to say anything like that. It would have been utter blasphemy. The apostates talk about Christ being a good man then deny his Deity. If he was just a human, how could Christ claim Deity without being blasphemous. You do not call that sort of person a good person, so the apostates are contradicting themselves.

THIRD—HIS POWER

“Upholding all things by the word of his power.” Christ did not create the universe then let i run on its own. Christ not only created the universe but maintains it in a very precise and effective manner as is testified by how the heavenly bodies move with great precision. And all of this “upholding” is done by His Word. His Word is indeed powerful. He created the universe by His Word (Psalm 33:6) and maintains it the same way.

FOURTH—HIS PURGING

“He had by himself purged our sins.” Christ is the Savior. There is no other Savior for man. And He did it by Himself. We do not need other helps such as church membership, baptism, communion, confirmation, and other good works to get salvation. It is all in Jesus Christ. His death on Calvary and His resurrection make Him the great Redeemer Who is able to purge us of our sins. Man needs purging to enter heaven because sin has defiled him.

FIFTH—HIS POSITION

“Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Christ’s present position is that of sitting down at the right hand of God the Father. This is a great and noble position. This is a position that contrasts to the way Christ was treated and esteemed in his earthly ministry. But the time is coming when Christ will be vindicated on earth.

Pray

Worship Christ as the eternal King, seated on the throne—unchallenged and unchanging.

Confess any area of your life not fully submitted to His rule.

Ask for hearts that long to adore and exalt Him daily, not just on Sundays.

Pray that the church would be a community centered on the glory and reign of Christ, not human personalities or programs.

Friday

Think and Meditate

How can adoration of God lead to action in mission, service, and worship?

Listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OKBHVKyonk&list=RD_OKBHVKyonk&start_radio=1

Read the Word (Revelation 7:9-15)

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Seek to Understand

II. The Praise of the Multitude (10–12)—John immediately sees the multitude praising the Lord. Notice:

A. Their Praise is Offered (10)—And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. They are shouting praises unto the Lord and the Lamb for their redemption. They realize that it was the grace of God and the blood of Christ that secured their salvation.

▪ That challenges me to offer praise unto the Lord. I have experienced His marvelous grace. I too have been washed in the blood. The redeemed ought to lift praises unto the Lord. You may not down here, but you will in heaven!

B. Their Praise is Overwhelming (11–12)—And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. As the redeemed saints begin to praise the Lord, it compels the angelic host to do so as well. Can you imagine the sight and sounds as John beheld millions praise the Lord around the throne? What a magnificent time that will be!

▪ By the way, praise is contagious. If you are saved and someone else begins to praise the Lord, it will excite something within your soul. Don’t hold back; you just might encourage someone else to lift praises unto the Lord!

Pray

As this week’s devotion draws to a close, prayer over the following truths derived from “Behold Our God.”

Behold God’s Majesty

Behold God’s Wisdom

Behold Christ’s Sacrifice

Behold the Reigning King

Seek His Glory filling the earth.

Benediction

Lord, You are high above all things—unmatched in power, infinite in wisdom, and overflowing in mercy. We behold You with awe and joy. Forgive us when we make You small or distant in our minds. Teach us to adore You deeply, obey You humbly, and proclaim You boldly. Fill our hearts with Your Glory so that our lives may reflect Your reign—now and forever. Amen.