URC Daily Devotion Saturday 27 June 2026
Hymns 6 I Will Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving In My Heart
Rejoice and Sing 386
I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart,
I will enter his courts with praise,
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made,
I will rejoice for he has made me glad.
Leona von Brethorst
© 1976 Maranatha! Praise Inc/Universal Music Publishing/Small Stone Media BV Holland/Adm. by Song Solutions Daybreak OneLicence A-734713 You can hear the song here.
Rejoice and Sing 415
You shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace,
and the mountains and the hills shall break forth in singing,
There’ll be shouts of joy, – and the trees of the field
shall clap, shall clap their hands.
Stuart Dauermann (b. 1944) © 1975, Lillenas Publishing Company / Music Services. OneLicence A-734713
You can hear the song here.
Isaiah 54:11-14
Storm-battered city, distressed and desolate,
now I shall set your stones in the finest mortar
and your foundations with sapphires;
I shall make your battlements of red jasper
and your gates of garnet;
all your boundary stones will be precious jewels.
Your children will all be instructed by the Lord,
and they will enjoy great prosperity.
You will be restored triumphantly.
You will be free from oppression
and have nothing to fear;
you will be free from terror, for it will not come near you.
Reflection
The two songs given here are from the many based on scripture. The duty of worshipping with our fellow-Christians may also be a delight. A dark winter Sunday morning may not leave us in the right mood for going to church but there will be cause for thanks if we reflect on it. Time and again our spirits are lifted in worship and we go out the better for it. Isaiah had a greater vision than a happy congregation leaving church. It is a song for returning refugees; it is about the freedom of enslaved people, the fall of despots, the belief that God is on our side when all seems lost. This is what leads all nature to rejoice. It is good to rejoice in our own salvation but Jesus calls us to share in the great work of redeeming all that is lost.
Prayer
Honour and glory are yours, our God, for you intend your world to live in peace and harmony. Show us what we must do to set the captives free and bring healing to the world you have given us. As faithful disciples may our singing echo the joy in heaven when evil is forsworn and righteousness prevails. You have set before us great choices in the way we live. May we use our freedom to choose life rather than death, hope rather than despair, love rather than indifference. So may we fill our lives with thankfulness and praise.