Daily Devotion: Psalm 77:20

Psalm 77:20    "Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."

"We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."  Like sheep, we are prone to wandering off the beaten path. We see this or that and our desires are sometimes drawn away from that which is most important. But still the "rod and staff" of our wonderful Shepherd protects us and brings us back to the fold. 

 How are we led in "the paths of righteousness"? Is it not by the light from the lamp that shines and directs our paths? Isn't it by the Word of God? It is of the utmost importance that we, as God's people, maintain two things in our lives. We must stay in God's Word. If we begin to neglect reading the Bible, our lives will soon grow cold and stale. It is to our benefit that we have a daily routine of Bible reading. I call it a routine, but soon it becomes a part of us that we look forward to. The second thing that we must maintain is church attendance. I have heard the same thing that has been said from long ago, "I can worship God just as well at home as I can at church." For those who are physically unable to go to church, I'm thankful that there are ways in which they can worship at home. But I dare say that for them, they would LOVE to be able to go back to church. I will never forget visiting with an elderly gentleman in a nursing home. With tears in his eyes, he would tell me every time, "I wish I could go back to church just one more time." He, and many others like him, wanted to go to church and could not. Others are physically able but never put forth the effort to get to church to worship. Why is it so important? After creating Adam, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." We need the interaction of those who love the Lord. We need the encouragement and influence of being around others who love the Lord.

The people of the Lord were led "by the hand of Moses and Aaron." But also, we need the instruction from God's Word by God-called ministers of the Word.  We need those who God has given the ability to expound God's Word. When the people went back to rebuild the wall, Nehemiah gathered them together and they began to read the law (the Word of God). We are told that Ezra stood and began to read from the BOOK and "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." (Nehemiah 8:8)   I'm also thinking of the Ethiopian Eunuch as I'm writing this. When Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, the eunuch answered, "How can I, except some man should guide me?"  Yes, we all need regular church attendance and hearing the Word of God expounded. One last thing about this verse: Pastors MUST BE LED by God. That's why I said we need God-called ministers who will follow the Lord as they lead God's people. Paul said to the Church at Philippi: "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Pastors, though human, are to be proper examples for the people. "Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." We need to be led by God.

From the song, "Come Thou Fount"

… Oh, to grace how great a debtorDaily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter Bind my wandering heart to Thee
… Prone to wander, Lord I feel it - Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh take and seal it  Seal it for Thy courts above