Daily Devotions

Psalm 119:2 declares, “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”

Keeping rules and laws can at times seem so restrictive and contrary to a sense of freedom. Yet there is  a famous quote about law and freedom: "Where there is no law, there is no freedom". This quote, attributed to John Locke, emphasises the necessity of a legal framework to protect and preserve liberty. Additionally, Immanuel Kant offers a opposite perspective: "Anarchy is law and freedom without force". This highlights the delicate balance between law and freedom, and the need for structure to prevent chaos.

John Wesley wrote: "There is no [conflict] at all between the law and the gospel; that there is no need for the law to pass away, in order to the establishing of the gospel. Indeed neither of them supersedes the other, but they agree perfectly well together. Yea, the very same words, considered in different respects, are parts both of the law and of the gospel. If they are considered as commandments, they are parts of the law: if as promises, of the gospel. Thus, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,' when considered as a commandment, is a branch of the law; when regarded as a promise, is an essential part of the gospel; -- the gospel being no other than the commands of the law proposed by way of promises.”

God's laws were designed to bring blessings. They define behaviour that naturally results in peace, safety and prosperity.

Here is today’s associated hymn by G. Currie Martin outlining the blessings that are ours through God’s word.

Your words to me are life and health;

pour strength into my soul;

enable, guide, and teach my heart

to reach its perfect goal!

Your words to me are light and truth;

from day to day they show

their wisdom, passing earthly lore,

as in their truth I grow.

Your words to me are full of joy,

of beauty, peace, and grace;

from them I learn your blessed will,

through them I see your face.

Your words you have fulfilled on earth,

yourself, the living Word;

within my heart your image print

In clearest lines, O Lord. amen