Old Testament | Malachi 3:6-12 (with Nick Locke)

Opening Song:
Until These Tears Are Gone by Eric J. Marshall

Lyrics:
Flood this heart with assurance of Your mercy
Fill this mind with knowledge of Your love
Hold me fast through the deep and steady current
How long how long till these tears are gone

Every hour awake me to Your presence
Shine Your light brighter than the dawn
Send Your joy illuminate the darkness
How long how long till these tears are gone
How long how long till these tears are gone

I'll fix my eyes on eternity above
Where every lie is uncovered by Your love
I'll fix my eyes on eternity above
Where every lie every shadow
Is uncovered by Your love

Lord You hear the pleading of the faithful
I search for You hide not Your face
Here I drift a shell among the ruins
How long how long till these tears are gone
How long how long till these tears are gone

How long how long till these tears are gone
How long how long till these tears are gone

Passage:
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer[a] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

Musical Reflection:
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (KINGSFOLD), English folk song from anthology by Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland, harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Reflection Notes:
Famed English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams heard this tune from an English folk song anthology and harmonized it for the text by Horatius Bonar. The first and third sections of the song are primarily in e minor, while the middle section transitions to the relative major key.

Prayer:
Father, what we know not, teach us; what we have not, give us; what we are not, make us; for the sake of your Son our Savior. Amen.
-Old Anglican Prayer