Daily Devotional
The Way of Deliverance
The Lord who struck Egypt is the same Lord who makes the desert blossom. His works are not contrary: He casts down proud oppression and opens a road for the redeemed. Pharaoh hardened himself until judgment came; the poor and afflicted who seek the Lord are heard, delivered, and taught how to live. Therefore praise is not mere speech. The man whom God rescues must depart from the works of Egypt.
The psalm joins thanksgiving to obedience: “depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” In this way, as Irenaeus says, “the prophets sought the fruits of righteousness.” The Lord’s eyes are upon the righteous, not upon the double-tongued and violent. So Cyprian presses the word upon us: “Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile?” If we bless God with our mouth and then wound our brother with that same mouth, we have not yet learned the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah shows what the Lord brings with His coming: weak hands strengthened, fearful hearts made firm, blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, the lame walking on the holy way. This is not a permission to remain as we were, but a summons to walk that road. The unclean do not rule it; the redeemed do. If God has brought you out, do not linger in the house of bondage by your habits. Let your speech be clean, your dealings honest, your hands open to the needy, and your steps steady in the path of peace. The Lord delivers in order to make a people fit for His highway.
“depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” In preaching these things, the prophets sought the fruits of righteousness.”
— Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV
“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile?”
— Cyprian, Epistles
For Reflection & Discussion
What evil work will you forsake today in plain terms, and what good work will you do instead for a neighbor, the poor, or someone in your house?
Whom have you wounded by guile, sharp speech, or gossip, and when will you confess it and make peace with truthful words?
What one act this week will show that you are walking the Lord’s highway—fasting, almsgiving, set prayer, or reconciliation with an enemy—and when will you do it?
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