Daily Devotional • January 4
Psalm 85
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and will make a path for his steps.
Meditation
One of my favorite things about being a parent is watching my kids grow and change. I especially love the new phrases they pick up and repeat endlessly. My two-year-old, James, is currently obsessed with saying, “Look at this!” Whether he’s showing me a toy he’s playing with or a three-day-old chicken nugget he’s rediscovered, James is persistent. He’ll keep repeating “Look at this!” until someone acknowledges what he wants to share.
In Psalm 85, we are reminded of our God who, like James, persistently wants to show us something — God’s mercies. These mercies are new every morning, waiting to greet and sustain us. Yet, in the midst of our busyness, work, and responsibilities, it can be easy to lose sight of them. It’s in those moments that we most need to pray the words of Psalm 85, asking, “Show us your mercy, O Lord.”
The General Thanksgiving in the Book of Common Prayer echoes this same longing when we ask God to “Give us such an awareness of your mercies.” We need God to not only open our lips in praise but also to open our eyes, so we might truly see and experience the goodness of God in our lives.
It’s only when our eyes are opened to God’s mercies that we can see Jesus himself, stretching out his arms of love and inviting us to “Look at this. Receive my mercies anew today.”
Steven McCain serves at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church and School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He lives in the Raleigh area with his wife, Elizabeth, and three sons, Benjamin, James, and Micah.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Lafia – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
St. Francis Episcopal Church, Potomac, Maryland
