Devotional for September 23

Great is Our God

147 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
6 The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. Psalm 147:1-12 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

The unexamined heart is easily deceived. Always be willing to consider that you may be wrong. The heart harden with pride will seldom be able to admit any personal wrong. Pride is so natural to our fallen nature that it is often unrecognized if it is not actively guarded against. Having unrecognized pride is to be blindfolded walking toward a cliff. The one necessary counter for eliminating pride is gratitude. Humility comes from a heart full of gratitude. It’s only hard to be humble when you believe you have no one other than yourself to thank. The more you come to know God, the more you will love God. The more you love God, the more grateful you will become. In the mist of day -to- day life, think of God’s love as often as you can. Pause and count some of the multitude of His blessings that He has already given you. Let your heart be full of gratitude and your mouth full of praise. Do this and you will find, just as it is written in the Scriptures, it is good and pleasing to praise the Lord.

Today’s Bible Reading

2 Samuel 19

2 Corinthians 12

Ezekiel 26

Psalm 74 

The Prayer Appointed for This Week from the Book of Common Prayer

Grant that I, Lord, may not be anxious about earthly things, but love things heavenly; and even now, while I am placed among things that are passing away, hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.