Scripture Focus: Psalm 89:14-16
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.

From John: We are thankful to have more music-themed devotionals from Jon Polk this week. Leading up to Thanksgiving, Jon will take us through some hymns for giving thanks.

Reflection: Count Your Blessings – Hymns for Giving Thanks
By Jon Polk

Johnson Oatman, Jr. was born near Medford, New Jersey in 1856. His father, Johnson Oatman, Sr. was widely regarded as an excellent singer with a rich and powerful voice. As a young boy, Johnson Jr. loved to hear his father singing the great hymns of faith.

Johnson longed to sing like his father, but alas he was not gifted with similar vocal abilities. However, he still aspired to serve God with his life.

At the age of nineteen, Oatman joined the Methodist Church and began serving. Soon he was granted a license to preach the gospel and was ordained.

Although Johnson began to preach locally, he never received a permanent church assignment. He continued working for his father’s mercantile business, Johnson Oatman & Son, and took over after his father passed away.

Unable to sing like his father and lacking a permanent pulpit as a preacher, Johnson finally discovered at the age of 36 that he did have a musical talent: songwriting. He wrote prolifically, up to 200 songs a year. Over his lifetime, Oatman penned 5,000 hymns for the church.

Of those scores of hymns, undoubtedly his most famous composition, written in 1897, is the familiar Count Your Blessings. The song encapsulates Oatman’s own life experience.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done

Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your blessings, see what God hath done
Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done

This rollicking hymn soon became so famous that British evangelist Gipsy Smith once said, “Down in South London the men sing it, the boys whistle it, and the women rock their babies to sleep to the tune.”

How often do we think “I wish I could sing like her” or “If only I could share my faith like him” or “I’d love to serve the way they do”?

Oatman’s famous hymn is a reminder to us all that God has blessed us immeasurably and it is up to us to be attentive to the gifts God has given us.

Count your blessings, not your regrets. Number your joys, not your worries. Take stock of your value to God, not your personal disappointments.

Count your blessings, name them one by one, and see what God has done for you.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. — Psalm 103.1-2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 15  (Listen 4:38)
Psalms 89 (Listen 5:29)

Read more about Praying Priestly Blessings
As followers of God today, a part of our identity is as carriers of the blessings of God that are intended for the world.

Read more about Supporting Our Work
End-of-year giving is often over half of our support for the year. Please consider becoming a regular donor either once a year or every month.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 89.46-49
46 How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? 
How long will your wrath burn like fire? 
47 Remember how fleeting is my life. 
For what futility you have created all humanity! 
48 Who can live and not see death, 
or who can escape the power of the grave? 
49 Lord, where is your former great love, 
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?

From John: As we continue in many kinds of crises, we repeat this prayer from 2020. In every kind of crisis, we can rely upon God for mercy and justice.

Reflection: A Prayer for Times of Crisis—Guided Prayer
By John Tillman

Perhaps Psalm 89 was written by the same “Ethan the Ezrahite” who was a contemporary of David. Or perhaps it was written later by a contemporary of Ezekiel and other exiles. Regardless of when it was written, it shows us a helpful, repeatable pattern of prayer for those in suffering, doubt, frustration, or crisis.

The psalm contains three distinct movements of thought. In the first section, the psalmist praises the power of God over the cosmos. From the highest court of the heavens, he rules over things seen and unseen.

In the second movement, the writer describes God’s vision and purpose for humanity. The Lord promises an intimate, fatherly, guiding relationship. David stands in as a symbol for both the nation of Israel and for the role of Jesus who will be the “Son of David” to whom those longing for deliverance will call. (Mark 10.46-52)

In the third, the writer laments the sin of his people and that God seems to be abandoning them to suffering and allowing his purposes for them to fail. Despite this lament, or perhaps because of it, the writer ends with a challenging view of hope. The psalmist trusts that God will save, that wrongs will be forgiven, and justice will be done. 

A Prayer for Times of Crisis — Guided Prayer

Praise God for who he is and acknowledge him as the king and creator of all. He is more than just the source of all life but the source of all joy, love, and justice.

Review for yourself the assurances we have in his promises to us. That we will be made like him. That we will suffer, but with him and in his power. That we will be forgiven. That we will be his images, his sons and daughters, representing him.

Express to him your doubts and fears. Tell him what you don’t believe and ask him to help you believe. (Mark 9.23-24) Tell him how you feel without fear of rejection. Tell him what you fear without being shamed.

Praise him that he is the Lord, forever. Eternal life is not just in the future. It is now. Abundant life is not just pie in the sky. He is with us now. Praise him that he is with us forever.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Let your loving-kindness be my comfort, as you have promised to you servant.
Let your compassion come to me, that I may live, for your law is my delight. — Psalm 119.76-77

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 23 (Listen – 3:39)
Psalm 89 (Listen – 5:29)

This Weekend’s Readings
Proverbs 24 (Listen – 3:47), Psalm 90 (Listen – 2:03)
Proverbs 25 (Listen – 2:56), Psalm 91 (Listen – 1:39)

Read more about Peace in Crisis
Today, we focus on the comfort and peace that we have from God in disturbing and difficult times.

Read more about The Hope of Lament
Biblical lament is not expressing a gripe or complaint. Complaining arises from a mindset of scarcity…lament is anchored in the confidence of God’s abundant goodness.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 89.46-49
46 How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? 
How long will your wrath burn like fire? 
47 Remember how fleeting is my life. 
For what futility you have created all humanity! 
48 Who can live and not see death, 
or who can escape the power of the grave? 
49 Lord, where is your former great love, 
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?

Reflection: A Prayer for Crisis—Guided Prayer
By John Tillman

Scholars are divided on whether Psalm 89 was written by the same “Ethan the Ezrahite” who was a contemporary of David or whether it was written later by a contemporary of Ezekiel and other exiles. Regardless of when it was written, it shows us a helpful and repeatable pattern of prayer for those in suffering, doubt, frustration, or crisis.

The psalm contains three distinct movements of thought. In the first section, the psalmist praises the power of God over the cosmos. From the highest court of the heavens, he rules over things seen and unseen.

In the second movement, the writer describes God’s vision and purpose for humanity. The Lord promises an intimate, fatherly, guiding relationship. David stands in as a symbol for both the nation of Israel and for the role of Jesus who will be the “Son of David” to whom those longing for deliverance will call. (Mark 10.46-52)

In the third, the writer laments the sin of his people and that God seems to be abandoning them to suffering and allowing his purposes for them to fail. Despite this lament, or perhaps because of it, the writer ends with a challenging view of hope. The psalmist trusts that God will save, that wrongs will be forgiven, and justice will be done. 

A Prayer for Crisis — Guided Prayer
Praise God for who he is and acknowledge him as the king and creator of all. He is more than just the source of all life but the source of all joy, love, and justice.

Review for yourself the assurances we have in his promises to us. That we will be made like him. That we will suffer, but with him and in his power. That we will be forgiven. That we will be his images, his sons and daughters, representing him.

Express to him your doubts and fears. Tell him what you don’t believe and ask him to help you believe. (Mark 9.23-24) Tell him how you feel without fear of rejection. Tell him what you fear without being shamed.

Praise him that he is the Lord, forever. Eternal life is not just in the future. It is now. Abundant life is not just pie in the sky. He is with us now. Praise him that he is with us forever.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
The heaven of heavens is the Lord’s, but he entrusted the earth to its peoples. — Psalm 115.16

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 38  (Listen – 4:23)
Psalm 89 (Listen – 5:29)

Read more about Forgiveness to Soften the Hardened—Worldwide Prayer
There is no level of spiritual achievement or growth at which one is not susceptible to hardening of the heart and the spirit.

Read more about Meditation in Spiritual Rhythm
A few hundred years ago, meditation was not considered radical or strange, but simply a prudent, practical, and effective Christian discipline.