Daily Devotion

This daily devotion is based on the Morning Office. It comes with selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture text, accompanied by reflections and prayers. There is an audio option. This devotion is suitable for personal and family devotions. It will be best to both read and listen. The link to the entire Morning Office today is provided at the end of each devotion. This project started on Ash Wednesday, 2025 and are offered for weekdays only. More info here.

12th March – Let us fear the Lord

Audio

Prepare

Today is Wednesday, 12th of March. We will continue to based our Lenten devotion on selected readings and prayers from the Morning Office.

Psalm Reading

The appointed Psalm for today is Psalm 6.

¹ O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath.
² Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
³ My soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord—how long?

⁴ Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
    save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of you;
    in Sheol who will give you praise?

⁶ I am weary with my moaning;
    every night I flood my bed with tears;
    I drench my couch with my weeping.
⁷ My eye wastes away because of grief;
    it grows weak because of all my foes.

⁸ Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
    for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹ The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
¹⁰ All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
    they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be forever. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Today’s passage is from Jeremiah 5:20-31. Here, we will read verses 21 to 24.

²¹“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
        who have eyes, but see not,
        who have ears, but hear not.
²² Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
        Do you not tremble before me?
    I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,
        a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
    though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
        though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
²³ But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
        they have turned aside and gone away.
²⁴They do not say in their hearts,
        ‘Let us fear the Lord our God,

Reflection/Prayer: We do not say in our hearts, “let us fear the Lord.” This is so true for many Christians living in the milieu of this age. We have sight, but not insight. Our ears are clogged up. Our wills are stubborn. Our hearts are rebellious. We have neglected to see the awesome hand of our Creator God in the fixed boundaries of nature. Instead we have taken pride in ourselves as the ones who can create new boundaries and destinies.

We have fail to honor Him. To hold Him in high accord. We take pride in our abilities to push the boundaries of science. Yet, as Jeremiah remind us, there are “perpectual barriers which we cannot pass and the roaring of waves which we cannot prevail against.”

Will we be wise enough to know our limitations and honor the One without limits? As Proverbs 9:10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Prayer

Let us return to the starting point. In this season of Lent, we pray that we may cultivate a fear of the Lord in our hearts. Continue to pray and respond in your own words.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Is there a need in your family or someone you know? Commit the person to the Lord.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Collect

We end with the Ash Wednesday Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness, 
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness; 
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, 
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever. 
Amen.

The devotional is over. I leave you with this song written by a collective of songwriters from Singapore, with the title, Fear of the Lord. It is sung by Yumin Ooi and released by Awaken Generation Music.

Youtube link

The fear of the Lord is beginning to know
The eminent glory that holds us despite it all
Undone by the wonder & weight of His holiness
Yet I’m pulled in close to my Father’s arms

Chorus:
Let my delight be in the fear of the Lord
Captivate me in reverence and awe

Verse 2:
The fear of the Lord is more precious than gold
Sweeter than honey, You satisfy my soul
You’ve hidden Your Word and Your secrets within my heart
The Holy One a friend, now I can know

Bridge 1:
So I ask for Your wisdom I’ll lean in to listen
And open my heart to receive
To know what is pleasing
And know what is true
That I may see more of You

Bridge 2:
I’ll seek it like silver I’ll search it like treasure
Then I will know what it means
To know You as Father
And know You as Friend
Just like You’ve made it to be

Outro:
For how I could I depart
From the One that gave His all
You are the One my heart longs for
I will live in the fear of the Lord
It’s my delight to know You more

Link to today’s Morning Office