Voice: Li Huan
Today is Monday, 29th of September. Take a moment to be still in His presence.
We pray:
Almighty and everlasting Father,
we thank you that you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger;
order us in all our doings;
and guide us to do always what is right in your eyes:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 34:8-18
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
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.
Broken and crushed?
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
Have you ever had your heart broken? Have you ever felt your spirit crushed under the weight of sorrow or loss? Or perhaps, as an observer, you’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer suffering that some people must endure.
Think of families in Ukraine, Myanmar, or Gaza—places where daily life is marked by violence and uncertainty. Whatever our political or spiritual convictions may be, we cannot deny that countless men, women, and children are experiencing unspeakable pain.
Even here in safe and comfortable Singapore, you may know someone who is carrying a heavy burden of brokenness. Sometimes their pain runs so deep that, as a friend, you struggle to find the right words to bring comfort.
Yet, Scripture assures us that the Lord is close to such sufferers. He draws near to the brokenhearted and those crushed in spirit. As Paul writes in Romans 8:26, even when we do not know what to pray, the Spirit Himself intercedes with groans too deep for words. When God seems far, He is in fact near.
David once cried in Psalm 56:8:
“You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?”
Every tear is noticed. Every sorrow is remembered. None of our pain is wasted.
And then, we are given this breathtaking promise in Revelation 21:4:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
What an intimate picture—God Himself, stooping down to gently wipe every tear from our eyes. I like to think that is other hand is holding us close to Him. Some may be sobbing on His chest.
The brokenness of this present age will not last forever. A day is coming when sorrow will be no more.
We join in this Prayer of Clement of Rome from the first century:
We beseech you, Master, to be our helper and protector.
Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly; raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly; restore the wanderers of thy people; feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted. Amen.
In closing, be blessed by this song, Come Lift up our Sorrows, by Michael Card.
If you are wounded,
if you are alone,
If you are angry,
if your heart is cold as stone,
If you have fallen
And if you are weak,
Come find the worth of God
That only the suffering seek.
Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain;
Come make a sacrifice
Of all your shame;
There in your wilderness
He’s waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds,
For He’s wounded too.
He has not stuttered,
and He has not lied
When He said, “Come unto me,
you’re not disqualified”
When you’re heavy laden,
you may want to depart,
But those who know sorrow They’re closest to His heart.
Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain;
Come make a sacrifice
Of all your shame;
There in your wilderness
He’s waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds,
For He’s wounded too.
(bridge) In this most Holy Place
He’s made a sacred space
For those who will enter in
And trust to cry out to Him;
You’ll find no curtain there,
No reason left for fear;
There’s perfect freedom here
To weep every unwept tear.
Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain;
Come make a sacrifice
Of all your shame;
There in your wilderness
He’s waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds,
For He’s wounded too.
Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain;
Come make a sacrifice
Of all your shame;
There in your wilderness
He’s waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds,
For He’s wounded too.
To worship Him with your wounds,
For He’s wounded too.
Come worship Him with your wounds,
For He’s wounded too.
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at info@mpcc.org.sg
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