Voice: Terry
Today is Tuesday, 25th of November. Let us gather our scattered thoughts and be still in His presence.
May Christ, the true, the only light
banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. Amen.
Psalms 52
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
2 Your tongue plots destruction,
like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5 But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous shall see and fear,
and shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “See the man who would not make
God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
and sought refuge in his own destruction!”[b]
8 But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
9 I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.
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.
Isaiah 17:7-11
7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
In That Day
The first part of the Book of Isaiah is not easy to reflect on, with its sharp tones of judgment and warning. Yet if we remain open to what the Spirit may say through these inspired texts, they can deeply encourage and steady us.
Today, we marvel at the ingenuity of humankind and the breathtaking advances of recent centuries. Even in the last few years, developments in AI, drones, EVs and medicine have been mind-boggling. The food and wine industry is ever innovating, offering levels of enjoyment that earlier generations could scarcely imagine. New financial technologies—crypto, stablecoins, and other instruments—promise new ways to invest and generate wealth.
With so much progress, it is easy for a person to ask, “Why do we even need God?” We have all these “gods” of our own making—things we can create, shape, marvel at, and in subtle ways, worship.
Engulfed in the present, we neither remember the past nor consider the future. We forget the God of our salvation. We no longer recall the Rock of our refuge. Our eyes are transfixed upon the Asherim and incense altars we have built with our own hands—for ourselves.
Covid-19 is already fading into a mere memory. We forget that financial markets have crashed many times before. Cities have been laid desolate. Harvests have failed. People have endured grief and incurable pain. This has happened repeatedly in human history—and it will happen again.
We forget that we are mortal.
“Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”
These sobering words from our Lord’s parable of the Rich Fool cut through our illusions of permanence.
And our Psalm reading today echoes the same truth:
Psalm 52:7
“See the man who would not make God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches…”
So let us pause, and regain our perspective. Do not be mesmerised by the world. What dazzles us today will soon fade away.
But the glory of God, and His steadfast love—these endure forever.
The Collect for the Day
Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Be blessed by this song, Wait upon the Lord
Come on, let’s wait upon the Lord
He will renew our strength
If we just wait upon the Lord
He will renew our strength
As we wait, wait on You
I can sing out a song
A song of expectation
A song of hope
That You will do all that You said
You would do through Your Son
You’re making all things new right now
Oh, You’re turning things around right now
Come on
Life and death is placed in our tongue
Speak life into the atmosphere right now
He’s working miracles
Oh, He’s healing the broken hearted
Right now as we wait
He’s making all things new
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 terrywong@anglican.org.sg
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