A New Dawn

The orange sky bled into purple and grey. Another sunrise. Another day.

Every morning the sun comes up whether we see it or whether it’s hidden behind the clouds.

Why does Lamentations say “His mercies are new every morning”?

Aren’t his mercies new all the time? Think of the refrain of Psalm 136. Each verse ends (in KJV and NKJV at least) with “For His mercy endures forever.”

As I was walking, I pondered this theme of “day.”

I don’t believe that God’s mercies stop at 11:59pm and then start over at midnight. (Especially because the day doesn’t start at midnight by Jewish reckoning.) So I believe there is a purpose for reminding us that His mercies are new daily.

There is a theme running throughout the Bible.

“And evening and morning were the first day” in Genesis.

“Give us this day our daily bread” Jesus teaches his disciples to pray.

I believe there are literal reasons that God mentioned that evening and morning were the first (and second, and third, etc) day in the creation account, but there is another application, in my opinion, that ties into the theme that has been on my mind the last few years.

The Daily Grind

That application would be about the importance of being faithful in the daily tasks of the here and now. There is nothing wrong with having grand plans — especially about doing things for the Lord. Nor is planning ahead to take care of your family a bad thing. That idea is also Biblical.

However, we cannot and should not overlook the power of obeying in the mundane tasks of life.

I know, I know, I hit this theme quite hard in my blogging.

It’s human nature, I think, to want to leave a legacy and be remembered for great things. Whether for the kingdom of God or for some great scientific or political achievement.

It’s much harder to be content with an unremarkable life. Even with a remarkable life, it is usually achieved through the daily faithfulness of little, seemingly insignificant decisions.

Being a Bean Counter

In modern parlance, we say we want to make our days count. And we should…count that is.

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
— Ps 90:12

What is wisdom, but applying our knowledge of God and His word in our daily actions and behaviors. Which could three of the wisdom books are focused on our human interactions with our neighbors (Proverbs), our work (Ecclesiastes, and even our spouse (Song of Solomon). The beauty of these books is less in our interaction with the Divine as in Job and Psalms, but with our earthly relationships.

The rest of that Psalm has a strong “day” theme, but I’ll just add the verses following.

Return, O Lord!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! (v. 13-14)

(Hey look, there’s that entwined idea of mercy being a daily blessing. It’s almost like all these passages has the same Author…)

Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands. (v. 15-17)

What better mercy could we have than that our daily, tedious, unremarkable, insignificant work that will have little value in this world is established by God the Father.

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
— Ps. 118:24