Daily Lesson for January 8, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalms 118:

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; * his mercy endures for ever. 4 Let those who fear the Lord now proclaim, * "His mercy endures for ever." 5 I called to the Lord in my distress; * the Lord answered by setting me free. 10 All the ungodly encompass me; * in the name of the Lord I will repel them. 11 They hem me in, they hem me in on every side; * in the name of the Lord I will repel them. 12 They swarm about me like bees; they blaze like a fire of thorns; * in the name of the Lord I will repel them. 13 I was pressed so hard that I almost fell, * but the Lord came to my help. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song, * and he has become my salvation.

The seat of American democracy was attacked this week, and it was a sad and scary thing. A life was lost, blood was shed, fear and dread gripped us all. Who knows how far it could have gone, had not Congress escaped?

Yet Congress did escape. And for that we give thanks.

A democracy is a fragile thing. Democracies can rise and fall. And American democracy is no exception.

Wednesday was a warning, and should be a wakeup call for us all. The institutions which protect and preserve this Union have been imperiled. They were attacked -- and are still under attack by enemies both domestic and foreign.

But thus far they have been preserved. And it is not inappropriate that we give thanks for that. Indeed, it is appropriate that we give thanks that on Wednesday democracy prevailed.

We still have many a trial to get through. And a transfer of power will not bring the end of all our travails. The future will not be easy.

Nevertheless, for today we can thank God the statue of Freedom is still standing on the Capitol dome. We can thank God and pray also these hallowed words:

"God bless America, land that I love

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with the light from above."

Rev. Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth.