Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
After this manner . . . pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven.—MATT. 6:9.
Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father.—My Father, and your Father.
Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.—Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
John 17:1. -John 20:17.Gal. 3:26. -Rom. 8:15,16.Gal. 4:6,7.John 16:23,24.II Cor. 6:17,18.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.”
Jeremiah 15:21
Note the glorious personality of the promise. I will, I will. The Lord Jehovah himself interposes to deliver and redeem his people. He pledges himself personally to rescue them. His own arm shall do it, that he may have the glory. Here is not a word said of any effort of our own which may be needed to assist the Lord. Neither our strength nor our weakness is taken into the account, but the lone I, like the sun in the heavens, shines out resplendent in all-sufficience. Why then do we calculate our forces, and consult with flesh and blood to our grievous wounding? Jehovah has power enough without borrowing from our puny arm. Peace, ye unbelieving thoughts, be still, and know that the Lord reigneth. Nor is there a hint concerning secondary means and causes. The Lord says nothing of friends and helpers: he undertakes the work alone, and feels no need of human arms to aid him. Vain are all our lookings around to companions and relatives; they are broken reeds if we lean upon them—often unwilling when able, and unable when they are willing. Since the promise comes alone from God, it would be well to wait only upon him; and when we do so, our expectation never fails us. Who are the wicked that we should fear them? The Lord will utterly consume them; they are to be pitied rather than feared. As for terrible ones, they are only terrors to those who have no God to fly to, for when the Lord is on our side, whom shall we fear? If we run into sin to please the wicked, we have cause to be alarmed, but if we hold fast our integrity, the rage of tyrants shall be overruled for our good. When the fish swallowed Jonah, he found him a morsel which he could not digest; and when the world devours the church, it is glad to be rid of it again. In all times of fiery trial, in patience let us possess our souls.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - 1 Samuel 12
12. Samuel's Farewell
Samuel’s Farewell Address
12
Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over you.2See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day.3Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”4They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone.”5He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”
6 Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt.7Now therefore take your stand, so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord, and I will declare to you all the saving deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your ancestors.8When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your ancestors cried to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your ancestors out of Egypt, and settled them in this place.9But they forgot the Lord their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of King Jabin of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.10Then they cried to the Lord, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’11And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samson, and rescued you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.12But when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ though the Lord your God was your king.13See, here is the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; see, the Lord has set a king over you.14If you will fear the Lord and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well;15but if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.16Now therefore take your stand and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.17Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves.”18So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves.”20And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;21and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save, for they are useless.22For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.23Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.24Only fear the Lord, and serve him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.25But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
Psalm a Day - Psalm 76
76. Psalm 76
Psalm 76
Israel’s God—Judge of All the Earth
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1
In Judah God is known,
his name is great in Israel.
2
His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
3
There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.Selah
4
Glorious are you, more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.
5
The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.
6
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7
But you indeed are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8
From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still
9
when God rose up to establish judgment,
to save all the oppressed of the earth.Selah
10
Human wrath serves only to praise you,
when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11
Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,
12
who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.