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Daily Light's Evening Reading
How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord! for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?—PSA. 13:1.
Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.—But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.
Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.—A woman . . . cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David! But he answered her not a word.
The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth.
Jas. 1:17. -Isa. 49:14,15.Isa. 44:21,22.John 11:5,6. -Matt. 15:22,23.I Pet 1:7.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:40
The spouse who fondly loves her absent husband longs for his return; a long protracted separation from her lord is a semi-death to her spirit: and so with souls who love the Saviour much, they must see his face, they cannot bear that he should be away upon the mountains of Bether, and no more hold communion with them. A reproaching glance, an uplifted finger will be grievous to loving children, who fear to offend their tender father, and are only happy in his smile. Beloved, it was so once with you. A text of Scripture, a threatening, a touch of the rod of affliction, and you went to your Father’s feet, crying, “Show me wherefore thou contendest with me?” Is it so now? Are you content to follow Jesus afar off? Can you contemplate suspended communion with Christ without alarm? Can you bear to have your Beloved walking contrary to you, because you walk contrary to him? Have your sins separated between you and your God, and is your heart at rest? O let me affectionately warn you, for it is a grievous thing when we can live contentedly without the present enjoyment of the Saviour’s face. Let us labour to feel what an evil thing this is—little love to our own dying Saviour, little joy in our precious Jesus, little fellowship with the Beloved! Hold a true Lent in your souls, while you sorrow over your hardness of heart. Do not stop at sorrow! Remember where you first received salvation. Go at once to the cross. There, and there only, can you get your spirit quickened. No matter how hard, how insensible, how dead we may have become, let us go again in all the rags and poverty, and defilement of our natural condition. Let us clasp that cross, let us look into those languid eyes, let us bathe in that fountain filled with blood—this will bring back to us our first love; this will restore the simplicity of our faith, and the tenderness of our heart.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Exodus 5
5. Bricks Without Straw
Bricks without Straw
5
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ”2But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”3Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.”4But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!”5Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!”6That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors,7“You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves.8But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’9Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.”
10 So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw.11Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.’ ”12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw.13The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.”14And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?”
15 Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you treat your servants like this?16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people.”17He said, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’18Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.”19The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.”20As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them.21They said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
22 Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me?23Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”
New Testament in Four Years - Romans 11:28-32
11. The Remnant of Israel
28 As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors;29for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.30Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,31so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.32For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 67
67. Psalm 67
Psalm 67
The Nations Called to Praise God
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,Selah
2
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.Selah
5
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.