Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Morning Reading
They shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.—NUM. 6:27.
O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.—We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
All people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.—The Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.—Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God?—The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Isa. 26:13. -Isa. 63:19.Deut. 28:10. -I Sam. 12:22.Dan. 9:19. -Psa. 79:9,10. -Prov. 18:10.
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.”
Psalm 33:13
Perhaps no figure of speech represents God in a more gracious light than when he is spoken of as stooping from his throne, and coming down from heaven to attend to the wants and to behold the woes of mankind. We love him, who, when Sodom and Gomorrah were full of iniquity, would not destroy those cities until he had made a personal visitation of them. We cannot help pouring out our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines his ear from the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner, whose failing heart longs after reconciliation. How can we but love him when we know that he numbers the very hairs of our heads, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is this great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive he is, not merely to the temporal interests of his creatures, but to their spiritual concerns. Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When a tear is wept by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper can incline his ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay his hand; thy faith can move his arm. Think not that God sits on high taking no account of thee. Remember that however poor and needy thou art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.
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Oh! then repeat the truth that never tires; No God is like the God my soul desires; He at whose voice heaven trembles, even he, Great as he is, knows how to stoop to me. |
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Ezekiel 48
48. The Division of the Land
The Tribal Portions
48
These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern border, on the Hethlon road, from Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enon (which is on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion.2Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion.3Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion.4Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion.5Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.6Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion.7Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.
8 Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion that you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the middle of it.9The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and twenty thousand in width.10These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring twenty-five thousand cubits on the northern side, ten thousand cubits in width on the western side, ten thousand in width on the eastern side, and twenty-five thousand in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the middle of it.11This shall be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did.12It shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites.13Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The whole length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width twenty thousand.14They shall not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not transfer this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.
15 The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the middle of it shall be the city;16and these shall be its dimensions: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred.17The city shall have open land: on the north two hundred fifty cubits, on the south two hundred fifty, on the east two hundred fifty, on the west two hundred fifty.18The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits to the east, and ten thousand to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.19The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.20The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be twenty-five thousand cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.
21 What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in the middle of it,22and the property of the Levites and of the city, shall be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.
23 As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion.24Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion.25Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion.26Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion.27Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion.28And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, from there along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea.29This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, says the Lord God.
30 These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure,31three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel.32On the east side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.33On the south side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.34On the west side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.35The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is There.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 68:1-18
68. Psalm 68
Psalm 68
Praise and Thanksgiving
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
1
Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3
But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
4
Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.
5
Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.
7
O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,Selah
8
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
11
The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of those who bore the tidings:
12
“The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil,
13
though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
14
When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.
15
O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the Lord will reside forever?
17
With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18
You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.