Meditate
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Daily Light's Evening Reading
He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.—PSA. 103:14.
The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?—In him we live, and move, and have our being.—Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
Gen. 2:7.Psa. 139:14-16.Mal. 2:10. -Acts 17:28. -Psa. 103:13.Psa. 78:38,39.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“He that loveth not knoweth not God.”
1 John 4:8
The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in the love of Christ, and the yielding of his affections to Christ in return. First, faith sets her seal upon the man by enabling the soul to say with the apostle, “Christ loved me and gave himself for me.” Then love gives the countersign, and stamps upon the heart gratitude and love to Jesus in return. “We love him because he first loved us.” In those grand old ages, which are the heroic period of the Christian religion, this double mark was clearly to be seen in all believers in Jesus; they were men who knew the love of Christ, and rested upon it as a man leaneth upon a staff whose trustiness he has tried. The love which they felt towards the Lord was not a quiet emotion which they hid within themselves in the secret chamber of their souls, and which they only spake of in their private assemblies when they met on the first day of the week, and sang hymns in honour of Christ Jesus the crucified, but it was a passion with them of such a vehement and all-consuming energy, that it was visible in all their actions, spoke in their common talk, and looked out of their eyes even in their commonest glances. Love to Jesus was a flame which fed upon the core and heart of their being; and, therefore, from its own force burned its way into the outer man, and shone there. Zeal for the glory of King Jesus was the seal and mark of all genuine Christians. Because of their dependence upon Christ’s love they dared much, and because of their love to Christ they did much, and it is the same now. The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love—the love of Christ constraineth them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Saviour with a pure heart, fervently. My reader, do you love him? Ere you sleep give an honest answer to a weighty question!
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Numbers 4
4. Levite Clans
The Kohathites
4
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:2Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,3from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of meeting.4The service of the Kohathites relating to the tent of meeting concerns the most holy things.
5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the covenant with it;6then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather, and spread over that a cloth all of blue, and shall put its poles in place.7Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular bread also shall be on it;8then they shall spread over them a crimson cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place.9They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied;10and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying frame.11Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place;12and they shall take all the utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame.13They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it;14and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of fine leather, and shall put its poles in place.15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry.
16 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:18You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites.19This is how you must deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden.20But the Kohathites must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment; otherwise they will die.
The Gershonites and Merarites
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:22Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral houses and by their clans;23from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, all who qualify to do work in the tent of meeting.24This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:25They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the outer covering of fine leather that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,26and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service; and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them.27All the service of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry, and in all that they have to do; and you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry.28This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites relating to the tent of meeting, and their responsibilities are to be under the oversight of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
29 As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses;30from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting.31This is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,32and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service; and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry.33This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
Census of the Levites
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation enrolled the Kohathites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,35from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting;36and their enrollment by clans was two thousand seven hundred fifty.37This was the enrollment of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
38 The enrollment of the Gershonites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,39from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting—40their enrollment by their clans and their ancestral houses was two thousand six hundred thirty.41This was the enrollment of the clans of the Gershonites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord.
42 The enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,43from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting—44their enrollment by their clans was three thousand two hundred.45This is the enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.
46 All those who were enrolled of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel enrolled, by their clans and their ancestral houses,47from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens relating to the tent of meeting,48their enrollment was eight thousand five hundred eighty.49According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were appointed to their several tasks of serving or carrying; thus they were enrolled by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
New Testament in Four Years - 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
10. Warnings From Israel's History
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.18Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?19What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?20No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.22Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Psalm a Day - Psalm 118:1-14
118. Psalm 118
Psalm 118
A Song of Victory
1
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
2
Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4
Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
6
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
7
The Lord is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put confidence in mortals.
9
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to put confidence in princes.
10
All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11
They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12
They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed like a fire of thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.