Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
They constrained him, saying, Abide with us.—LUKE 24:29.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.—Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?—I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go.
Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.—I am come into my garden.—I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.—I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.—Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.—The world seeth me no more; but, ye see me.
Rev. 3:20. -Song 1:7. -Song 3:4.Song 4:16. -Song 5:1. -Isa. 45:19.Matt. 28:20. -Heb. 13:5. -Matt. 18:20. -John 14:19.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Luke 19:40
But could the stones cry out? Assuredly they could if he who opens the mouth of the dumb should bid them lift up their voice. Certainly if they were to speak, they would have much to testify in praise of him who created them by the word of his power; they could extol the wisdom and power of their Maker who called them into being. Shall not we speak well of him who made us anew, and out of stones raised up children unto Abraham? The old rocks could tell of chaos and order, and the handiwork of God in successive stages of creation’s drama; and cannot we talk of God’s decrees, of God’s great work in ancient times, in all that he did for his church in the days of old? If the stones were to speak, they could tell of their breaker, how he took them from the quarry, and made them fit for the temple, and cannot we tell of our glorious Breaker, who broke our hearts with the hammer of his word, that he might build us into his temple? If the stones should cry out they would magnify their builder, who polished them and fashioned them after the similitude of a palace; and shall not we talk of our Architect and Builder, who has put us in our place in the temple of the living God? If the stones could cry out, they might have a long, long story to tell by way of memorial, for many a time hath a great stone been rolled as a memorial before the Lord; and we too can testify of Ebenezers, stones of help, pillars of remembrance. The broken stones of the law cry out against us, but Christ himself, who has rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, speaks for us. Stones might well cry out, but we will not let them: we will hush their noise with ours; we will break forth into sacred song, and bless the majesty of the Most High, all our days glorifying him who is called by Jacob the Shepherd and Stone of Israel.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Ezra 8
8. Return to Jerusalem
Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra
8
These are their family heads, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of King Artaxerxes:2Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom. Of Ithamar, Daniel. Of David, Hattush,3of the descendants of Shecaniah. Of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered one hundred fifty males.4Of the descendants of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.5Of the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.6Of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.7Of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.8Of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him eighty males.9Of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred eighteen males.10Of the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred sixty males.11Of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males.12Of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred ten males.13Of the descendants of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males.14Of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them seventy males.
Servants for the Temple
15 I gathered them by the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the descendants of Levi.16Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise,17and sent them to Iddo, the leader at the place called Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his colleagues the temple servants at Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God.18Since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the descendants of Mahli son of Levi son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and kin, eighteen;19also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the descendants of Merari, with his kin and their sons, twenty;20besides two hundred twenty of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name.
Fasting and Prayer for Protection
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions.22For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him.23So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
Gifts for the Temple
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kin with them.25And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his lords, and all Israel there present had offered;26I weighed out into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver, and one hundred silver vessels worth . . . talents, and one hundred talents of gold,27twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine polished bronze as precious as gold.28And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors.29Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of families in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.”30So the priests and the Levites took over the silver, the gold, and the vessels as they were weighed out, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
The Return to Jerusalem
31 Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way.32We came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.33On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver, the gold, and the vessels were weighed into the hands of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.34The total was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.
35 At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats; all this was a burnt offering to the Lord.36They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River; and they supported the people and the house of God.
New Testament in Four Years - Hebrews 10:19-25
10. Christ's Sacrifice Once for All
A Call to Persevere
19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,20by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,22let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.23Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.24And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 58
58. Psalm 58
Psalm 58
Prayer for Vengeance
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.
1
Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge people fairly?
2
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
3
The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4
They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6
O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
8
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10
The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11
People will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”