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Daily Light's Evening Reading
Let us not be desirous of vain glory.—GAL. 5:26.
Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.—Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh.
Let nothing be done, through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.—Charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not pufied up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.
Judg. 8:24,25,27.Jer. 45:5. -II Cor. 12:7.Phi. 2:3. -I Cor. 13:4,5.Matt. 11:29.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Afterward.”
Hebrews 12:11
How happy are tried Christians, afterwards. No calm more deep than that which succeeds a storm. Who has not rejoiced in clear shinings after rain? Victorious banquets are for well-exercised soldiers. After killing the lion we eat the honey; after climbing the Hill Difficulty, we sit down in the arbour to rest; after traversing the Valley of Humiliation, after fighting with Apollyon, the shining one appears, with the healing branch from the tree of life. Our sorrows, like the passing keels of the vessels upon the sea, leave a silver line of holy light behind them “afterwards.” It is peace, sweet, deep peace, which follows the horrible turmoil which once reigned in our tormented, guilty souls. See, then, the happy estate of a Christian! He has his best things last, and he therefore in this world receives his worst things first. But even his worst things are “afterward” good things, harsh ploughings yielding joyful harvests. Even now he grows rich by his losses, he rises by his falls, he lives by dying, and becomes full by being emptied; if, then, his grievous afflictions yield him so much peaceable fruit in this life, what shall be the full vintage of joy “afterwards” in heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world’s days, what shall his days be? If even his starlight is more splendid than the sun, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a dungeon, how sweetly will he sing in heaven! If he can praise the Lord in the fires, how will he extol him before the eternal throne! If evil be good to him now, what will the overflowing goodness of God be to him then? Oh, blessed “afterward!” Who would not be a Christian? Who would not bear the present cross for the crown which cometh afterwards? But herein is work for patience, for the rest is not for today, nor the triumph for the present, but “afterward.” Wait, O soul, and let patience have her perfect work.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Isaiah 38
38. Hezekiah's Illness
Hezekiah’s Illness
38
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.”2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord:3“Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah:5“Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.6I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.
7 “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised:8See, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.
9 A writing of King Hezekiah of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10
I said: In the noontide of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
11
I said, I shall not see the Lord
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon mortals no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
12
My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;
13
I cry for help until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.
14
Like a swallow or a crane I clamor,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security!
15
But what can I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has fled
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16
O Lord, by these things people live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh, restore me to health and make me live!
17
Surely it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but you have held back my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18
For Sheol cannot thank you,
death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit cannot hope
for your faithfulness.
19
The living, the living, they thank you,
as I do this day;
fathers make known to children
your faithfulness.
20
The Lord will save me,
and we will sing to stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.
21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.”22Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
New Testament in Four Years - Titus 3:1-8
3. Doing What Is Good
Maintain Good Deeds
3
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,2to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone.3For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,5he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.6This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.8The saying is sure.
I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 106:16-33
106. Psalm 106
16
They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the faction of Abiram.
18
Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19
They made a calf at Horeb
and worshiped a cast image.
20
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21
They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23
Therefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24
Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
25
They grumbled in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27
and would disperse their descendants among the nations,
scattering them over the lands.
28
Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29
they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
and the plague was stopped.
31
And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.
32
They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account;
33
for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke words that were rash.