Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.—PSA. 141:3.
If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?—They provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
A whisperer separateth chief friends.—There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.—The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Put off . . . anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.—This is the will of God, even your sanctification.—In their mouth was found no guile.
Psa. 130:3. -Psa. 106:33.Matt. 15:11.Prov. 16:28. -Prov. 12:18,19. -Jas. 3:8,10.Col. 3:8,9. -I Thes. 4:3. -Rev. 14:5.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“And God saw the light.”
Genesis 1:4
This morning we noticed the goodness of the light, and the Lord’s dividing it from the darkness, we now note the special eye which the Lord had for the light. “God saw the light”—he looked at it with complacency, gazed upon it with pleasure, saw that it “was good.” If the Lord has given you light, dear reader, he looks on that light with peculiar interest; for not only is it dear to him as his own handiwork, but because it is like himself, for “He is light.” Pleasant it is to the believer to know that God’s eye is thus tenderly observant of that work of grace which he has begun. He never loses sight of the treasure which he has placed in our earthen vessels. Sometimes we cannot see the light, but God always sees the light, and that is much better than our seeing it. Better for the judge to see my innocence than for me to think I see it. It is very comfortable for me to know that I am one of God’s people—but whether I know it or not, if the Lord knows it, I am still safe. This is the foundation, “The Lord knoweth them that are his.” You may be sighing and groaning because of inbred sin, and mourning over your darkness, yet the Lord sees “light” in your heart, for he has put it there, and all the cloudiness and gloom of your soul cannot conceal your light from his gracious eye. You may have sunk low in despondency, and even despair; but if your soul has any longing towards Christ, and if you are seeking to rest in his finished work, God sees the “light.” He not only sees it, but he also preserves it in you. “I, the Lord, do keep it.” This is a precious thought to those who, after anxious watching and guarding of themselves, feel their own powerlessness to do so. The light thus preserved by his grace, he will one day develop into the splendour of noonday, and the fulness of glory. The light within is the dawn of the eternal day.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Micah 6
6. The Lord's Case Against Israel
God Challenges Israel
6
Hear what the Lord says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2
Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth;
for the Lord has a controversy with his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3
“O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
4
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of slavery;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5
O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”
What God Requires
6
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Cheating and Violence to Be Punished
9
The voice of the Lord cries to the city
(it is sound wisdom to fear your name):
Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city!
10
Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11
Can I tolerate wicked scales
and a bag of dishonest weights?
12
Your wealthy are full of violence;
your inhabitants speak lies,
with tongues of deceit in their mouths.
13
Therefore I have begun to strike you down,
making you desolate because of your sins.
14
You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be a gnawing hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not save,
and what you save, I will hand over to the sword.
15
You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16
For you have kept the statutes of Omri
and all the works of the house of Ahab,
and you have followed their counsels.
Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of hissing;
so you shall bear the scorn of my people.
New Testament in Four Years - Acts 24:17-23
24. Trial Before Felix
17Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices.18While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance.19But there were some Jews from Asia—they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me.20Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council,21unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, ‘It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’ ”22 But Felix, who was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”23Then he ordered the centurion to keep him in custody, but to let him have some liberty and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 138
138. Psalm 138
Psalm 138
Thanksgiving and Praise
Of David.
1
I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
2
I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.
3
On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul.
4
All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
but the haughty he perceives from far away.
7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.
8
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.