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Daily Light's Evening Reading
If so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.—JOSH. 14:12.
He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.—I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
Stand . . . having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.—The Lord is with thee, . . . Go in this thy might.
Heb. 13:5,6. -Psa. 71:16.Isa. 32:17.Eph. 6:14,12,13. -Judg. 6:12,14.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.”
John 17:24
O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous. But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus’ prevailing prayer—“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” It is that which bears them on eagle’s wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ’s prayer. A good old divine remarks, “Many times Jesus and his people pull against one another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and say ‘Father, I will that thy saints be with me where I am;’ Christ says, ‘Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.’” Thus the disciple is at cross-purposes with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now, which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if the King should step from his throne, and say, “Here are two supplicants praying in opposition to one another, which shall be answered?” Oh! I am sure, though it were agony, you would start from your feet, and say, “Jesus, not my will, but thine be done.” You would give up your prayer for your loved one’s life, if you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the opposite direction—“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” Lord, thou shalt have them. By faith we let them go.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Ezra 7
7. Ezra Comes to Jerusalem
The Coming and Work of Ezra
7
After this, in the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,2son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,3son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,4son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,5son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of the chief priest Aaron—6this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.
7 Some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.8They came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.9On the first day of the first month the journey up from Babylon was begun, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.10For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.
The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra
11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to the priest Ezra, the scribe, a scholar of the text of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel:12“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now13I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely offers to go to Jerusalem may go with you.14For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand,15and also to convey the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,16with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, given willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem.17With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.18Whatever seems good to you and your colleagues to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.19The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.20And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which you are responsible for providing, you may provide out of the king’s treasury.
21 “I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence,22up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and unlimited salt.23Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm of the king and his heirs.24We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
25 “And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God; and you shall teach those who do not know them.26All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment.”
27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem,28and who extended to me steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.
New Testament in Four Years - Hebrews 10:11-18
10. Christ's Sacrifice Once for All
11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.12But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,”13and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.”14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.15And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,”
17 he also adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 57
57. Psalm 57
Psalm 57
Praise and Assurance under Persecution
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
until the destroying storms pass by.
2
I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3
He will send from heaven and save me,
he will put to shame those who trample on me.Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
4
I lie down among lions
that greedily devour human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.
5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
6
They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
but they have fallen into it themselves.Selah
7
My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.
8
Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.
9
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10
For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the clouds.
11
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.