Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
God hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.—I THES. 2:12.
My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, . . . but now is my kingdom not from hence.—Expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.—Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.—I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; . . . and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.—Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.—Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Thy kingdom come.
John 18:36. -Heb. 10:13.Rev. 11:15. -Rev. 5:10. -Rev. 20:4. -Matt. 13:43. -Luke 12:32.Luke 22:29,30.Matt. 6:10.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.”
Luke 10:21
The Saviour was “a man of sorrows,” but every thoughtful mind has discovered the fact that down deep in his innermost soul he carried an inexhaustible treasury of refined and heavenly joy. Of all the human race, there was never a man who had a deeper, purer, or more abiding peace than our Lord Jesus Christ. “He was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows.” His vast benevolence must, from the very nature of things, have afforded him the deepest possible delight, for benevolence is joy. There were a few remarkable seasons when this joy manifested itself. “At that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” Christ had his songs, though it was night with him; though his face was marred, and his countenance had lost the lustre of earthly happiness, yet sometimes it was lit up with a matchless splendour of unparalleled satisfaction, as he thought upon the recompense of the reward, and in the midst of the congregation sang his praise unto God. In this, the Lord Jesus is a blessed picture of his church on earth. At this hour the church expects to walk in sympathy with her Lord along a thorny road; through much tribulation she is forcing her way to the crown. To bear the cross is her office, and to be scorned and counted an alien by her mother’s children is her lot; and yet the church has a deep well of joy, of which none can drink but her own children. There are stores of wine, and oil, and corn, hidden in the midst of our Jerusalem, upon which the saints of God are evermore sustained and nurtured; and sometimes, as in our Saviour’s case, we have our seasons of intense delight, for “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God.” Exiles though we be, we rejoice in our King; yea, in him we exceedingly rejoice, while in his name we set up our banners.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Genesis 49
49. Jacob Blesses His Sons
Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
49
Then Jacob called his sons, and said: “Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2
Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel your father.
3
Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the first fruits of my vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in power.
4
Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel
because you went up onto your father’s bed;
then you defiled it—you went up onto my couch!
5
Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.
6
May I never come into their council;
may I not be joined to their company—
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.
7
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel.
8
Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
9
Judah is a lion’s whelp;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion,
like a lioness—who dares rouse him up?
10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and the obedience of the peoples is his.
11
Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine
and his robe in the blood of grapes;
12
his eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13
Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea;
he shall be a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14
Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the sheepfolds;
15
he saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to the burden,
and became a slave at forced labor.
16
Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17
Dan shall be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider falls backward.
18
I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19
Gad shall be raided by raiders,
but he shall raid at their heels.
20
Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall provide royal delicacies.
21
Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears lovely fawns.
22
Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.
23
The archers fiercely attacked him;
they shot at him and pressed him hard.
24
Yet his bow remained taut,
and his arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25
by the God of your father, who will help you,
by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26
The blessings of your father
are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains,
the bounties of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey,
and at evening dividing the spoil.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 Then he charged them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors—in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,30in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—32the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”33When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
New Testament in Four Years - Romans 11:1-6
11. The Remnant of Israel
Israel’s Rejection Is Not Final
11
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?3“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.”4But what is the divine reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”5So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 61
61. Psalm 61
Psalm 61
Assurance of God’s Protection
To the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.
1
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I;
3
for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me abide in your tent forever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings.Selah
5
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6
Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7
May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8
So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.