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Daily Light's Evening Reading
Master, where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see.—JOHN 1:38,39.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.—To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.
Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
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.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.—How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
John 14:2,3. -Rev. 3:21.Isa. 57:15.Rev. 3:20.Matt. 28:20. -Psa. 36:7.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said ... Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods.”
Daniel 3:16, 18
The narrative of the manly courage and marvellous deliverance of the three holy children, or rather champions, is well calculated to excite in the minds of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death. Let young Christians especially learn from their example, both in matters of faith in religion, and matters of uprightness in business, never to sacrifice their consciences. Lose all rather than lose your integrity, and when all else is gone, still hold fast a clear conscience as the rarest jewel which can adorn the bosom of a mortal. Be not guided by the will-o’-the-wisp of policy, but by the pole-star of divine authority. Follow the right at all hazards. When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honour to trust him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle. See whether he will be your debtor! See if he doth not even in this life prove his word that “Godliness, with contentment, is great gain,” and that they who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, shall have all these things added unto them.” Should it happen that, in the providence of God, you are a loser by conscience, you shall find that if the Lord pays you not back in the silver of earthly prosperity, he will discharge his promise in the gold of spiritual joy. Remember that a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of that which he possesseth. To wear a guileless spirit, to have a heart void of offence, to have the favour and smile of God, is greater riches than the mines of Ophir could yield, or the traffic of Tyre could win. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and inward contention therewith.” An ounce of heart's-ease is worth a ton of gold.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Numbers 23
23. Balaam's Oracles
1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”2Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offerings while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height.
4 Then God met Balaam; and Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”5The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you must say.”6So he returned to Balak, who was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me;
Come, denounce Israel!’
8
How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?
9
For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the hills I behold him.
Here is a people living alone,
and not reckoning itself among the nations!
10
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the dust-cloud of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.”12He answered, “Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13 So Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only part of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.”14So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.15Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offerings, while I meet the Lord over there.”16The Lord met Balaam, put a word into his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.”17When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?”18Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, O son of Zippor:
19
God is not a human being, that he should lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20
See, I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
21
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
acclaimed as a king among them.
22
God, who brings them out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for them.
23
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘See what God has done!’
24
Look, a people rising up like a lioness,
and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.”26But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do’?”
27 So Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.29Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”30So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
New Testament in Four Years - 1 Corinthians 14:34-40
14. Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues
34women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says.35If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.36Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?)37 Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord.38Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized.39So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues;40but all things should be done decently and in order.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 126
126. Psalm 126
Psalm 126
A Harvest of Joy
A Song of Ascents.
1
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.