Meditate
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Daily Light's Evening Reading
God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.—ECCL. 5:2.
When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
They . . . called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us.
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.
Lord, teach us to pray.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Ah Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.”
Jeremiah 32:17
At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword, famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed. This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person purchasing could ever enjoy the possession. But it was enough for Jeremiah that his God had bidden him, for well he knew that God will be justified of all his children. He reasoned thus: “Ah, Lord God! thou canst make this plot of ground of use to me; thou canst rid this land of these oppressors; thou canst make me yet sit under my vine and my fig-tree in the heritage which I have bought; for thou didst make the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” This gave a majesty to the early saints, that they dared to do at God’s command things which carnal reason would condemn. Whether it be a Noah who is to build a ship on dry land, an Abraham who is to offer up his only son, or a Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt, or a Joshua who is to besiege Jericho seven days, using no weapons but the blasts of rams’ horns, they all act upon God’s command, contrary to the dictates of carnal reason; and the Lord gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith. Would to God we had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic faith in God. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers. Let Jeremiah’s place of confidence be ours—nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens and the earth.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Numbers 29
29. Feasts
Offerings at the Festival of Trumpets
29
On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets,2and you shall offer a burnt offering, a pleasing odor to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish.3Their grain offering shall be of choice flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of one ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,4and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;5with one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.6These are in addition to the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to the ordinance for them, a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord.
Offerings on the Day of Atonement
7 On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and deny yourselves; you shall do no work.8You shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing odor: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old. They shall be without blemish.9Their grain offering shall be of choice flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram,10one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;11with one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
Offerings at the Festival of Booths
12 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. You shall celebrate a festival to the Lord seven days.13You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old. They shall be without blemish.14Their grain offering shall be of choice flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams,15and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs;16also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.
17 On the second day: twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,18with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;19also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20 On the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,21with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;22also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
23 On the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,24with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;25also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.
26 On the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,27with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;28also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
29 On the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,30with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;31also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.
32 On the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,33with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;34also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
35 On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.36You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish,37and the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, as prescribed in accordance with their number;38also one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
39 These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed festivals, in addition to your votive offerings and your freewill offerings, as your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and your offerings of well-being.
40 So Moses told the Israelites everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
New Testament in Four Years - 1 Corinthians 15:35-44
15. Resurrection of Christ and the Dead
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”36Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.37And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.38But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.39Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.40There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another.41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.44It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 132
132. Psalm 132
Psalm 132
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
1
O Lord, remember in David’s favor
all the hardships he endured;
2
how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3
“I will not enter my house
or get into my bed;
4
I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5
until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6
We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7
“Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool.”
8
Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your faithful shout for joy.
10
For your servant David’s sake
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11
The Lord swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.
12
If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, forevermore,
shall sit on your throne.”
13
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation:
14
“This is my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
17
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
but on him, his crown will gleam.”