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Daily Light's Evening Reading
The tree of life.—GEN. 2:9.
God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.—He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.—As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.—In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom. Length of days is in her right hand. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.—Christ Jesus, . . . is made unto us wisdom.
I John 5:11. -John 3:16. -John 5:21,26.Rev. 2:7. -Rev. 22:2.Prov. 3:13,16,18. -I Cor. 1:30.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Sing, O barren.”
Isaiah 54:1
Though we have brought forth some fruit unto Christ, and have a joyful hope that we are “plants of his own right hand planting,” yet there are times when we feel very barren. Prayer is lifeless, love is cold, faith is weak, each grace in the garden of our heart languishes and droops. We are like flowers in the hot sun, requiring the refreshing shower. In such a condition what are we to do? The text is addressed to us in just such a state. “Sing, O barren, break forth and cry aloud.” But what can I sing about? I cannot talk about the present, and even the past looks full of barrenness. Ah! I can sing of Jesus Christ. I can talk of visits which the Redeemer has aforetimes paid to me; or if not of these, I can magnify the great love wherewith he loved his people when he came from the heights of heaven for their redemption. I will go to the cross again. Come, my soul, heavy laden thou wast once, and thou didst lose thy burden there. Go to Calvary again. Perhaps that very cross which gave thee life may give thee fruitfulness. What is my barrenness? It is the platform for his fruit-creating power. What is my desolation? It is the black setting for the sapphire of his everlasting love. I will go in poverty, I will go in helplessness, I will go in all my shame and backsliding, I will tell him that I am still his child, and in confidence in his faithful heart, even I, the barren one, will sing and cry aloud.
Sing, believer, for it will cheer thine own heart, and the hearts of other desolate ones. Sing on, for now that thou art really ashamed of being barren, thou wilt be fruitful soon; now that God makes thee loath to be without fruit he will soon cover thee with clusters. The experience of our barrenness is painful, but the Lord’s visitations are delightful. A sense of our own poverty drives us to Christ, and that is where we need to be, for in him is our fruit found.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Joshua 18
18. Rest of Land Divided
The Territories of the Remaining Tribes
18
Then the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.
2 There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned.3So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?4Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may begin to go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances. Then come back to me.5They shall divide it into seven portions, Judah continuing in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph in their territory on the north.6You shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.7The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage; and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”
8 So the men started on their way; and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go throughout the land and write a description of it, and come back to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”9So the men went and traversed the land and set down in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions; then they came back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh,10and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord; and there Joshua apportioned the land to the Israelites, to each a portion.
The Territory of Benjamin
11 The lot of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph.12On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then the boundary goes up to the slope of Jericho on the north, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven.13From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon.14Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a town belonging to the tribe of Judah. This forms the western side.15The southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim; and the boundary goes from there to Ephron, to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah;16then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the valley of Rephaim; and it then goes down the valley of Hinnom, south of the slope of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel;17then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; then it goes down to the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son;18and passing on to the north of the slope of Beth-arabah it goes down to the Arabah;19then the boundary passes on to the north of the slope of Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border.20The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, according to its families, boundary by boundary all around.
21 Now the towns of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,22Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,24Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns with their villages:25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,28Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families.
New Testament in Four Years - Galatians 2:6-10
2. Paul Opposes Peter
6And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those leaders contributed nothing to me.7On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised8(for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles),9and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.10They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.Psalm a Day - Psalm 37:1-40
37. Psalm 37
Psalm 37
Exhortation to Patience and Trust
Of David.
1
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
8
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12
The wicked plot against the righteous,
and gnash their teeth at them;
13
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.
14
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to kill those who walk uprightly;
15
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
16
Better is a little that the righteous person has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18
The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will abide forever;
19
they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20
But the wicked perish,
and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21
The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
22
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23
Our steps are made firm by the Lord,
when he delights in our way;
24
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
for the Lord holds us by the hand.
25
I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
and their children become a blessing.
27
Depart from evil, and do good;
so you shall abide forever.
28
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it forever.
30
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
31
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.
32
The wicked watch for the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
33
The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
34
Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
35
I have seen the wicked oppressing,
and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36
Again I passed by, and they were no more;
though I sought them, they could not be found.
37
Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
for there is posterity for the peaceable.
38
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
39
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.