Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Morning Reading
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.—LAM. 3:26.
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?—I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.—Wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.—Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
Let us not be weary in well doing: . . . in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.—Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Psa. 77:9. –Psa.31:22.Luke 18:7,8. -Prov. 20:22. -Psa. 37:7.II Chr. 20:17.Gal. 6:9. -Jas. 5:7.
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“I will praise thee, O Lord.”
Psalm 9:1
Praise should always follow answered prayer; as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Hath the Lord been gracious to thee, and inclined his ear to the voice of thy supplication? Then praise him as long as thou livest. Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life. Deny not a song to him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the desire of thy heart. To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude; it is to act as basely as the nine lepers, who after they had been cured of their leprosy, returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord. To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer, and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service. To bless God for mercies received is also the way to benefit our fellow-men; “the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.” Others who have been in like circumstances shall take comfort if we can say, “Oh! magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together; this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.” Weak hearts will be strengthened, and drooping saints will be revived as they listen to our “songs of deliverance.” Their doubts and fears will be rebuked, as we teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. They too shall “sing in the ways of the Lord,” when they hear us magnify his holy name. Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties. The angels pray not, but they cease not to praise both day and night; and the redeemed, clothed in white robes, with palm-branches in their hands, are never weary of singing the new song, “Worthy is the Lamb.”
Old Testament Chapter a Day - 2 Samuel 1
1. David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan
David Mourns for Saul and Jonathan
1
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.2On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance.3David said to him, “Where have you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”4David said to him, “How did things go? Tell me!” He answered, “The army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died.”5Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?”6The young man reporting to him said, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him.7When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Here sir.’8And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’9He said to me, ‘Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’10So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same.12They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.13David said to the young man who had reported to him, “Where do you come from?” He answered, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.”14David said to him, “Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”15Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come here and strike him down.” So he struck him down and he died.16David said to him, “Your blood be on your head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”
17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.18(He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
19
Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20
Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.
21
You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.
22
From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.
23
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,
who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25
How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
26
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.
27
How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!
New Testament in Four Years - Philippians 2:12-13
2. Imitating Christ's Humility
Shining as Lights in the World
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 91
91. Psalm 91
Psalm 91
Assurance of God’s Protection
1
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2
will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
3
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8
You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9
Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling place,
10
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14
Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
15
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
16
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.