Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Morning Reading
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.—ZECH. 4:6.
Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.—Born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
My Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.—The battle is not yours, but God's.
The Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's.
Isa. 40:13.I Cor. 1:27-29.John 3:8. -John 1:13.Hag. 2:5. -II Chr. 20:15.I Sam. 17:47.
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“Renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10
A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s energy as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now as ever they were. Let thy personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make thee pray earnestly to thy God for help. Remember, David when he felt himself to be powerless, did not fold his arms or close his lips, but he hastened to the mercy-seat with “renew a right spirit within me.” Let not the doctrine that you, unaided, can do nothing, make you sleep; but let it be a goad in your side to drive you with an awful earnestness to Israel’s strong Helper. O that you may have grace to plead with God, as though you pleaded for your very life—“Lord, renew a right spirit within me.” He who sincerely prays to God to do this, will prove his honesty by using the means through which God works. Be much in prayer; live much upon the Word of God; kill the lusts which have driven your Lord from you; be careful to watch over the future uprisings of sin. The Lord has his own appointed ways; sit by the wayside and you will be ready when he passes by. Continue in all those blessed ordinances which will foster and nourish your dying graces; and, knowing that all the power must proceed from him, cease not to cry, “Renew a right spirit within me.”
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Jeremiah 38
38. Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern
Jeremiah in the Cistern
38
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people,2Thus says the Lord, Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live.3Thus says the Lord, This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.4Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”5King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you.”6So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
Jeremiah Is Rescued by Ebed-melech
7 Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate,8So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king,9“My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.”10Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.”11So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes.12Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so.13Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again
14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.”15Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”16So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.18But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.”19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them and they would abuse me.”20Jeremiah said, “That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.21But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me—22a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying,
‘Your trusted friends have seduced you
and have overcome you;
Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,
they desert you.’
23 All your wives and your children shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon; and this city shall be burned with fire.”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die.25If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you, and they should come and say to you, ‘Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?’26then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”27All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him; and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard.28And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
New Testament in Four Years - Matthew 8:14-17
8. Jesus as Healer
Jesus Heals Many at Peter’s House
14 When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever;15he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.16That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick.17This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
Psalm a Day - Psalm 90
90. Psalm 90
BOOK IV
(Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3
You turn us back to dust,
and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
4
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
5
You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7
For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9
For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.
10
The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11
Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
12
So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
13
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
14
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,
and as many years as we have seen evil.
16
Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!