Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Evening Reading
My kingdom is not of this world.—JOHN 18:36.
This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies may be made his footstool.—Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.—He raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.—He shall shew who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Heb. 10:12,13. -Matt. 26:64.I Cor. 15:25.I Cor. 15:57. -Eph. 1:20-23. -I Tim. 6:15.
Spurgeon's Evening Reading
“Get thee up into the high mountain.”
Isaiah 40:9
Each believer should be thirsting for God, for the living God, and longing to climb the hill of the Lord, and see him face to face. We ought not to rest content in the mists of the valley when the summit of Tabor awaits us. My soul thirsteth to drink deep of the cup which is reserved for those who reach the mountain’s brow, and bathe their brows in heaven. How pure are the dews of the hills, how fresh is the mountain air, how rich the fare of the dwellers aloft, whose windows look into the New Jerusalem! Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines, who see not the sun; they eat dust like the serpent when they might taste the ambrosial meat of angels; they are content to wear the miner’s garb when they might put on king’s robes; tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. Satisfied I am that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof, and view the goodly land and Lebanon. Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition! Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ, thy soul’s Husband. Make him the source, the centre, and the circumference of all thy soul’s range of delight. What enchants thee into such folly as to remain in a pit when thou mayst sit on a throne? Live not in the lowlands of bondage now that mountain liberty is conferred upon thee. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments, but press forward to things more sublime and heavenly. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven! Nearer to God!
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“When wilt thou come unto me, Lord? Oh come, my Lord most dear! Come near, come nearer, nearer still, I'm blest when thou art near.” |
Old Testament Chapter a Day - 1 Kings 1
1. David Makes Solomon King
The Struggle for the Succession
1
King David was old and advanced in years; and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.2So his servants said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king, and be his attendant; let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may be warm.”3So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.4The girl was very beautiful. She became the king’s attendant and served him, but the king did not know her sexually.
5 Now Adonijah son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.6His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.7He conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with the priest Abiathar, and they supported Adonijah.8But the priest Zadok, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the prophet Nathan, and Shimei, and Rei, and David’s own warriors did not side with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatted cattle by the stone Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah,10but he did not invite the prophet Nathan or Benaiah or the warriors or his brother Solomon.
11 Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it?12Now therefore come, let me give you advice, so that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.13Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne? Why then is Adonijah king?’14Then while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15 So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.16Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, “What do you wish?”17She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.18But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though you, my lord the king, do not know it.19He has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the children of the king, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army; but your servant Solomon he has not invited.20But you, my lord the king—the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.21Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, that my son Solomon and I will be counted offenders.”
22 While she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan came in.23The king was told, “Here is the prophet Nathan.” When he came in before the king, he did obeisance to the king, with his face to the ground.24Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne’?25For today he has gone down and has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s children, Joab the commander of the army, and the priest Abiathar, who are now eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’26But he did not invite me, your servant, and the priest Zadok, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.27Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not let your servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
The Accession of Solomon
28 King David answered, “Summon Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king.29The king swore, saying, “As the Lord lives, who has saved my life from every adversity,30as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so will I do this day.”31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
32 King David said, “Summon to me the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king,33the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.34There let the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’35You shall go up following him. Let him enter and sit on my throne; he shall be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.”36Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so ordain.37As the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
38 So the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon.39There the priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”40And all the people went up following him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth quaked at their noise.
41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the city in an uproar?”42While he was still speaking, Jonathan son of the priest Abiathar arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and surely you bring good news.”43Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king;44the king has sent with him the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they had him ride on the king’s mule;45the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you heard.46Solomon now sits on the royal throne.47Moreover the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ The king bowed in worship on the bed48and went on to pray thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne and permitted me to witness it.’ ”
49 Then all the guests of Adonijah got up trembling and went their own ways.50Adonijah, fearing Solomon, got up and went to grasp the horns of the altar.51Solomon was informed, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; see, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’ ”52So Solomon responded, “If he proves to be a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”53Then King Solomon sent to have him brought down from the altar. He came to do obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go home.”
New Testament in Four Years - Colossians 2:20-23
2. Freedom Through Life in Christ
Warnings against False Teachers
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations,21“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”?22All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings.23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 107:33-43
107. Psalm 107
33
He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36
And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
38
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39
When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41
but he raises up the needy out of distress,
and makes their families like flocks.
42
The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.