Daily Bible Notes: April, 4th
The following daily bible notes for every day of the year, are taken from six public domain sources:
- "Morning and Evening" by Charles H.Spurgeon
- "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by John H.Jowett
- "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
- "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by Charles H.Spurgeon
- "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan
- An Evening Meditation from "Searchlights from the Word" by G. Campbell Morgan
1. "Morning and Evening" by C.H.Spurgeon
Morning
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Mourning Christian! why weepest thou? Art thou mourning over thine own corruptions? Look to thy perfect Lord, and remember, thou art complete in Him; thou art in God’s sight as perfect as if thou hadst never sinned; nay, more than that, the Lord our Righteousness hath put a divine garment upon thee, so that thou hast more than the righteousness of man - thou hast the righteousness of God. O Thou who art mourning by reason of inbred sin and depravity, remember, none of thy sins can condemn thee. Thou hast learned to hate sin; but thou hast learned also to know that sin is not thine - it was laid upon Christ’s head. Thy standing is not in thyself - it is in Christ; thine acceptance is not in thyself, but in thy Lord; thou art as much accepted of God to-day, with all thy sinfulness, as thou wilt be when thou standest before His throne, free from all corruption. O, I beseech thee, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in Christ ! For thou art "complete in Him." With thy Saviour’s garment on, thou art holy as the Holy one. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Christian, let thy heart rejoice, for thou art "accepted in the beloved" - what hast thou to fear?
Let thy face ever wear a smile; live near thy Master; live in the suburbs of the Celestial City; for soon, when thy time has come, thou shalt rise up where thy Jesus sits, and reign at His right hand; and all this because the divine Lord "was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
Evening
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
Isaiah 2:3
It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful, desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these thorns and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a harvest; and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down than communion with God and the things of the kingdom? In the valleys of Switzerland many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly appearance, for the atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and stagnant; but up yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe the clear fresh air as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the hills. It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening. May the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to mount! We sit too often like chained eagles fastened to the rock, only that, unlike the eagle, we begin to love our chain, and would, perhaps, if it came really to the test, be loath to have it snapped. May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant, at the foot of the hill, may our soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the mountain, there to indulge in communion with the Most High.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Matthew 28:1-15
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
2 Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
4 For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.
5 The angel answered the women, "Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
7 Go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you."
8 They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
9 As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" They came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me."
11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.
12 When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,
13 saying, "Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14 If this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry."
15 So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad amongst the Jews, and continues until today.
THE RESURRECTION MORNING
Let me reverently mark the happenings of this most wonderful morn. "It began to dawn." Yes, that was the first significance of the resurrection. It was a new day for the world. Everything was to be seen in a new light. Everything was to wear a new face - God, and heaven, and life, and duty, and death! "All things are become new."
"And there was a great earthquake." Yes, and this was significant of the tremendous upheaval implied in the resurrection. The kingdom of the devil was upheaved from its foundations. All the boasted pomp of his showy empire was turned upside down. "I beheld Satan falling!"
"And the angel rolled away the stone." And that, too, is significant of the resurrection. The awful barrier was rolled away, and the grave became a thoroughfare! "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."
And there was "fear and great joy." And mingled awe and gladness, a reverential delight.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
April 4th.
My Father, light up the small duties of this day's life. May they shine with the beauty of Thy countenance! May I believe
that glory may dwell in the commonest task!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before thee.
Exodus 23:28
What the hornets were we need not consider. They were God's own army, which he sent before his people to sting their enemies, and render Israel's conquest easy. Our God by his own chosen means will fight for his people, and gall their foes, before they come into the actual battle. Often he confounds the adversaries of truth by methods in which reformers themselves have no hand. The air is full of mysterious influences which harass Israel's foes. We read in the Apocalypse that "the earth helped the woman."
Let us never fear. The stars in their courses fight against the enemies of our souls. Oftentimes when we march to the conflict we find no host to contend with. "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." God's hornets can do more than our weapons. We could never dream of the victory being won by such means as Jehovah will use. We must obey our marching orders and go forth to the conquest of the nations for Jesus, and we shall find that the Lord has gone before us, and prepared the way; so that in the end we shall joyfully confess, "His own right hand, and his holy arm, have gotten him the victory."
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Abide in me.
John 15:4
We carry our atmosphere with us if we abide in Christ by the indwelling Spirit, and so rare and sunlit is it that all the somberness of the season does but create background for its revelation.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
They took knowledge of them, that they, had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
That is to say that they were witnessing in the true sense of the word. Not only were they talking about Him, they were doing it in such a way as to make those who heard them think of the Lord. That is the whole point of this statement. The rulers and elders and scribes before whom Peter and John were arraigned had known Jesus. Among their number were undoubtedly some who had been amazed as they had listened to Him, their amazement having been caused by the fact that, as they said, He had "the letters, never having learned." In these two men they discovered the same reason for astonishment. They were unlearned and ignorant men, yet they employed "boldness of speech." They were speaking about Him but what they said was characterized by the notes of certainty, authority, and power, just as had been the case with their Lord. It was this very fact which impressed the rulers. We often ask, in a hymn, that we may speak in living echoes of His tone. That is more than to say true things. It is so to say them, that they carry the authority of Christ. That is title witness, and the secret is given in an earlier verse: "Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit" (verse 8). It is only by such filling that our witness gains that authentic note which carries men through us to the Lord.
Note: To the best of our knowledge we are of the understanding that the above material, all published before 1926 and freely available elsewhere on the internet in various formats, is in the public domain.