Daily Bible Notes: April, 10th
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
The place which is called Calvary.
Luke 23:33
The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock - riven by the spear which pierced His side. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary’s tragedy. "Is it not strange, the darkest hour That ever dawned on sinful earth, Should touch the heart with softer power, For comfort, than an angel’s mirth?
That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn, Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?"
Light springs from the midday-midnight of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. In that place of thirst, grace hath dug a fountain which ever gusheth with waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of mankind. You who have had your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you. The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich. We never should have known Christ’s love in all its heights and depths if He had not died; nor could we guess the Father’s deep affection if He had not given His Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die.
Evening
For there stood by me this night the angel of God.
Acts 27:23
Tempest and long darkness, coupled with imminent risk of shipwreck, had brought the crew of the vessel into a sad case; one man alone among them remained perfectly calm, and by his word the rest were reassured. Paul was the only man who had heart enough to say, "Sirs, be of good cheer."
There were veteran Roman legionaries on board, and brave old mariners, and yet their poor Jewish prisoner had more spirit than they all. He had a secret Friend who kept his courage up. The Lord Jesus despatched a heavenly messenger to whisper words of consolation in the ear of His faithful servant, therefore he wore a shining countenance and spake like a man at ease.
If we fear the Lord, we may look for timely interpositions when our case is at its worst. Angels are not kept from us by storms, or hindered by darkness. Seraphs think it no humiliation to visit the poorest of the heavenly family. If angel’s visits are few and far between at ordinary times, they shall be frequent in our nights of tempest and tossing. Friends may drop from us when we are under pressure, but our intercourse with the inhabitants of the angelic world shall be more abundant; and in the strength of love-words, brought to us from the throne by the way of Jacob’s ladder, we shall be strong to do exploits. Dear reader, is this an hour of distress with you? then ask for peculiar help. Jesus is the angel of the covenant, and if His presence be now earnestly sought, it will not be denied. What that presence brings in heart-cheer those remember who, like Paul, have had the angel of God standing by them in a night of storm, when anchors would no longer hold, and rocks were nigh. "O angel of my God, be near, Amid the darkness hush my fear; Loud roars the wild tempestuous sea, Thy presence, Lord, shall comfort me."
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But we don't want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don't grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,
17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
RESURRECTION-LIGHT
"If we believe that Jesus died and rose again...."
That is the eastern light which fills the valley of time with wonderful beams of glory. It is the great dawn in which we find the promise of our own day. Everything wears a new face in the light of our Lord's resurrection. I once watched the dawn on the East Coast of England. Before there was a grey streak in the sky everything was held in grimmest gloom. The toil of the two fishing-boats seemed very sombre. The sleeping houses on the shore looked the abodes of death. Then came grey light, and then the sun, and everything was transfigured! Every window in every cottage caught the reflected glory, and the fishing-boats glittered in morning radiance.
And everything is transfigured in the Risen Christ. Everything is lit up when "the Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in His wings." Life is lit up, and so is death, and so are sorrow and daily labour and human friendships! Everything catches the gleam and is changed. "We are no longer of the night, but of the day." "Walk as children of light." "Awake, thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
April 10th.
My Father, may the influence and presence of Thy Holy Spirit abide with me to-day! May every week be as a long Sabbath
of unbroken holiness! May every task be sanctified!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that
everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Numbers 21:8
This is a glorious gospel type. Jesus, numbered with the transgressors, hangs before us on the cross. A look to him will heal us of the serpent-bite of sin; will heal us at once - "When he looketh upon it, he shall live." Let the reader who is mourning his sinfulness note the words - "Everyone that looketh upon it shall live." Every looker will find this true. I have found it so. I looked to Jesus and lived at once. I know I did. Reader, if you look to Jesus you will live too. True, you are swelling with the venom, and you see no hope. True, also, there is no hope but this one. But this is no doubtful cure - "Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live."
The brazen serpent was not lifted up as a curiosity to be gazed upon by the healthy; but its special purpose was for those who were "bitten." Jesus died as a real Saviour for real sinners. Whether the bite has made you a drunkard, or a thief, or an unchaste or a profane person, a look at the Great Saviour will heal you of these diseases, and make you live in holiness and communion with God. Look and live.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
Psalms 144:16
God has one will for all of us. It is that we should be happy. Our happiness, then, is dependent upon our being wholly within that will.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.
Acts 10:34
With what perfect precision and poetic beauty the ways of God move forward to the accomplishment of the purposes of His Grace. Saul, the chosen vessel for bearing the Name to the Gentiles, had passed out of sight to Arabia, and back to Tarsus. It would be many years before he was called to the great work for which he was chosen. In this chapter we have the account of how God prepared for that work by bringing Peter to an understanding of the wider meanings of His purpose in Christ. Peter's outlook naturally was narrow. He lacked full understanding of God's love for the Gentile. This he must be brought to see. In these words we have his declaration that the truth had broken in upon him. His words, "I perceive," show that a new light had come. God was seen as He had never been seen before, and therefore the Gentile was seen as never before. It was a day of great enlargement. Lifted to a new height, the horizons were set back, and territory which had been considered outside the range of the Divine Grace was seen bathed in its glory, and transfigured by its power. How powerful was the effect produced upon him is discovered in his subsequent words in Jerusalem: "Who was I that I could withstand God?" Even though there were moments later when Peter faltered in his yielding to this light, there is no doubt that this experience prepared him for fellowship in that work to which Paul was especially called. Thus, as God works with all, are all enabled to work together.
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.