Daily Bible Notes: April, 14th
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
All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.
Psalm 22:7
Mockery was a great ingredient in our Lord’s woe. Judas mocked Him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed Him to scorn; Herod set Him at nought; the servants and the soldiers jeered at Him, and brutally insulted Him; Pilate and his guards ridiculed His royalty; and on the tree all sorts of horrid jests and hideous taunts were hurled at Him. Ridicule is always hard to bear, but when we are in intense pain it is so heartless, so cruel, that it cuts us to the quick. Imagine the Saviour crucified, racked with anguish far beyond all mortal guess, and then picture that motley multitude, all wagging their heads or thrusting out the lip in bitterest contempt of one poor suffering victim! Surely there must have been something more in the crucified One than they could see, or else such a great and mingled crowd would not unanimously have honoured Him with such contempt. Was it not evil confessing, in the very moment of its greatest apparent triumph, that after all it could do no more than mock at that victorious goodness which was then reigning on the cross? O Jesus, "despised and rejected of men," how couldst Thou die for men who treated Thee so ill? Herein is love amazing, love divine, yea, love beyond degree.
We, too, have despised Thee in the days of our unregeneracy, and even since our new birth we have set the world on high in our hearts, and yet Thou bleedest to heal our wounds, and diest to give us life. O that we could set Thee on a glorious high throne in all men’s hearts! We would ring out Thy praises over land and sea till men should as universally adore as once they did unanimously reject.
Thy creatures wrong Thee, O Thou sovereign Good! Thou art not loved, because not understood:
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile Ungrateful men, regardless of Thy smile.
Evening
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.
Isaiah 3:10
It is well with the righteous ALWAYS. If it had said, "Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity," we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour of peril, and it is a gift from heaven to be secured from its snares: or if it had been written, "It is well with him when under persecution," we must have been thankful for so sustaining an assurance, for persecution is hard to bear; but when no time is mentioned, all time is included. God’s "shalls" must be understood always in their largest sense. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until the day-star shines, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it shall be well with the righteous. It is so well with him that we could not imagine it to be better, for he is well fed , he feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus; he is well clothed , he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ; he is well housed , he dwells in God; he is well married , his soul is knit in bonds of marriage union to Christ; he is well provided for , for the Lord is his Shepherd; he is well endowed, for heaven is his inheritance. It is well with the righteous - well upon divine authority ; the mouth of God speaks the comforting assurance. O beloved, if God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it to be ill, but we laugh them all to scorn.
Blessed be God for a faith which enables us to believe God when the creatures contradict Him. It is, says the Word, at all times well with thee, thou righteous one; then, beloved, if thou canst not see it, let God’s word stand thee in stead of sight; yea, believe it on divine authority more confidently than if thine eyes and thy feelings told it to thee. Whom God blesses is blest indeed, and what His lip declares is truth most sure and steadfast.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
1 Samuel 4:1-11
1 The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
2 The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.
3 When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let's get the ark of the LORD's covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come amongst us and save us out of the hand of our enemies."
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Armies, who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.
6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" They understood that the LORD's ark had come into the camp.
7 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp." They said, "Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before.
8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
9 Be strong and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen yourselves like men, and fight!"
10 The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter; for thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell.
11 God's ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
RELIGION AS MERE MAGIC
"And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout."
They were making more of the ark than of the Lord. Their religion was degenerating into superstition. I become superstitious whenever the means of worship are permitted to eclipse the Object of worship. I then possess a magic instrument, and I forget the holy Lord.
It can be so with prayer. I may use prayer as a magic minister to protect me from invasive ills. I do not pray because I desire fellowship with the Father, but because I should not feel safe without it. The ark is more than the Lord.
It can be so with a crucifix. A crucifix may become a mere talisman, and so supplant the Lord. I may wear the thing and have no fellowship with the Person. And so may it be with the Lord's Supper. I may come to regard it as a magic feast, which makes me immune from punishment, but not immune from sin. It may be a minister of safety, but not of holiness.
So let mine eyes be ever unto the Lord! Let me not be satisfied with the ark, but let me seek Him whose name is holy and whose nature is love.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
April 14th.
My God, I bring my life to Thee with all its stains and failures. Have pity upon me! Save me from the sorrow that
leads to despair; but give me the sorrow that issues in finer devotion.
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
He shall choose our inheritance for us.
Psalms 47:4
Our enemies would allot us a very dreary portion, but we are not left in their hands. The Lord will cause us to stand in our lot, and our place is appointed by his infinite wisdom. A wiser mind than our own arranges our destiny. The ordaining of all things is with God, and we are glad to have it so; we choose that God should choose for us. If we might have our own way we would wish to let all things go in God's way.
Being conscious of our own folly, we would not desire to rule our own destinies. We feel safer and more at ease when the Lord steers our vessel than we could possibly be if we could direct it according to our own judgment. Joyfully we leave the painful present and the unknown future with our Father, our Saviour, our Comforter.
O my soul, this day lay down thy wishes at Jesus' feet! If thou hast of late been somewhat wayward and wilful, eager to be and to do after thine own mind, now dismiss thy foolish self, and place the reins in the Lord's hands. Say, "He shall choose." If others dispute the sovereignty of the Lord, and glory in the freewill of man, do thou answer them, "He shall choose for me." It is my freest choice to let him choose. As a free agent, I elect that he should have absolute sway.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, that fluttereth over her young, he spread abroad his wings, he took them, he bare them on his pinions.
Deuteronomy 32:11
God comes into your life and disturbs you, breaks up your plans and extinguishes your hopes, the lights that have lured you on. He spoils everything. What for? That He may get you on His wings and teach you the secret forces of your own life, and lead you to higher development and higher purposes.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
They returned to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch.
Acts 14:21
This is a singularly interesting statement in many ways. First it reminds us that Paul was more than an evangelist. He was a pastor, His missionary work was first that of proclaiming the Gospel and bringing men to decision; but he never rested there. He, of all men, realized the importance of subsequent teaching, in order to confirm the faith of the new disciples; and of setting them in order in Church life. Therefore he returned. Again, this particular story reveals his heroism, as it resulted from his complete devotion to his work. Recall the facts concerning his visits to these places. From the borders of Antioch, in Pisidia Paul and Barnabas had been cast out. From Iconium they had been compelled to flee. At Lystra Paul had been stoned, dragged out of the city, and left for dead. Yet they turned back, to the place of the stones, to the place of intention to stone, to the place that had cast them out. This returning to places of peril was made necessary because in every place they had been led in triumph, so far as their Gospel was concerned, in spite of apparent defeat. In Antioch they had left a company of disciples filled with joy and the Holy Ghost; in Iconium a multitude of Jews and Greeks who had believed and in Lystra also those who were disciples. Thus the way of the Cross was the way of perpetual triumph and persistent travail.
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.