Daily Bible Notes: April, 22nd
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
Him hath God exalted.
Acts 5:31
Jesus, our Lord, once crucified, dead and buried, now sits upon the throne of glory. The highest place that heaven affords is His by undisputed right.
It is sweet to remember that the exaltation of Christ in heaven is a representative exaltation . He is exalted at the Father’s right hand, and though as Jehovah He had eminent glories, in which finite creatures cannot share, yet as the Mediator, the honours which Jesus wears in heaven are the heritage of all the saints. It is delightful to reflect how close is Christ’s union with His people. We are actually one with Him; we are members of His body; and His exaltation is our exaltation. He will give us to sit upon His throne, even as He has overcome, and is set down with His Father on His throne; He has a crown, and He gives us crowns too; He has a throne, but He is not content with having a throne to Himself, on His right hand there must be His queen, arrayed in "gold of Ophir." He cannot be glorified without His bride. Look up, believer, to Jesus now; let the eye of your faith behold Him with many crowns upon His head; and remember that you will one day be like Him, when you shall see Him as He is; you shall not be so great as He is, you shall not be so divine, but still you shall, in a measure, share the same honours, and enjoy the same happiness and the same dignity which He possesses. Be content to live unknown for a little while, and to walk your weary way through the fields of poverty, or up the hills of affliction; for by-and-by you shall reign with Christ, for He has "made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign for ever and ever."
Oh!, wonderful thought for the children of God! We have Christ for our glorious representative in heaven’s courts now, and soon He will come and receive us to Himself, to be with Him there, to behold His glory, and to share His joy.
Evening
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.
Psalm 91:5
What is this terror? It may be the cry of fire, or the noise of thieves, or fancied appearances, or the shriek of sudden sickness or death. We live in the world of death and sorrow, we may therefore look for ills as well in the night-watches as beneath the glare of he broiling sun. Nor should this alarm us, for be the terror what it may, the promise is that the believer shall not be afraid. Why should he? Let us put it more closely, why should we?
God our Father is here, and will be here all through the lonely hours; He is an almighty Watcher, a sleepless Guardian, a faithful Friend. Nothing can happen without His direction, for even hell itself is under His control.
Darkness is not dark to Him. He has promised to be a wall of fire around His people - and who can break through such a barrier? Worldlings may well be afraid, for they have an angry God above them, a guilty conscience within them, and a yawning hell beneath them; but we who rest in Jesus are saved from all these through rich mercy. If we give way to foolish fear we shall dishonour our profession, and lead others to doubt the reality of godliness. We ought to be afraid of being afraid, lest we should vex the Holy Spirit by foolish distrust. Down, then, ye dismal forebodings and groundless apprehensions, God has not forgotten to be gracious, nor shut up His tender mercies, it may be night in the soul, but there need be no terror, for the God of love changes not. Children of light may walk in darkness, but they are not therefore cast away, nay, they are now enabled to prove their adoption by trusting in their heavenly Father as hypocrites cannot do. "Though the night be dark and dreary, Darkness cannot hide from Thee; Thou art He, who, never weary, Watchest where Thy people be."
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Proverbs 12:13-22
13 An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble.
14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man's hands shall be rewarded to him.
15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel.
16 A fool shows his annoyance the same day, but one who overlooks an insult is prudent.
17 He who is truthful testifies honestly, but a false witness lies.
18 There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.
19 Truth's lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only momentary.
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but joy comes to the promoters of peace.
21 No mischief shall happen to the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil.
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who do the truth are his delight.
SPEECH AS A SYMPTOM OF HEALTH
"The tongue of the wise is health."
Our doctors often test our physical condition by the state of our tongue. With another and deeper significance the tongue is also the register of our condition. Our words are a perfect index of our moral and spiritual health. If our words are unclean and untrue, our souls are assuredly sickly and diseased. A perverse tongue is never allied with a sanctified heart. And, therefore, everyone may apply a clinical test to his own life: "What is the character of my speech? What do my words indicate? What do they suggest as to the depths and background of the soul?" "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
God delighteth in truthful lips. Right words are fruit from the tree of life. The Lord turns away from falsehood as we turn away from material corruption, only with an infinitely intenser loathing and disgust.
It is only the lips that have been purified with flame from the holy altar of God that can offer words that are pleasing unto Him.
"Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
April 22nd.
My Father, may I walk as Thy child to-day! May the sense of my relationship to Thee fill me with a saving self-respect! May my
life be as glorious as my relationship! May I walk as the child of God!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down.
Psalms 146:8
Am I bowed down? Then let me urge this word of grace before the Lord. It is his way, his custom, his promise, his delight, to raise up them that are bowed down. Is it a sense of sin, and a consequent depression of spirit, which now distresses me? Then the work of Jesus is, in this case, made and provided to raise me up into rest. O Lord, raise me, for thy mercy sake!
Is it a sad bereavement, or a great fall in circumstances? Here again the Comforter has undertaken to console. What a mercy for us that one person of the Sacred Trinity should become the Comforter! This work will be well done, since such a glorious One has made it his peculiar care.
Some are so bowed down that only Jesus can loose them from their infirmity, but he can, and he will, do it. He can raise us up to health, to hope, to happiness. He has often done so under former trials, and he is the same Saviour, and will repeat his deeds of loving-kindness. We who are to-day bowed down and sorrowful, shall yet be set on high, and those who now mock at us shall be greatly ashamed. What an honour to be raised up by the Lord! It is worth while to be bowed down that we may experience his upraising power.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
Let us remember that God's call comes to us most often and most continuously through the needs of men ... Every burden we help to bear will prove us in partnership with Him Who is ever calling men to roll their burdens on Him.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
The Lord said unto me, Arise, and go Into Damascus.
Acts 22:10
Paul was now in Jerusalem and in the midst of the circumstances which Agabus had foretold. He was a prisoner, and, by that fact, protected from the hostility of the Jewish mob. Having obtained, from the soldiers who had arrested him in order to protect him, permission to speak, he told the story of his apprehension by the Lord in the days long before. In the light of all that had happened to him since, these words are full of interest. In them we have the first command which the Lord had uttered to him after he had made the complete surrender. When, to his amazement, he found that Jesus was alive, without any equivocation or hesitation he yielded to Him his allegiance, and asked, "What shall I do, Lord?" Then he received his first orders, and they were of the simplest. He was told to go to Damascus and to wait. That was the way of the Lord with His chosen vessel, and it is His way with all whom He commands. He indicates the next step, and commands that we wait for further orders. Whereas He did give him the larger outlook upon his ministry presently, in general outline, the particular method through all the years was that of one step at a time. How gracious and beneficent a method this is! If we could be told ahead all the detailed experiences through which we pass, should we dare face them? However, we need not speculate on that, but rejoice that He leads us one step at a time.
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.