Daily Bible Notes: February, 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
The love of the Lord.
Hosea 3:1
Believer, look back through all thine experience, and think of the way whereby the Lord thy God has led thee in the wilderness, and how He hath fed and clothed thee every day - how He hath borne with thine ill manners - how He hath put up with all thy murmurings, and all thy longings after the flesh-pots of Egypt - how He has opened the rock to supply thee, and fed thee with manna that came down from heaven. Think of how His grace has been sufficient for thee in all thy troubles - how His blood has been a pardon to thee in all thy sins - how His rod and His staff have comforted thee. When thou hast thus looked back upon the love of the Lord, then let faith survey His love in the future, for remember that Christ’s covenant and blood have something more in them than the past.
He who has loved thee and pardoned thee, shall never cease to love and pardon. He is Alpha, and He shall be Omega also: He is first, and He shall be last. Therefore, bethink thee, when thou shalt pass through the valley of the shadow of death, thou needest fear no evil, for He is with thee. When thou shalt stand in the cold floods of Jordan, thou needest not fear, for death cannot separate thee from His love; and when thou shalt come into the mysteries of eternity thou needest not tremble, "For I am persuaded, that neither death; nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, soul, is not thy love refreshed? Does not this make thee love Jesus? Doth not a flight through illimitable plains of the ether of love inflame thy heart and compel thee to delight thyself in the Lord thy God? Surely as we meditate on "the love of the Lord," our hearts burn within us, and we long to love Him more.
Evening
Your refuge from the avenger of blood.
Joshua 20:3
It is said that in the land of Canaan, cities of refuge were so arranged, that any man might reach one of them within half a day at the utmost. Even so the word of our salvation is near to us; Jesus is a present Saviour, and the way to Him is short; it is but a simple renunciation of our own merit, and a laying hold of Jesus, to be our all in all. With regard to the roads to the city of refuge, we are told that they were strictly preserved, every river was bridged, and every obstruction removed, so that the man who fled might find an easy passage to the city. Once a year the elders went along the roads and saw to their order, so that nothing might impede the flight of any one, and cause him, through delay, to be overtaken and slain. How graciously do the promises of the gospel remove stumbling blocks from the way! Wherever there were by-roads and turnings, there were fixed up hand-posts, with the inscription upon them -"To the city of refuge!"
This is a picture of the road to Christ Jesus. It is no roundabout road of the law; it is no obeying this, that, and the other; it is a straight road: "Believe, and live." It is a road so hard, that no self-righteous man can ever tread it, but so easy, that every sinner, who knows himself to be a sinner may by it find his way to heaven. No sooner did the man-slayer reach the outworks of the city than he was safe; it was not necessary for him to pass far within the walls, but the suburbs themselves were sufficient protection. Learn hence, that if you do but touch the hem of Christ’s garment, you shall be made whole; if you do but lay hold upon him with "faith as a grain of mustard seed," you are safe. "A little genuine grace ensures The death of all our sins."
Only waste no time, loiter not by the way, for the avenger of blood is swift of foot; and it may be he is at your heels at this still hour of eventide.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Isaiah 43:1-7
1 But now the LORD who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel, says: "Don't be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burnt, and flame will not scorch you.
3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you have been precious and honoured in my sight, and I have loved you, therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.
5 Don't be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.
6 I will tell the north, 'Give them up!' and tell the south, 'Don't hold them back! Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
7 everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.' "
SPIRITUAL BUOYANCY
"When thou passeth through the waters they shall not overflow thee."
When Mrs. Booth, the mother of the Salvation Army, was dying, she quietly said, "The waters are rising but I am not sinking." But then she had been saying that all through her life. Other floods besides the waters of death had gathered about her soul. Often had the floods been out and the roads were deep in affliction. But she had never sunk! The good Lord made her buoyant, and she rode upon the storm! This, then, is the promise of the Lord, not that the waters of trouble shall never gather about the believer, but that he shall never be overwhelmed. He shall "keep his head above them." Yes, to him shall be given the grace of "aboveness." He shall never be under, always above! It is the precious gift of spiritual buoyancy, sanctified good spirits, the power of the Christian hope. When we are in Christ Jesus circumstances shall never be our master. One is our Master, and "we are more than conquerors in Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
February 4th.
Father, enlarge my sympathies; give me a roomier heart. May my life be like a great hospitable tree, and many weary
wanderers find in me a rest!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:18
He left us, and yet we are not left orphans. He is our comfort, and he is gone; but we are not comfortless. Our comfort is that he will come to us, and this is consolation enough to sustain us through his prolonged absence, Jesus is already on his way: he says, "I come quickly": he rides post-haste towards us. He says, "I will come": and none can prevent his coming, or put it back for a quarter of an hour. He specially says, "I will come to you"; and so he will. His coming is specially to and for his own people. This is meant to be their present comfort while they mourn that the Bridegroom doth not yet appear.
When we lose the joyful sense of his presence we mourn; but we may not sorrow as if there were no hope. Our Lord in a little wrath has hid himself from us for a moment; but he will return in full favour. He leaves us in a sense, but only in a sense. When he withdraws, he leaves a pledge behind that he will return. O Lord, come quickly! There is no life in this earthly existence if thou be gone. We sigh for the return of thy sweet smile. When wilt thou come unto us? We are sure thou wilt appear; but be thou like a roe, or a young hart. Make no tarrying, O our God!
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
I will give him the morning star.
Revelation 2:28
We shall often walk in darkness. There will be many mysteries perplexing us. The burden we have is sufficient for the building of our character, for our growth in life, and ministry and work. The other things wait. Presently He will give us the morning star.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness.
Psalms 7:8
This petition must be interpreted in the light of the whole Psalm. The inscription helps us. We have no information in the history of David concerning the incident referred to. From the fact that this man Cush is named as "the Benjamite," we may infer that he was a partisan of the house of Saul, and an enemy of David. From the Psalm we learn the nature of the charges which he made against David. They were: that he had appropriated spoils which rightly belonged to the king; that he had returned evil for good; and that he had taken toll for some generosity. The charges were false, and that is what these particular words meant. The appeal to God to defend him, and to secure justice for him, was based upon his innocence, and reinforced by the fact that in the presence of these calamities he had a perfectly clear conscience. It is a great thing to be able to stand before the judgment bar of God with a conscience void of offence. It is indeed true that: "Thrice armed is he that hath his quarrel just." Such reflections bring comfort so long as we have nothing to fear, and therefore they constitute an appeal to the soul to be ever on the alert, that nothing in our dealings with our fellow-men be permitted, which under any circumstances may rob us of that sense of integrity. This is more than ever so in the matter of our relationships with those who are our enemies, not so much on the ground of personal hostility, but because they are opposed to the cause we serve, the Kingdom which we represent. Happy and secure are we if we give the enemy no cause to blaspheme.
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.