Daily Bible Notes: February, 7th
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
Arise, and depart.
Micah 2:10
The hour is approaching when the message will come to us, as it comes to all -"Arise, and go forth from the home in which thou hast dwelt, from the city in which thou hast done thy business, from thy family, from thy friends. Arise, and take thy last journey." And what know we of the journey? And what know we of the country to which we are bound? A little we have read thereof, and somewhat has been revealed to us by the Spirit; but how little do we know of the realms of the future! We know that there is a black and stormy river called "Death." God bids us cross it, promising to be with us. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight? What scene of glory will be unfolded to our view? No traveller has ever returned to tell. But we know enough of the heavenly land to make us welcome our summons thither with joy and gladness. The journey of death may be dark, but we may go forth on it fearlessly, knowing that God is with us as we walk through the gloomy valley, and therefore we need fear no evil. We shall be departing from all we have known and loved here, but we shall be going to our Father’s house - to our Father’s home, where Jesus is - to that royal "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
This shall be our last removal, to dwell for ever with Him we love, in the midst of His people, in the presence of God. Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss. "Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine, For Thy bright courts on high; Then bid our spirits rise, and join The chorus of the sky."
Evening
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.
Revelation 11:12
Without considering these words in their prophetical connection, let us regard them D as the invitation of our great Forerunner to His sanctified people. In due time there shall be heard "a great voice from heaven" to every believer, saying, "Come up hither." This should be to the saints the subject of joyful anticipation . Instead of dreading the time when we shall leave this world to go unto the Father, we should be panting for the hour of our emancipation. Our song should be - "My heart is with Him on His throne, And ill can brook delay; Each moment listening for the voice, ‘Rise up and come away.’" We are not called down to the grave, but up to the skies. Our heaven-born spirits should long for their native air. Yet should the celestial summons be the object of patient waiting . Our God knows best when to bid us "Come up thither." We must not wish to antedate the period of our departure. I know that strong love will make us cry, "O Lord of Hosts, the waves divide, And land us all in heaven;" but patience must have her perfect work. God ordains with accurate wisdom the most fitting time for the redeemed to abide below. Surely, if there could be regrets in heaven, the saints might mourn that they did not live longer here to do more good. Oh, for more sheaves for my Lord’s garner! more jewels for His crown! But how, unless there be more work?
True, there is the other side of it, that, living so briefly, our sins are the fewer; but oh! when we are fully serving God, and He is giving us to scatter precious seed, and reap a hundredfold, we would even say it is well for us to abide where we are. Whether our Master shall say "go," or "stay," let us be equally well pleased so long as He indulges us with His presence.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Isaiah 41:8-14
8 "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,
9 You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away.'
10 Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish.
12 You will seek them, and won't find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Don't be afraid. I will help you.'
14 Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you," says the LORD. "Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
LEAVING ITS MARK
"Fear not, thou worm Jacob, I will make thee a threshing instrument with teeth."
Could any two things be in greater contrast than a worm and an instrument with teeth? The worm is delicate, bruised by a stone, crushed beneath a passing wheel; an instrument with teeth can break and not be broken, it can grave its mark upon the rock. And the mighty God can convert the one into the other. He can take a man or a nation, who has all the impotence of the worm, and by the invigoration of His own Spirit He can endow them with strength by which they will leave a noble mark upon the history of their time.
And so the "worm" may take heart. The mighty God can make us stronger than our circumstances. We can bend them all to our good. In God's strength we can make them all pay tribute to our souls. We can even take hold of a black disappointment, break it open, and extract some jewel of grace. When God gives us wills like iron we can drive through difficulties as the iron share cuts through the toughest soil. "I will make thee," saith the Lord, "and shall He not do it?"
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
February 7th.
My Father, in all my afflictions may I find Thy treasure! In my night-times may I see Thy stars!
In my prisons may I meet Thine angels!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up.
Job 22:23
Eliphaz, in this utterance, spoke a great truth, which is the summary of many an inspired Scripture. Reader, has sin pulled you down? Have you become like a ruin? Has the hand of the Lord gone out against you, so that in estate you are impoverished, and in spirit you are broken down? Was it your own folly which brought upon you all this dilapidation? Then the first thing to be done is to return to the Lord. With deep repentance and sincere faith find your way back from your backsliding. It is your duty, for you have turned away from him whom you professed to serve. It is your wisdom, for you cannot strive against him and prosper. It is your immediate necessity, for what he has done is nothing compared to what he may do in the way of chastisement, since he is Almighty to punish.
See what a promise invites you! You shall be "built up." None but the Almighty can set up the fallen pillars, and restore the tottering walls of your condition; but he can and he will do it if you return to him. Do not delay. Your crushed mind may quite fail you if you go on to rebel; but hearty confession will ease you, and humble faith will console you. Do this, and all will be well.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Luke 12:15
The simple life is coming to be recognised sublime. Complexity and overwhelming luxury, in spite of themselves, men are recognising as vulgar.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Why standest Thou afar off, O Lord?
Psalms 10:1
How often the men of faith have asked that question! Let us at once say that the supposition is inaccurate. God never stands far off. This fact was rediscovered to the singer in the course of his song. Its final movements celebrate the knowledge and the persistent government of God in righteousness. The question arises when for the moment the eyes are fixed upon circumstances. It was so in this case. As the singer contemplated the conditions in the midst of which he was living, he saw everywhere might triumphing over right, he watched the cruelty of evil men against the poor and the needy. It did seem as though God had withdrawn Himself, was standing afar off. We have all lived in hours when, if we saw nothing but the conditions, we were constrained to the same question. The value of a Psalm like this is that it records that mood of the soul, only to lead us on to witness this man's recovery of faith and confidence. It was impossible that God did not know and see; and that conviction became the guarantee of the soul's confidence that He not only saw, but would act. Hence the assurance that there must come full and final victory over all the forces of unrighteousness, with the ending of all oppression, and cruelty, and wrong. Under the rule of God, the day must come when, "That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more." These were the concluding words of the song, and they constitute a fitting answer to its opening enquiry.
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.