Daily Bible Notes: July, 16th
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
They gathered manna every morning.
Exodus 16:21
Labour to maintain a sense of thine entire dependence upon the Lord’s good will and pleasure for the continuance of thy richest enjoyments . Never try to live on the old manna, nor seek to find help in Egypt. All must come from Jesus, or thou art undone for ever. Old anointings will not suffice to impart unction to thy spirit; thine head must have fresh oil poured upon it from the golden horn of the sanctuary, or it will cease from its glory.
To-day thou mayest be upon the summit of the mount of God, but He who has put thee there must keep thee there, or thou wilt sink far more speedily than thou dreamest. Thy mountain only stands firm when He settles it in its place; if He hide His face, thou wilt soon be troubled. If the Saviour should see fit, there is not a window through which thou seest the light of heaven which He could not darken in an instant. Joshua bade the sun stand still, but Jesus can shroud it in total darkness. He can withdraw the joy of thine heart, the light of thine eyes, and the strength of thy life; in His hand thy comforts lie, and at His will they can depart from thee. This hourly dependence our Lord is determined that we shall feel and recognize, for He only permits us to pray for "daily bread," and only promises that "as our days our strength shall be." Is it not best for us that it should be so, that we may often repair to His throne, and constantly be reminded of His love? Oh! how rich the grace which supplies us so continually, and doth not refrain itself because of our ingratitude! The golden shower never ceases, the cloud of blessing tarries evermore above our habitation. O Lord Jesus, we would bow at Thy feet, conscious of our utter inability to do anything without Thee, and in every favour which we are privileged to receive, we would adore Thy blessed name and acknowledge Thine unexhausted love.
Evening
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come. For Thy servants rake pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
Psalm 102:13,14
A selfish man in trouble is exceedingly hard to comfort, because the springs of his comfort entirely within himself, and when he is sad all his springs are dry. But a large-hearted man full of Christian philanthropy, has other springs from which to supply himself with comfort beside those which lie within. He can go to his God first of all, and there find abundant help; and he can discover arguments for consolation in things relating to the world at large, to his country, and, above all, to the church. David in this Psalm was exceedingly sorrowful; he wrote, "I am like an owl of the desert, I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top." The only way in which he could comfort himself, was in the reflection that God would arise, and have mercy upon Zion: though he was sad, yet Zion should prosper; however low his own estate, yet Zion should arise.
Christian man! learn to comfort thyself in God’s gracious dealing towards the church. That which is so dear to thy Master, should it not be dear above all else to thee? What though thy way be dark, canst thou not gladden thine heart with the triumphs of His cross and the spread of His truth? Our own personal troubles are forgotten while we look, not only upon what God has done, and is doing for Zion, but on the glorious things He will yet do for His church. Try this receipt, O believer, whenever thou art sad of heart and in heaviness of spirit: forget thyself and thy little concerns, and seek the welfare and prosperity of Zion. When thou bendest thy knee in prayer to God, limit not thy petition to the narrow circle of thine own life, tried though it be, but send out thy longing prayers for the church’s prosperity, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem," and thine own soul shall be refreshed.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
John 15:1-16
1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
2 Every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If a man doesn't remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burnt.
7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
8 "In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.
9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and remain in his love.
11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.
15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn't know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
16 You didn't choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
THE VINE AND THE BRANCH
I need the Lord. What can a branch do apart from the vine? It may retain a certain, momentary greenness, but death is advancing apace. And there are multitudes of professing Christians who are like detached branches; their spiritual life is ebbing away: they do not startle the beholder and cause him to exclaim, "How full of life!" They do not strike at all! They have no splendid "force of character," and they therefore exercise no arresting witness for the King. They are not "abiding" in the Eternal, and therefore there is no powerful pulse from the Infinite. "Apart from Me ye can do nothing!"
And my Lord needs me. For the vine has need of the branch! The vine expresses itself in the branch, and comes to manifestation in leaf, and flower, and fruit. And my Lord would manifest Himself in me, and cause my branch to be heavy with the glorious fruits of His grace. And if I deprive Him of the branch, and deny Him this means of expression, I am "limiting the Holy One of Israel." "My son, give Me thine heart!"
Lord, help me to abide in Thee! Save me from the follies of a fatal independence! Good Lord, "Abide in me."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
July 16th.
My Father, may I learn how to pray without ceasing! May my devotion not be infrequent! May my religious life be
continuous! May I abide in Thee! May I make Thee my eternal home! May I dwell in the shadow of Thy wings!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
I will save her that halteth.
Zephaniah 3:19
There are plenty of these lame ones, both male and female. You may meet "her that halteth" twenty times in an hour. They are in the right road, and exceedingly anxious to run in it with diligence, but they are lame, and make a sorry walk of it. On the heavenly road there are many cripples. It may be that they say in their hearts - What will become of us? Sin will overtake us, Satan will throw us down. Ready-to-halt is our name and our nature; the Lord can never make good soldiers of us, nor even nimble messengers to go on his errands. Well, well! he will save us, and that is no small thing. He says, "I will save her that halteth." In saving us he will greatly glorify himself. Everybody will ask - How came this lame woman to run the race and win the crown? And then the praise will all be given to almighty grace.
Lord, though I halt in faith, in prayer, in praise, in service, and in patience, save me, I beseech thee! Only thou canst save such a cripple as I am. Lord, let me not perish because I am among the hind-most, but gather up by thy grace the slowest of thy pilgrims - even me. Behold he hath said it shall be so, and therefore, like Jacob, prevailing in prayer, I go forward though my sinew be shrunk.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
Let there be no asking for visions. When transfiguration, and garden, and cross, and resurrection, and ascension hours are passed, the Master will not apportion His rewards according to the number of visions, but according to fidelity to the opportunities He creates.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable.
1 Corinthians 15:19
That is a superlative statement in which Paul clearly revealed how central and fundamental to his Christian experience was the truth of the resurrection of the Lord. To him, that fact opened the gates of the age-abiding life, and guaranteed the franchise of eternity. And yet there is a sense in which we are sometimes inclined to wonder how far it is true. There is such actual joy and present freedom in serving Christ, that we are inclined to think that if the story of Jesus and the resurrection were not true, they have created a delusion so beneficent in its results that it is worthwhile. And who that has known anything of real Christian life and service will deny it? Yet the Apostle was surely right. We are helped to a truer understanding of what he meant by the word "pitiable" which the Revisers have substituted for "miserable." It is rather the view of others, than the experience of believers, that was in his thought. We may not be miserable, but our very happiness, if there be no ground for it, proves how pitiable is our plight. The spaciousness of the outlook which belief in our Lord's resurrection creates and the joy of the soul, are so wonderful that surely we are to be pitied if it is all false. Yet is it not so, that the very strength and joy which so invariably result from belief, go far to prove the reality of the thing believed? Is it conceivable that a delusion could so powerfully and persistently create such joy?
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.