Daily Bible Notes: March, 17th
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
Remember the poor.
Galatians 2:10
Why does God allow so many of His children to be poor? He could make them all rich if He pleased; He could lay bags of gold at their doors; He could send them a large annual income; or He could scatter round their houses abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in heaps round the camp of Israel, and rained bread out of heaven to feed them.
There is no necessity that they should be poor, except that He sees it to be best. "The cattle upon a thousand hills are His" - He could supply them; He could make the richest, the greatest, and the mightiest bring all their power and riches to the feet of His children, for the hearts of all men are in His control. But He does not choose to do so; He allows them to suffer want, He allows them to pine in penury and obscurity. Why is this? There are many reasons: one is, to give us, who are favoured with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus . We show our love to Christ when we sing of Him and when we pray to Him; but if there were no sons of need in the world we should lose the sweet privilege of evidencing our love, by ministering in alms-giving to His poorer brethren; He has ordained that thus we should prove that our love standeth not in word only, but in deed and in truth. If we truly love Christ, we shall care for those who are loved by Him. Those who are dear to Him will be dear to us. Let us then look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord’s flock - remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart - recollecting that all we do for His people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to Himself.
Evening
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9
This is the seventh of the beatitudes: and seven was the number of perfection among the Hebrews. It may be that the Saviour placed the peacemaker the seventh upon the list because he most nearly approaches the perfect man in Christ Jesus. He who would have perfect blessedness, so far as it can be enjoyed on earth, must attain to this seventh benediction, and become a peacemaker. There is a significance also in the position of the text. The verse which precedes it speaks of the blessedness of "the pure in heart: for they shall see God." It is well to understand that we are to be "first pure, then peaceable." Our peaceableness is never to be a compact with sin, or toleration of evil. We must set our faces like flints against everything which is contrary to God and His holiness: purity being in our souls a settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness. Not less does the verse that follows seem to have been put there on purpose. However peaceable we may be in this world, yet we shall be misrepresented and misunderstood: and no marvel, for even the Prince of Peace, by His very peacefulness, brought fire upon the earth. He Himself, though He loved mankind, and did no ill, was "despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Lest, therefore, the peaceable in heart should be surprised when they meet with enemies, it is added in the following verse, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Thus, the peacemakers are not only pronounced to be blessed, but they are compassed about with blessings. Lord, give us grace to climb to this seventh beatitude! Purify our minds that we may be "first pure, then peaceable," and fortify our souls, that our peaceableness may not lead us into cowardice and despair, when for Thy sake we are persecuted.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Luke 7:11-18
11 Soon afterwards, he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him.
12 Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, "Don't cry."
14 He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"
15 He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
16 Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen amongst us!" and, "God has visited his people!"
17 This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region.
18 The disciples of John told him about all these things.
THE COMMONPLACE OF DEATH
Death is never a commonplace. We never become so accustomed to funerals as not to see them. Everybody sees the mournful procession go along the street. A momentary awe steals over the flippant thought, and for one brief season the superficial opens into the infinite abyss.
And yet, while a thousand are arrested, only a few are compassionate. There can be awe without pity; there can be interest without service. When this humble funeral train trudged out of the city of Nain our Lord halted, and His heart melted! There was an "aching void," and He longed to fill it. There was a bleeding, broken heart, and He yearned to stand and heal it. He found His own joy in removing another's tears, His own satisfaction in another's peace.
"The Lord hath visited His people!" That is what the people said, and I do not wonder at the saying! And let me, too, be a humble visitor in the troubled ways of men! Let my heart be a well of sweet compassion to all the sons and daughters of grief! Like Barnabas, let me be "a son of consolation."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
March 17th.
I pray for the sweetening of our social life. Bless all who have charge of our civic affairs. May they be men of sanctified spirit,
counting it their supreme crown to be well-pleasing to Thee!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 1:8
Whenever fear comes in and makes us falter, we are in danger of falling into sin. Conceit is to be dreaded, but so is cowardice. "Dare to be a Daniel." Our great Captain should be served by brave soldiers.
What a reason for bravery is here. God is with those who are with him. God will never be away when the hour of struggle comes. Do they threaten you? Who are you that you should be afraid of a man that shall die? Will you lose your situation? Your God whom you serve will find bread and water for his servants. Can you not trust him? Do they pour ridicule upon you? Will this break your bones or your heart? Bear it for Christ's sake, and even rejoice because of it.
God is with the true, the just, the holy, to deliver them; and he will deliver you. Remember how Daniel came out of the lions' den, and the three holy children out of the furnace. Yours is not so desperate a case as theirs; but if it were, the Lord would bear you through, and make you more than a conqueror. Fear to fear. Be afraid to be afraid. Your worst enemy is within your own bosom. Get to your knees and cry for help, and then rise up saying, "I will trust, and not be afraid."
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Am I my brother's keeper?
Genesis 4:9
God safeguards the life of each by making all responsible for the lives of individuals.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Do ye not yet understand?
Mark 8:21
These are the final words in a paragraph recording how our Lord rebuked His disciples. It begins in verse seventeen, and it is impossible to read it without feeling that there was a note of real severity in what He said to them. Notice the rush of His questions. "Why reason ye because ye have no bread? Do ye not yet perceive, neither understand? Have ye your heart hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember?" What, then, was the fault of these men? They were missing the point of His spiritual teaching, because they were anxious about material things. He recalled them to a remembrance of what they had already witnessed of His ability to deal with material need. It is always a strange story, this. It seems inconceivable that these men, really remembering the facts, as their answers show that they did, should yet have failed to apply those past experiences to present needs. Yet is it strange? Is it not a peculiar and persistent failing of the human soul, that in the presence of some immediate danger, it forgets, or fails to apply, the value of past deliverances? Yet it should not be so; and it was this very thing which our Lord rebuked. The true attitude of the soul is that of being without carefulness, in the consciousness of what has been done for us. The superlative statement of this is found in Paul's words: "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?"
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.