Daily Bible Notes: May, 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
So to walk even as He walked.
1 John 2:6
Why should Christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes . If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul - if they would escape the sickness of sin, and enjoy the vigour of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. For their own happiness’ sake, if they would drink wine on the lees, well refined; if they would enjoy holy and happy communion with Jesus; if they would be lifted up above the cares and troubles of this world, let them walk even as He walked. There is nothing which can so assist you to walk towards heaven with good speed, as wearing the image of Jesus on your heart to rule all its motions. It is when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walk with Jesus in His very footsteps, that you are most happy, and most known to be the sons of God. Peter afar off is both unsafe and uneasy. Next, for religion’s sake , strive to be like Jesus. Ah! poor religion, thou hast been sorely shot at by cruel foes, but thou hast not been wounded one-half so dangerously by thy foes as by thy friends. Who made those wounds in the fair hand of Godliness? The professor who used the dagger of hypocrisy. The man who with pretences, enters the fold, being nought but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, worries the flock more than the lion outside. There is no weapon half so deadly as a Judas-kiss. Inconsistent professors injure the gospel more than the sneering critic or the infidel. But, especially for Christ’s own sake , imitate His example. Christian, lovest thou thy Saviour? Is His name precious to thee? Is His cause dear to thee? Wouldst thou see the kingdoms of the world become His? Is it thy desire that He should be glorified? Art thou longing that souls should be won to Him? If so, imitate Jesus; be an "epistle of Christ, known and read of all men."
Evening
Thou art My servant; I have chosen thee.
Isaiah 41:9
If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its practical effect has been to make us God’s servants . We may be unfaithful servants, we certainly are unprofitable ones, but yet, blessed be His name, we are His servants, wearing His livery, feeding at His table, and obeying His commands. We were once the servants of sin, but He who made us free has now taken us into His family and taught us obedience to His will. We do not serve our Master perfectly, but we would if we could. As we hear God’s voice saying unto us, "Thou art My servant," we can answer with David, "I am thy servant; Thou hast loosed my bonds." But the Lord calls us not only His servants , but His chosen ones -"I have chosen thee." We have not chosen Him first, but He hath chosen us. If we be God’s servants, we were not always so; to sovereign grace the change must be ascribed. The eye of sovereignty singled us out, and the voice of unchanging grace declared, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love."
Long ere time began or space was created God had written upon His heart the names of His elect people, had predestinated them to be conformed unto the image of His Son, and ordained them heirs of all the fulness of His love, His grace, and His glory. What comfort is here! Has the Lord loved us so long, and will He yet cast us away? He knew how stiffnecked we should be, He understood that our hearts were evil, and yet He made the choice. Ah! our Saviour is no fickle lover. He doth not feel enchanted for awhile with some gleams of beauty from His church’s eye, and then afterwards cast her off because of her unfaithfulness. Nay, He married her in old eternity; and it is written of Jehovah, "He hateth putting away."
The eternal choice is a bond upon our gratitude and upon His faithfulness which neither can disown.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
John 9:1-12
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "This man didn't sin, nor did his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
4 I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man's eyes with the mud,
7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
8 The neighbours therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, "Isn't this he who sat and begged?"
9 Others were saying, "It is he." Still others were saying, "He looks like him." He said, "I am he."
10 They therefore were asking him, "How were your eyes opened?"
11 He answered, "A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received sight."
12 Then they asked him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."
MY BODILY INFIRMITIES
An infirmity becomes doubly burdensome when we give it a false interpretation. The weight of a thing is determined by our conception of it. If I look upon my ailment as the stroke of an offended God, I wear it like the chains of a slave. If I look upon it as the fire of the gracious Refiner, I can calmly await the beneficent issue. It is my Lord, engaged in chastening His jewels!
And so our Master first of all relieves the blind man of the false interpretation of his infirmity. "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents." That lifts the sorrow out of the winter into the spring. It sets it in the warm, sweet light of grace. It becomes transfigured. It wears a new face, placed there in "the light of His countenance."
And then our Lord relieves the blind man of the infirmity itself. The ministry of blindness was accomplished, and sight was given. No man is kept in the darkness a moment longer than infinite love deems good. Our Lord does not overlook the prison-house, and leave us there forgotten. "He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." So cheer thee, my soul! The Lord is on thy side! The Miracle-worker knows His time and "the dreariest path, the darkest way, shall issue out in heavenly day."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
May 17th.
Gracious Lord, give me pity for the infirm. May sorrow and deformity never become a commonplace! May I ever move
towards them in sympathetic response! May I have eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame,
and healing for all the sons and daughters of pain!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
The upright shall have good things in possession.
Proverbs 28:10
The Book of Proverbs is also a Book of Promises. Promises ought to be proverbs among the people of God. This is a very remarkable one. We are accustomed to think of our good things as in reversion, but here we are told that we shall have them in possession.
Not all the malice and cunning of our enemies can work our destruction: they shall fall into the pit which they have digged. Our inheritance is so entailed upon us that we shall not be kept out of it, nor so turned out of the way as to miss it.
But what have we now? We have a quiet conscience through the precious blood of Jesus. We have the love of God set upon us beyond all change. We have power with God in prayer in all time of need. We have the providence of God to watch over us, the angels of God to minister to us, and, above all, the Spirit of God to dwell in us. In fact, all things are ours. "Whether things present or things to come: all are yours." Jesus is ours. Yea, the divine Trinity in Unity is ours. Hallelujah. Let us not pine and whine, and stint and slave, since we have good things in possession. Let us live on our God and rejoice in him all the day. Help us, O Holy Ghost!
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
1 Corinthians 15:38, R.V.
Take a seed and hold it in the hand - strange little seed, without beauty, the very embodiment of weakness. But within that husk, in which the human eye detects no line of beauty or grace, no gleam or flash of glory, there lie the gorgeous colours and magnificent flower itself. From that seed, through processes of law, plant and bud proceed, until at last the perfect blossom is formed.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Look therefore whether the light that is in thee be not darkness.
Luke 11:35
Is it possible for light to be darkness? The question may be answered by, asking another, growing out of the earlier words of our Lord upon this occasion. Is it possible for a lighted lamp to be darkness? It is. That lighted lamp is darkness when it is put out of sight, in the cellar or under a bushel. That lighted lamp is light when it is placed on a stand, so that they which enter in may see the light. Light, then, is only of value when it is kept shining, and the steps are guided by it. Light hidden is darkness. Truth disobeyed is valueless. Knowledge unyielded to is ignorance. How often the light within us is darkness! The will of the Lord, clearly revealed to us, is apprehended intellectually, but not carried out in practice; then the light is darkness. The Word of the Lord, studied, and interpreted by the Spirit, is retained in the intellect, but not permitted to be the guiding principle of the will; then the light is darkness. In such cases the way of life is the way of darkness. For such life there is condemnation far more severe than for the groping of souls to whom the light has never come. Another word of Jesus is full of significance in this connection. It was spoken to Nicodemus in the darkness of a wonderfully illuminated night. It will be found in John 3:19-21, and may be read with profit.
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.