Daily Bible Notes: May, 21st
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
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1 Peter 2:3
If: - then, this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. "If:" - then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. "If:" - then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is needful to enquire whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favour which may not be a matter for heart-searching.
But while this should be a matter of earnest and prayerful inquiry, no one ought to be content whilst there is any such thing as an "if" about his having tasted that the Lord is gracious. A jealous and holy distrust of self may give rise to the question even in the believer’s heart, but the continuance of such a doubt would be an evil indeed. We must not rest without a desperate struggle to clasp the Saviour in the arms of faith, and say, "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him." Do not rest, O believer, till thou hast a full assurance of thine interest in Jesus. Let nothing satisfy thee till, by the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with thy spirit, thou art certified that thou art a child of God. Oh, trifle not here; let no "perhaps" and "peradventure" and "if" and "maybe" satisfy thy soul. Build on eternal verities, and verily build upon them. Get the sure mercies of David, and surely get them. Let thine anchor be cast into that which is within the veil, and see to it that thy soul be linked to the anchor by a cable that will not break. Advance beyond these dreary "ifs;" abide no more in the wilderness of doubts and fears; cross the Jordan of distrust, and enter the Canaan of peace, where the Canaanite still lingers, but where the land ceaseth not to flow with milk and honey.
Evening
There is corn in Egypt.
Genesis 42:2
Famine pinched all the nations, and it seemed inevitable that Jacob and his family should suffer great want; but the God of providence, who never forgets the objects of electing love, had stored a granary for His people by giving the Egyptians warning of the scarcity, and leading them to treasure up the grain of the years of plenty. Little did Jacob expect deliverance from Egypt, but there was the corn in store for him. Believer, though all things are apparently against thee, rest assured that God has made a reservation on thy behalf; in the roll of thy griefs there is a saving clause.
Somehow He will deliver thee, and somewhere He will provide for thee.
The quarter from which thy rescue shall arise may be a very unexpected one, but help will assuredly come in thine extremity, and thou shalt magnify the name of the Lord. If men do not feed thee, ravens shall; and if earth yield not wheat, heaven shall drop with manna. Therefore be of good courage, and rest quietly in the Lord. God can make the sun rise in the west if He pleases, and make the source of distress the channel of delight.
The corn in Egypt was all in the hands of the beloved Joseph; he opened or closed the granaries at will. And so the riches of providence are all in the absolute power of our Lord Jesus, who will dispense them liberally to His people. Joseph was abundantly ready to succour his own family; and Jesus is unceasing in His faithful care for His brethren. Our business is to go after the help which is provided for us: we must not sit still in despondency, but bestir ourselves. Prayer will bear us soon into the presence of our royal Brother: once before His throne we have only to ask and have: His stores are not exhausted; there is corn still: His heart is not hard, He will give the corn to us. Lord, forgive our unbelief, and this evening constrain us to draw largely from Thy fulness and receive grace for grace.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Isaiah 42:1-7
1 "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
3 He won't break a bruised reed. He won't quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands wait for his law."
5 God the LORD, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says:
6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations,
7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
HUMAN FRAILTIES
What a winsome revelation of the delicate gentleness of the Lord! "The bruised reed" - is it the impaired musical reed, that cannot now emit a musical sound, and can only be thrown away? He will not snap it and cast it to the void. The discordant life can be made tuneful again: He will put "a new song in my mouth."
"And the smoking flax" - the life that has lost its fire, and therefore its light, its enthusiasm, and therefore its ideals; the life that is smouldering into the cold ashes of moral and spiritual death! He will not stamp it out with His foot. The smouldering fire can be rekindled, a spent enthusiasm can be revived. "He shall baptize you ... with fire!"
And so He comes to minister to the infirm. He comes to restore injured faculty; "to open blind eyes." He comes to give vision to restored sight: "to be a light of the Gentiles." And He comes to endow the restored life with a rich and gracious freedom: "to bring out the prisoners from the prison." Sight, and light, and freedom! And my Lord is at the gate, and these gifts are in His hand.
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
May 21st.
My Father, look back upon the past in pity. Forgive the broken vows, the unfinished work, the lukewarm desire after truth.
May I repent of my sin! Help me to lift my eyes to the hills, and with renewed devotion follow my Lord.
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty the themselves upon the earth.
Ecclesiates 11:3
Why, then, do we dread the clouds which now darken our sky? True, for a while they hide the sun, but the sun is not quenched; he will shine out again before long. Meanwhile those black clouds are filled with rain; and the blacker they are, the more likely they are to yield plentiful showers. How can we have rain without clouds?
Our troubles have always brought us blessings, and they always will. They are the dark chariots of bright grace. These clouds will empty themselves before long, and every tender herb will be the gladder for the shower. Our God may drench us with grief, but he will not drown us with wrath; nay, he will refresh us with mercy. Our Lord's love-letters often come to us in black-edged envelopes. His wagons rumble, but they are loaded with benefits. His rod blossoms with sweet flowers and nourishing fruits. Let us not worry about the clouds, but sing because May flowers are brought to us through the April clouds and showers.
O Lord, the clouds are the dust of thy feet! How near thou art in the cloudy and dark day! Love beholds thee, and is glad. Faith sees the clouds emptying themselves and making the little hills rejoice on every side.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Then the devil leadeth him; and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Matthew 4:11
The enemy of the race is seen in all his subtlety and terrible power, but yet spoiled, defeated, crushed. The Redeemer is seen in all the terribleness of conflict, upon the issue of which depends the carrying out of the purpose of God, and the deliverance and uplifting of man; but yet victorious, crowned, and exercising the functions of the Conqueror.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Dead, and is alive; and lost, and is found.
Luke 15:32
Thus, in this matchless story of the love of the Father's heart, our Lord gives us the Divine estimate of the contrast between the condition of those who are away from God, and those who are restored to Him. The contrast is a double one, dealing with the experience of man, and the experience of God. Given the man away from fellowship with God - he is, in his own experience, dead; in the experience of God, he is lost. Given the man restored to God - he is, in his own experience, alive; in the experience of God he is found. The man away from God is dead. There is a sense in which he still lives; but everything is less than the real, withered at the heart, and unfinished; and he lacks entirely the deepest things of life, which are those of the spiritual and eternal powers and joys. To God that man is lost. In his loss God is defrauded. And we miss the deepest note if we fail to detect the tone of Divine sorrow in the word. The man restored to God is alive. There may be many things which as yet he is excluded from, but everything is touched with life, strong at the centre, and satisfied; and he lives in the profound peace and power of the abiding. To God that man is found. In his restoration God is enriched. And again we miss the deepest note, if we do not catch the glad ring of the rejoicing heart of God. The whole truth about life is here. The man lost to God is dead. The man found of God is alive.
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.