Daily Bible Notes: May, 25th
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
Forsake me not, O Lord.
Psalm 38:21
Frequently we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation, but we too much forget that we have need to use this prayer at all times . There is no moment of our life, however holy, in which we can do without His constant upholding. Whether in light or in darkness, in communion or in temptation, we alike need the prayer, "Forsake me not, O Lord." "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe." A little child, while learning to walk, always needs the nurse’s aid. The ship left by the pilot drifts at once from her course. We cannot do without continued aid from above; let it then be your prayer to-day, "Forsake me not. Father, forsake not Thy child, lest he fall by the hand of the enemy. Shepherd, forsake not Thy lamb, lest he wander from the safety of the fold. Great Husbandman, forsake not Thy plant, lest it wither and die. ‘Forsake me not, O Lord,’ now; and forsake me not at any moment of my life. Forsake me not in my joys, lest they absorb my heart. Forsake me not in my sorrows, lest I murmur against Thee. Forsake me not in the day of my repentance, lest I lose the hope of pardon, and fall into despair; and forsake me not in the day of my strongest faith, lest faith degenerate into presumption. Forsake me not, for without Thee I am weak, but with Thee I am strong. Forsake me not, for my path is dangerous, and full of snares, and I cannot do without Thy guidance. The hen forsakes not her brood, do Thou then evermore cover me with Thy feathers, and permit me under Thy wings to find my refuge. ‘Be not far from me, O Lord, for trouble is near, for there is none to help.’ ‘Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!’" "O ever in our cleansed breast, Bid Thine Eternal Spirit rest; And make our secret soul to be A temple pure and worthy Thee."
Evening
And they rose up the same hour, and returned Jerusalem... and they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them.
Luke 24:33,35.
When the two disciples had reached Emmaus, and were refreshing themselves at the evening meal, the mysterious stranger who had so enchanted them upon the road, took bread and brake it, made Himself known to them, and then vanished out of their sight. They had constrained Him to abide with them, because the day was far spent; but now, although it was much later, their love was a lamp to their feet, yea, wings also; they forgot the darkness, their weariness was all gone, and forthwith they journeyed back the threescore furlongs to tell the gladsome news of a risen Lord, who had appeared to them by the way. They reached the Christians in Jerusalem, and were received by a burst of joyful news before they could tell their own tale. These early Christians were all on fire to speak of Christ’s resurrection, and to proclaim what they knew of the Lord; they made common property of their experiences. This evening let their example impress us deeply. We too must bear our witness concerning Jesus. John’s account of the sepulchre needed to be supplemented by Peter; and Mary could speak of something further still; combined, we have a full testimony from which nothing can be spared. We have each of us peculiar gifts and special manifestations; but the one object God has in view is the perfecting of the whole body of Christ. We must, therefore, bring our spiritual possessions and lay them at the apostle’s feet, and make distribution unto all of what God has given to us. Keep back no part of the precious truth, but speak what you know, and testify what you have seen. Let not the toil or darkness, or possible unbelief of your friends, weigh one moment in the scale. Up, and be marching to the place of duty, and there tell what great things God has shown to your soul.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Joel 2:21-32
21 Land, don't be afraid. Be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things.
22 Don't be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23 "Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD, your God; for he gives you the early rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the early rain and the latter rain, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of wheat, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent amongst you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and will praise the name of the LORD, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed.
27 You will know that I am amongst Israel, and that I am the LORD, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
28 "It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.
29 And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
32 It will happen that whoever will call on the LORD's name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and amongst the remnant, those whom the LORD calls.
VISIONS AND DREAMS
And this old-world promise is good for me to-day. It is like some weather-stained well, whose waters have continued flowing throughout the generations, right down to my own time. Let me drink!
Holy inspiration will give me insight into the mind of my God. "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." The breath of God creates an atmosphere in which spiritual realities are clearly seen. It is like the Sabbath air in some busy city, when the fumes and smoke of commerce have been blown away. "Thou shalt behold the land that is very far off."
And so in my younger days holy inspiration will give me visions. "Your young men shall see visions." I shall be an idealist, and I shall see things as they exist in God's idea, even though at present they be maimed and imperfect. I shall see them "according to the pattern on the Mount."
And in my later days holy inspiration will give me dreams. "Your old men shall dream dreams." And what shall they dream about? Not like the Chinese, of a golden age in a distant past, but of a golden age to be. Their dreams shall have a "forward-looking eye." They shall see "the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
May 25th.
Mighty God, may the sense of my own weakness be swallowed up in the sense of Thy power! May I measure my foes, not by my
own impotence, but by the majesty of Thy grace! May I be more than conqueror through Christ!
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure.
Deuteronomy 28:12
This refers first to the rain. The Lord will give this in its season. Rain is the emblem of all those celestial refreshings which the Lord is ready to bestow upon his people. Oh for a copious shower to refresh the Lord's heritage!
We seem to think that God's treasury can only be opened by a great prophet like Elijah, but it is not so, for this promise is to all the faithful in Israel, and, indeed, to each one of them. O believing friend, "the Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure." Thou, too, mayest see heaven opened, and thrust in thy hand and take out thy portion, yea, and a portion for all thy brethren round about thee. Ask what thou wilt, and thou shalt not be denied, if thou abidest in Christ, and his words abide in thee.
As yet thou hast not known all thy Lord's treasures, but he shall open them up to thine understanding. Certainly thou hast not yet enjoyed the fulness of his covenant riches, but he will direct thine heart into his love, and reveal Jesus in thee. Only the Lord himself can do this for thee; but here is his promise, and if thou wilt hearken diligently unto his voice, and obey his will, his riches in glory by Christ Jesus shall be thine.
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18, R.V.
That is the Church I belong to, the Church impregnable, unconquerable, marching out in perpetual triumph into the ages beyond. That is Christ's estimate of the Church.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
If thou hadst known!
Luke 19:42
These words arrest the soul, and fill the heart with wonder. They were spoken by our Lord, as, with weeping, He looked at Jerusalem, and knew that its doom was sealed on account of its failure to know the time of its visitation. They reveal the heart of God in a wonderful way. The cry was that of a frustrated desire. He had visited the city, with the desire to deliver it from the things of destruction; and with the offers of the things of peace. The spiritual blindness of the rulers and people was such that they did not discern the meaning of the visitation. The result was inevitable. There could be no escape from the destruction. Then we see the heart of God. It is greater than the heart of man. It is mastered by holiness and justice, but none the less moved by compassion. There can be no sacrifice of the principles of righteousness, but there is no satisfaction of a selfish nature in the calamities that overtake a sinning city. The judgment must fall in disaster, but its pain is felt in the heart of God. "If thou hadst known," suggests all the blessing for the city which was in His purpose for it, and shows His sorrow over its refusal of such blessing through its blindness. The story should ever remain with us, warning us against anything in the nature of gloating over human suffering, even when it is directly the outcome of human sin. Many years ago Dr. Dale, of Birmingham, said to me that D. L. Moody was one of the few men who, in his judgment, had any right to speak on the subject of the punishment of the wicked, and his right was created by the fact that he never did it without tears in his voice.
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.