Daily Bible Notes: November, 20th
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
0 Lord, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul.
Lamentations 3:58
Observe how positively the prophet speaks. He doth not say, "I hope, I trust, I sometimes think, that God hath pleaded the causes of my soul"; but he speaks of it as a matter of fact not to be disputed. "Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul." Let us, by the aid of the gracious Comforter, shake off those doubts and fears which so much mar our peace and comfort. Be this our prayer, that we may have done with the harsh croaking voice of surmise and suspicion, and may be able to speak with the clear, melodious voice of full assurance. Notice how gratefully the prophet speaks, ascribing all the glory to God alone! You perceive there is not a word concerning himself or his own pleadings. He doth not ascribe his deliverance in any measure to any man, much less to his own merit; but it is "thou" - "O Lord, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; Thou hast redeemed my life." A grateful spirit should ever be cultivated by the Christian; and especially after deliverances we should prepare a song for our God. Earth should be a temple filled with the songs of grateful saints, and every day should be a censor smoking with the sweet incense of thanksgiving. How joyful Jeremiah seems to be while he records the Lord’s mercy. How triumphantly he lifts up the strain! He has been in the low dungeon, and is even now no other than the weeping prophet; and yet in the very book which is called "Lamentations," clear as the song of Miriam when she dashed her fingers against the tabor, shrill as the note of Deborah when she met Barak with shouts of victory, we hear the voice of Jeremy going up to heaven - "Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life." O children of God, seek after a vital experience of the Lord’s lovingkindness, and when you have it, speak positively of it; sing gratefully; shout triumphantly.
Evening
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.
Proverbs 30:26
Conscious of their own natural defenselessness, the conies resort to burrows in the rocks, and are secure from their enemies. My heart, be willing to gather a lesson from these feeble folk. Thou art as weak and as exposed to peril as the timid cony, be as wise to seek a shelter. My best security is within the munitions of an immutable Jehovah, where His unalterable promises stand like giant walls of rock. It will be well with thee, my heart, if thou canst always hide thyself in the bulwarks of His glorious attributes, all of which are guarantees of safety for those who put their trust in Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord, I have so done, and have found myself like David in Adullam, safe from the cruelty of my enemy; I have not now to find out the blessedness of the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for long ago, when Satan and my sins pursued me, I fled to the cleft of the rock Christ Jesus, and in His riven side I found a delightful resting-place. My heart, run to Him anew to-night, whatever thy present grief may be; Jesus feels for thee; Jesus consoles thee; Jesus will help thee. No monarch in his impregnable fortress is more secure than the cony in his rocky burrow. The master of ten thousand chariots is not one whit better protected than the little dweller in the mountain’s cleft. In Jesus the weak are strong, and the defenceless safe; they could not be more strong if they were giants, or more safe if they were in heaven. Faith gives to men on earth the protection of the God of heaven. More they cannot need, and need not wish. The conies cannot build a castle, but they avail themselves of what is there already: I cannot make myself a refuge, but Jesus has provided it, His Father has given it, His Spirit has revealed it, and lo, again to-night I enter it, and am safe from every foe.
2. "My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year" by J.H.Jowett
Isaiah 41:8-16
8 "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,
9 You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from its corners, and said to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away.'
10 Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish.
12 You will seek them, and won't find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Don't be afraid. I will help you.'
14 Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you," says the LORD. "Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff.
16 You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in the LORD. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
THE REAL ARISTOCRACY
"Abraham, my friend."
I think that is the noblest title ever given to mortal man. It is the speech of the Lord God concerning one of His children. It is something to be coveted even to enjoy the friendship of a noble man; but to have the friendship of God, and to have the holy God name us as His friends, is surely the brightest jewel that can ever shine in a mortal's crown. And such recognition and such glory may be the wonderful lot of thee and me.
"Abraham, my friend." The Lord of hosts found delight in human friendships. He comes in to sup with us. He drinks of the cup of our delights. For, surely, it is one of the supreme characteristics of true friendship that it rejoices at the other's joy. And my heavenly Friend is glad in my gladness as well as sympathetic in the day of sadness and tears. Yes, He comes in to sup with me, and I may sup with Him.
"Abraham, my friend." And He shares His sweets with His friend, in inward counsels, and in tender revelations of His purposes and in the gifts of joy and peace. There is perfect openness between these friends; nothing is hid. They have the run of each other's hearts.
- "I tell Him all my joys and fears,
And He reveals His love to me."
3. "Yet Another Day - A Prayer for Every Day of the Year" by John H.Jowett
November 20th.
O Saviour of the world, lift my thought into the breadth of Thy purpose. Save me from all narrowness of outlook.
Let my mind be full of hospitality. Help me to remember and to pity the needs of others in less favoured lands. Let all the nations praise Thee.
4. "The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith" by C.H.Spurgeon.
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Psalms 107:9
It is well to have longings, and the more intense they are the better. The Lord will satisfy soul-longings, however great and all-absorbing they may be. Let us greatly long, for God will greatly give. We are never in a right state of mind when we are contented with ourselves, and are free from longings. Desires for more grace, and groanings which cannot be uttered, are growing pains, and we should wish to feel them more and more. Blessed Spirit, make us sigh and cry after better things, and for more of the best things!
Hunger is by no means a pleasant sensation. Yet blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Such persons shall not only have their hunger relieved with a little food, but they shall be filled. They shall not be filled with any sort of rough stuff, but their diet shall be worthy of their good Lord, for they shall be filled with goodness by Jehovah himself.
Come, let us not fret because we long and hunger, but let us hear the voice of the Psalmist as he also longs and hungers to see God magnified. "Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men."
5. "The Morning Message" by G.Campbell Morgan.
It is the Spirit that beareth witness.
1 John 5:6
Every vision of Christ granted to the believer has been the result of the presence in that believer of the Holy Spirit, Who alone gives grace to say in new realms of life, in new vistas of outlook, that Jesus is Lord.
6. "An Evening Meditation" taken from "Searchlights from the Word" by G.Campbell Morgan.
0 come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.
Psalms 95:6
In this song, praise merges into admonition. The theme is the same: "Jehovah is a great God; and a great King above all gods." His greatness is illustrated in two ways. First, its manifestation is seen in the natural order; the earth and the sea are witnesses. It is manifested also in His creation of the nation, and the relation He bears to it. In these particular words a necessary attitude of the soul in the worship of such a God is declared. It is that of the utmost humility. In His presence, man must bow down before Him, man must kneel in the attitude of complete submission and obeisance. This is a truth of which we need to remind ourselves. We have the right to come before God with great gladness, but never without a sense of His majesty, and what is due to it. When the sense of that greatness is lost, and the worshipper fails to bow down, to kneel, to take the place of the uttermost lowliness before God, something is lacking in worship, which is of its very essence. God crowns us with life and with authority, and therein we may, too, rejoice; but in His presence those very crowns are to be cast before Him. Among really excellent people one sometimes hears flippant and irreverent references to God, and observes a lack of reverent demeanour. This is wrong, and tends to rob worship of its value to the soul, as it dishonours the awful majesty of the Eternal. Before God we must ever bow down and kneel in lowly reverence.
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.