Meditate
with a daily devotion
Daily Light's Morning Reading
I am black, but comely.—SONG 1:5.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.—Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
I am a sinful man, O Lord.—Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair.
I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.—Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
When I would do good, evil is present with me.—Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing—Ye are complete in him.—Perfect in Christ Jesus.
Ye are washed, . . . ye are sanctified, . . . ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.—That ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Psa. 51:5. -Ezek. 16:14.Luke 5:8. -Song 4:1.Job 42:6. -Song 4:7.Rom. 7:21. -Matt. 9:2.Rom. 7:18. -Col. 2:10. -Col. 1:28.I Cor. 6:11. -I Pet. 2:9.
Spurgeon's Morning Reading
“The place which is called Calvary.”
Luke 23:33
The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock—riven by the spear which pierced his side. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary’s tragedy.
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“Is it not strange, the darkest hour That ever dawned on sinful earth, Should touch the heart with softer power, For comfort, than an angel’s mirth? That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn, Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?” |
Light springs from the midday-midnight of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. In that place of thirst, grace hath dug a fountain which ever gusheth with waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of mankind. You who have had your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you. The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary have put all other groans to flight. Thus Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich. We never should have known Christ’s love in all its heights and depths if he had not died; nor could we guess the Father’s deep affection if he had not given his Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die.
Old Testament Chapter a Day - Esther 3
3. Haman's Plot
Haman Undertakes to Destroy the Jews
3
After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the officials who were with him.2And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance.3Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”4When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew.5When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was infuriated.6But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur—which means “the lot”—before Haman for the day and for the month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them.9If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, so that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.”10So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.11The king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, and the people as well, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12 Then the king’s secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring.13Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.14A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day.15The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
New Testament in Four Years - James 1:19-21
1. Trials and Temptations
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;20for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.21Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
Psalm a Day - Psalm 74
74. Psalm 74
Psalm 74
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1
O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2
Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4
Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.
5
At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.
6
And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7
They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.
8
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9
We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.
10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11
Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in your bosom?
12
Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.
13
You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries and the sun.
17
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.
19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20
Have regard for your covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22
Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23
Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
