Evening devotional

Hear this evening's devotional [Prepared by Jonathan Bagster (1813-1872)]

10.31 Evening:

Do as Thou hast said.

Stablish Thy Word unto Thy servant, who is devoted to Thy fear.. . . So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in Thy Word. . . .Remember the Word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope.―Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. . . .The Law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. . . .For ever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in Heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations.

God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us: which Hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.

Exceeding great and precious promises.

2Sa 7:25 Ps 119:38,42,49,54,72,89,90 Heb 6:17-20 2Pe 1:4

Here it is again with the full verses and references

10.31 Evening:

(II Samuel 7:25)And now, O Lord God, the Word that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant, and concerning His house, establish it for ever, and do as Thou hast said.

(Psalm 119:38)Stablish Thy Word unto Thy servant, who is devoted to Thy fear. . . .(Psalm 119:42)So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in Thy Word. . . . (Psalm 119:49)Remember the Word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope. . . .(Psalm 119:54)Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. . . .(Psalm 119:72)The Law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. . . .(Psalm 119:89,90) . . . For ever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in Heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

(Hebrews 6:17-20)Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us: which Hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

(II Peter 1:4)Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2Sa 7:25 Ps 119:38,42,49,54,72,89,90 Heb 6:17-20 2Pe 1:4



--
Romans 16:27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
I Peter 5:11 To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

"King Lemuel . . .a virtuous woman"

Proverbs 31

The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.



Compare Spiritual with Spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:12-14; John 5:39)--

Proverbs 1:5,6 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

Proverbs 22:19,20 That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have Life through His Name.


"The words of king Lemuel"

3927
למואל למוּאל
[l^emû'êl l^emô'êl] \{lem-oo-ale'} lem-o-ale'\
From 3926 and 410; (belonging)to God;
Lemuel or {Lemoel} a symbolical name of Solomon: - Lemuel.

Matthew 3:16,17 And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the Heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a Dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a Voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.

Psalm 2:6 Yet have I set My King upon My Holy Hill of Zion.


"Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy"

Isaiah 11:1-5 And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.

Psalm 12:5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.


Matthew 5:1-3 And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.


II Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.

Jeremiah 9:23,24 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.



"It is not for kings to drink wine"

Revelation 1:5-7 And from Jesus Christ, Who is the Faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Revelation 17:1,2 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. . . . Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Daniel 1:5-8 And the king [of Babylon] appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed–nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.



"a virtuous woman . . .Her children arise up, and call her blessed"

Habakkuk 3:19 The Lord God is my strength ["virtuous" Prov. 31:10], and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the Chief Singer on my stringed instruments.

II Samuel 22:33 God is my strength and power ["virtuous" Prov. 31:10]: and He maketh my way perfect.

Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is Above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Isaiah 62:6,7 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Song of Solomon 6:9 My dove, My undefiled is but One; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.


"She seeketh wool, and flax"

Hosea 2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away My corn in the time thereof, and My wine in the season thereof, and will recover My wool and My flax given to cover her nakedness.


"her candle goeth not out by night"

Matthew 25:1,2 Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the Bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. . . . Matthew 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. . . . Matthew 25:8-10 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.


"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her"

II Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one Husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen,and faithful.

Revelation 21:9,10 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a Great and High Mountain, and shewed me that great City, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God,

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of Salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of Righteousness, as a Bridegroom decketh Himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.


"he sitteth among the elders of the land"

Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.





--
Romans 16:27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
I Peter 5:11 To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

The LORD is gracious

For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever.
And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the Word,
that ye may grow thereby:
if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
(I Peter 1:24-2:3)

The Word for the YEAR--
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


The Word for the month--
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the Strength of my Life; of whom shall I be afraid?


The Word for the day--
Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the Just is as the shining Light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day.

Compare Spiritual with Spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:12-14; John 5:39)--

"But the path ["Way" Prov 12:28] of the Just is as the shining Light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day."

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

Acts 22:14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the Voice of His mouth.

Romans 1:16,17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.

John 1:4,5 In Him was Life; and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not

Psalm 56:11-13 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee. For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the Light of the Living?

Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your Love may abound yet more and more in Knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the Day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of Righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Again, the Word for the day--Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the Just is as the shining Light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day.



Hear this morning's devotional [Prepared by Jonathan Bagster (1813-1872)]

10.31 Morning:


Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him?

God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.―Born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

My Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.―The battle is not yours, but God's.

The Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands.

Zec 4:6 Isa 40:13 1Co 1:27-29 Joh 3:8 1:13 Hag 2:5 2Ch 20:15 1Sa 17:47

Here it is again with the full verses and references

10.31 Morning:


(Zechariah 4:6)Then He answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the Word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

(Isaiah 40:13)Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him?

(I Corinthians 1:27-29)But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.

(John 3:8)The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.--(John 1:13)Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

(Haggai 2:5)According to the Word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.--(II Chronicles 20:15)And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

(I Samuel 17:47)And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands.


Zec 4:6 Isa 40:13 1Co 1:27-29 Joh 3:8 1:13 Hag 2:5 2Ch 20:15 1Sa 17:47


I Timothy 4:15,16 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.



Psalm 72:17-19 His Name shall endure for ever: His Name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be His Glorious Name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen.

Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.


--
Romans 16:27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
I Peter 5:11 To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.