The Daily Readings
TUESDAY, October 20, 2020
Psalm 63:1-8; Numbers 12:1-9; Revelation 18:21-24
The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV)
Today’s Verse-of-the-Day:
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.Although we can never lose our salvation once we genuinely come to Christ by faith, we can lose the joy of our salvation through our sin. Only through confession and reliance on His Spirit can we return to peace with the Lord and contentment in our souls (NASB Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible Notes).
Today’s Readings:
Psalm 63:1-8
I rejoice in the shadow of your wings
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;Commentary
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
Early will I seek thee. The true Christian devotes to God the morning hour. He opens the eyes of his understanding with those of his body and awakes each morning to righteousness. He arises with a thirst after those comforts which the world cannot give and has immediate recourse by prayer to the Fountain of the water of life. The true believer is convinced that nothing in this sinful world can satisfy his immortal soul's wants and desires; he expects his happiness from God as his portion. When faith and hope are most in exercise, the world appears a weary desert, and the believer longs for the joys of heaven, of which he has some foretastes in the ordinances of God upon the earth.
Even in affliction, we need not want matter for praise. When this is the regular frame of a believer's mind, he values God's loving-kindness more than life. God's loving-kindness is our spiritual life, and that is better than temporal life. We must praise God with joyful lips; we must address ourselves to the duties of religion with cheerfulness, and speak forth the praises of God from a principle of holy joy. Praising lips must be joyful lips. David was in continual danger; care and fear held his eyes waking, and gave him wearisome nights, but he comforted himself with thoughts of God. When called to mind in the night watches, the mercies of God support the soul, making darkness cheerful. How happy will be that last morning, when the believer, waking up after the Divine likeness, shall be satisfied with all the fulness of God, and praise him with joyful lips, where there is no night, and where sorrow and sighing flee away!
Numbers 12:1-9
Aaron’s and Miriam’s jealousy
12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.Commentary
2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
The patience of Moses was tried in his own family, as well as by the people. The pretense was that he had married a foreign wife, but their pride was probably hurt, and their envy stirred up by his superior authority. Opposition from our near relations, and from religious friends, is most painful. But this is to be looked for, and it will be well if we can preserve the gentleness and meekness of Moses in such circumstances. Moses was thus fitted to the work he was called to. God not only cleared Moses but praised him. Moses had the spirit of prophecy in a way which set him far above all other prophets, yet he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he; and our Lord Jesus infinitely excels him, Hebrews 3:1. Let Miriam and Aaron consider whom it was they insulted. We have reason to be afraid of saying or doing anything against the servants of God. And those are presumptuous indeed who are not afraid to speak evil of dignities, 2 Peter 2:10. The removal of God's presence is the surest and saddest token of God's displeasure. Woe to us, if he departs! he never departs, till by sin and folly we drive him from us.
18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.Commentary
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth
That which is a matter of rejoicing to God's servants on earth is a matter of rejoicing to the angels in heaven. The apostles, who are honored and daily worshiped at Rome in an idolatrous manner, will rejoice in her fall. The fall of Babylon was an act of God's justice. And because it was a final ruin, this enemy should never molest them any more; of this, they were assured by a sign. Let us take warning from the things which brought others to destruction, and let us set our affections on things above when we consider the changeable nature of earthly things.
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel lessons are from The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV).
Commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible.
The Daily Bible Readings are selected from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, a three-year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2020, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2019 was Year C. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
The Daily Readings for TUESDAY, October 20, 2020
Psalm 63:1-8; Numbers 12:1-9; Revelation 18:21-24 (KJV)
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