DAY 198 Read Isaiah 40 through 42.
Today's reading: These chapters issue challenge after challenge for the false gods to prove their power. Also some of the most beautiful prophecies of the Messiah and the most precious promises are found there.
Memory gem: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).
Thought for today:
I live on the edge of a great city. One reason that I should like to live far away from the city, in the mountains or on the seashore, is this--the great cities rob us of the glory of the stars. There is too much light in cities. It would do us all good, at least once in our lifetime, to be alone beneath the stars, to watch the majestic march of the constellations across the sky from dusk to dawn. It seems to me that no thinking mind could ever, after that, doubt the existence of the Supreme Being.
It is the will of God that we should look at the stars. Every modern astronomical observatory is the fulfillment of a scriptural command. Have you ever read the words of Isaiah 40:26?
"Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth."
Look at the stars. Look upward. Study astronomy. That's the Bible command. Look at the stars and see who hath created them. Look at the midnight sky and see God in His works. As flowers bloom here on earth in summertime, so, as Longfellow has said, "Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven [blossom] the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."
NOTE: Isaiah 41 contains the first of several remarkable prophecies of Cyrus the Great, who would conquer Babylon a century and a half later.
Chapter 42 predicts the coming Messiah (see Matthew 12:17-21).
Today's reading: These chapters issue challenge after challenge for the false gods to prove their power. Also some of the most beautiful prophecies of the Messiah and the most precious promises are found there.
Memory gem: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).
Thought for today:
I live on the edge of a great city. One reason that I should like to live far away from the city, in the mountains or on the seashore, is this--the great cities rob us of the glory of the stars. There is too much light in cities. It would do us all good, at least once in our lifetime, to be alone beneath the stars, to watch the majestic march of the constellations across the sky from dusk to dawn. It seems to me that no thinking mind could ever, after that, doubt the existence of the Supreme Being.
It is the will of God that we should look at the stars. Every modern astronomical observatory is the fulfillment of a scriptural command. Have you ever read the words of Isaiah 40:26?
"Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth."
Look at the stars. Look upward. Study astronomy. That's the Bible command. Look at the stars and see who hath created them. Look at the midnight sky and see God in His works. As flowers bloom here on earth in summertime, so, as Longfellow has said, "Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven [blossom] the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."
NOTE: Isaiah 41 contains the first of several remarkable prophecies of Cyrus the Great, who would conquer Babylon a century and a half later.
Chapter 42 predicts the coming Messiah (see Matthew 12:17-21).
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