The Third Heaven and the Thorn

Daily Meditation
9 My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Today’s Reading

2 Corinthians 12

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh

Paul Plans a Third Visit

1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. 12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. 13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.

14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. 16 But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. 17 Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? 18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

19 Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying. 20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: 21 and lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

The Great Deliverer—God

Daily Meditation
15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved...

Today’s Reading

Isaiah 30

The Futility of Reliance on Egypt

The Promise of God’s Grace to Israel

The LORD’s Judgment on Assyria

1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2 that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. 4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. 5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. 7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.

8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: 9 that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: 10 which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: 11 get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. 15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. 16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: 21 and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. 23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. 24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. 25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

27 Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: 28 and his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. 29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel. 30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. 33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

“Fret Not”

Daily Meditation
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Today’s Reading

Psalm 37

The Insecurity of the Wicked

A Psalm of David.

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers,

neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

and wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord;

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord;

trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,

and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:

fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,

because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:

fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off:

but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:

yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth;

and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plotteth against the just,

and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

13 The Lord shall laugh at him:

for he seeth that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow,

to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:

but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright:

and their inheritance shall be for ever.

19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time:

and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

20 But the wicked shall perish,

and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs:

they shall consume;

into smoke shall they consume away.

21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again:

but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth;

and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:

and he delighteth in his way.

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:

for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

25 I have been young, and now am old;

yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth;

and his seed is blessed.

27 Depart from evil, and do good;

and dwell for evermore.

28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints;

they are preserved for ever:

but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

29 The righteous shall inherit the land,

and dwell therein for ever.

30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom,

and his tongue talketh of judgment.

31 The law of his God is in his heart;

none of his steps shall slide.

32 The wicked watcheth the righteous,

and seeketh to slay him.

33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand,

nor condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way,

and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land:

when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

35 I have seen the wicked in great power,

and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not:

yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright:

for the end of that man is peace.

38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together:

the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord:

he is their strength in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them:

he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them,

because they trust in him.

Sharing God’s Attitude Toward Sin

Daily Meditation
8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

Today’s Reading

Psalm 5

A Prayer for Protection

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O Lord,

consider my meditation.

2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God:

for unto thee will I pray.

3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord;

in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:

neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight:

thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing:

the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy:

and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;

make thy way straight before my face.

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;

their inward part is very wickedness;

their throat is an open sepulchre;

they flatter with their tongue.

10 Destroy thou them, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions;

for they have rebelled against thee.

11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:

let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:

let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12 For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous;

with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

The Lord Reigning

Daily Meditation
4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

Today’s Reading

Psalm 47

God Is the King of All the Earth

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

1 O clap your hands, all ye people;

shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

2 For the Lord most high is terrible;

he is a great King over all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the people under us,

and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose our inheritance for us,

the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

5 God is gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises:

sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth:

sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the heathen:

God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

9 The princes of the people are gathered together,

even the people of the God of Abraham:

for the shields of the earth belong unto God:

he is greatly exalted.

A Psalm of Trouble and Trust

Daily Meditation
15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.

Today’s Reading

Psalm 31

A Profession of Trust

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1 In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed:

deliver me in thy righteousness.

2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily:

be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

3 For thou art my rock and my fortress;

therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.

4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me:

for thou art my strength.

5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit:

thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities:

but I trust in the Lord.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy:

for thou hast considered my trouble;

thou hast known my soul in adversities;

8 and hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy:

thou hast set my feet in a large room.

9 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble:

mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing:

my strength faileth because of mine iniquity,

and my bones are consumed.

11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies,

but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance:

they that did see me without fled from me.

12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind:

I am like a broken vessel.

13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side:

while they took counsel together against me,

they devised to take away my life.

14 But I trusted in thee, O Lord:

I said, Thou art my God.

15 My times are in thy hand:

deliver me from the hand of mine enemies,

and from them that persecute me.

16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant:

save me for thy mercies’ sake.

17 Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee:

let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

18 Let the lying lips be put to silence;

which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 Oh how great is thy goodness,

which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee;

which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man:

thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord:

for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.

22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes:

nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.

23 O love the Lord, all ye his saints:

for the Lord preserveth the faithful,

and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,

all ye that hope in the Lord.

Sinai to Kadesh Barnea

Daily Meditation
12 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.

Today’s Reading

Numbers 10

The Silver Trumpets

The Israelites Depart from Sinai

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3 And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. 6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. 9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God.

11 And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. 12 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. 13 And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

14 In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.

18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.

22 And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

25 And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rereward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. 27 And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.

29 And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. 30 And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. 31 And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. 32 And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.

33 And they departed from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. 35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. 36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.