May 4 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 65:

¹Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
²O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
³Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
⁴Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
⁵By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
⁶Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:
⁷Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
⁸They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
⁹Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
¹⁰Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
¹¹Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
¹²They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

Devotional

By nature we are separated from God. Sin has separated us from him. We have grievously sinned. We have transgressed all his commandments. We are "prone always to all evil." Yet, God has chosen us out of the world to be his own. Why did He do it? The reason lies in his eternal counsel. There was no worthi­ness in us. He loved us with an everlasting love. We cannot understand it. He saw us polluted in our own blood, and said unto us, Live.

He came to us, and took us and put us as living stones into the wall of his holy temple, of which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. Through Christ, who made atonement for our sins, we are brought nigh unto God, and through him we again have fellowship with God, and enjoy the riches of his house. We owe it all to him. "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!" "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand." "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures."

O reader, can you grasp it? We who are poor, naked, destitute are made rich in Christ Jesus, fully satisfied, lacking no good thing. O what blessedness! Let us go up to his house, and thank him today and for ever.

Prayer

O, Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. Blessed is the man whom Thou chooseth, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, that have true fellowship with Thee. They go from strength to strength; Thou Lord, wilt give grace and glory. No good thing wilt Thou withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Ezek. 16:6, Ps. 84:1, 10; Ps. 65:4; 36:8.

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