Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
September 3
Morning
"Thou
whom my soul loveth."—Song of Solomon 1:7.
It is well to be able,
without any "if" or "but," to say of the Lord Jesus—"Thou
whom my soul loveth." Many can only say of
Jesus that they hope they love Him; they trust they love Him; but
only a poor and shallow experience will be content to stay here. No one ought
to give any rest to his spirit till he feels quite sure about a matter of such
vital importance. We ought not to be satisfied with a superficial hope
that Jesus loves us, and with a bare trust that we love Him. The old saints did
not generally speak with "buts," and "ifs," and
"hopes," and "trusts," but they spoke positively and
plainly. "I know whom I have believed," saith
Paul. "I know that my Redeemer liveth," saith Job. Get positive knowledge of your love of Jesus,
and be not satisfied till you can speak of your interest in Him as a reality,
which you have made sure by having received the witness of the Holy Spirit, and
His seal upon your soul by faith.
True love to Christ is in
every case the Holy Spirit's work, and must be wrought in the heart by Him. He
is the efficient cause of it; but the logical reason why we love Jesus
lies in Himself. Why do we love Jesus? Because He first loved us. Why do we love
Jesus? Because He "gave Himself for us." We have life through
His death; we have peace through His blood. Though He was rich, yet for our
sakes He became poor. Why do we love Jesus? Because of the excellency of His person. We are filled with a
sense of His beauty! an admiration of His charms! a consciousness of His infinite perfection! His greatness,
goodness, and loveliness, in one resplendent ray, combine to enchant the soul
till it is so ravished that it exclaims, "Yea, He is altogether
lovely." Blessed love this—a love which binds the heart with chains
more soft than silk, and yet more firm than adamant!
"The Lord trieth the
righteous."—Psalm 11:5.
All events are under the
control of Providence; consequently all the trials of our outward life are
traceable at once to the great First Cause. Out of the golden gate of God's
ordinance the armies of trial march forth in array, clad in their iron armour, and armed with weapons of war. All providences are
doors to trial. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may be
drowned in seas of prosperity as well as in rivers of affliction. Our mountains
are not too high, and our valleys are not too low for temptations: trials lurk
on all roads. Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset and surrounded with
dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening cloud; every drop
has its order ere it hastens to the earth. The trials which come from God are
sent to prove and strengthen our graces, and so at once to illustrate the power
of divine grace, to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their
energy. Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a
value upon His people's faith that He will not screen them from those trials by
which faith is strengthened. You would never have possessed the precious faith which now supports you if the trial of your faith had
not been like unto fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if
the wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold upon the
precious truths of the covenant grace. Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it
loosens the joints of holy valour, and snaps the
sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut;
affliction doth this sharp service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps
comfortably in the husk it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its
resting place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth
them to grow rich towards God.