Evening and
Morning
By Charles
Haddon Spurgeon
March 29
Morning
"Though He were a Son, yet learned He
obedience by the things which He suffered."—Hebrews 5:8.
We are told that the
Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, therefore we who
are sinful, and who are far from being perfect, must not wonder if we are
called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be crowned with thorns,
and shall the other members of the body be rocked upon the dainty lap of ease?
Must Christ pass through seas of His own blood to win the crown, and are we to
walk to heaven dryshod in silver slippers? No, our
Master's experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he
might. But there is one very comforting thought in the fact of Christ's
"being made perfect through suffering"—it is, that He can have
complete sympathy with us. "He is not an high priest that cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities." In this sympathy of Christ
we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs said, "I can bear it
all, for Jesus suffered, and He suffers in me now; He sympathizes with me, and
this makes me strong." Believer, lay hold of this thought in all times of
agony. Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you follow in His steps. Find
a sweet support in His sympathy; and remember that, to suffer is an honourable thing—to
suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy
to do this. Just so far as the Lord shall give us grace to suffer for
Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far does He honour
us. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings
whom God hath anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being honoured. Let us not turn aside from being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. "If we suffer,
we shall also reign with Him."
Evening
"I called Him, but He gave me no answer."—Song of Solomon 5:6.
Prayer sometimes tarrieth, like a petitioner at the gate, until the King
cometh forth to fill her bosom with the blessings which she seeketh.
The Lord, when He hath given great faith, has been known to try it by long delayings. He has suffered His servants' voices to echo in
their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it
has remained immovable, as though it were rusted upon its hinges. Like
Jeremiah, they have cried, "Thou hast covered Thyself
with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through." Thus have true
saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because their
prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it so
pleased Him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according to His own pleasure. If
it pleases Him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall He not do as He wills
with His own! Beggars must not be choosers either as to time, place, or form.
But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials: God's
long-dated bills will be punctually honoured; we must
not suffer Satan to shake our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our
unanswered prayers. Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for
our prayers—they are not blown away by the wind, they are treasured in
the King's archives. This is a registry in the court of heaven wherein every
prayer is recorded. Tried believer, thy Lord hath a tear-bottle in which the
costly drops of sacred grief are put away, and a book in which thy holy groanings are numbered. By-and-by, thy suit shall prevail.
Canst thou not be content to wait a little? Will not thy Lord's time be better
than thy time? By-and-by He will comfortably appear, to thy soul's joy, and
make thee put away the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting, and put on the
scarlet and fine linen of full fruition.