Evening and Morning
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
March 27
MORNING
ÒThen all the disciples forsook Him and
fled.Ó — Matthew 26:56
He never deserted them, but they in cowardly fear of
their lives, fled from Him in the very beginning of His sufferings. This is but
one instructive instance of the frailty of all believers if left to themselves;
they are but sheep at the best, and they flee when the wolf cometh. They had
all been warned of the danger, and had promised to die rather than leave their
Master; and yet they were seized with sudden panic, and took to their heels. It
may be, that I, at the opening of this day, have braced up my mind to bear a
trial for the LordÕs sake, and I imagine myself to be certain to exhibit
perfect fidelity; but let me be very jealous of myself, lest having the same
evil heart of unbelief, I should depart from my Lord as the apostles did. It is
one thing to promise, and quite another to perform. It would have been to their
eternal honour to have stood at JesusÕ side right
manfully; they fled from honour; may I be kept from
imitating them! Where else could they have been so safe as near their Master,
who could presently call for twelve legions of angels? They fled from their
true safety. O God, let me not play the fool also. Divine grace can make the
coward brave. The smoking flax can flame forth like fire on the altar when the
Lord wills it. These very apostles who were timid as hares, grew to be bold as
lions after the Spirit had descended upon them, and even so the Holy Spirit can
make my recreant spirit brave to confess my Lord and witness for His truth.
What anguish must have filled the Saviour as He saw
His friends so faithless! This was one bitter ingredient in His cup; but that
cup is drained dry; let me not put another drop in it. If I forsake my Lord, I
shall crucify Him afresh, and put Him to an open shame. Keep me, O blessed
Spirit, from an end so shameful.
EVENING
ÒAnd she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs
eat of the crumbs which fall from their masterÕs table.Ó — Matthew 15:27
This woman gained comfort in her misery by thinking
GREAT THOUGHTS OF CHRIST. The Master had talked about the childrenÕs bread:
ÒNow,Ó argued she, Òsince Thou art the Master of the table of grace, I know
that Thou art a generous housekeeper, and there is sure to be abundance of
bread on Thy table; there will be such an abundance for the children that there
will be crumbs to throw on the floor for the dogs, and the children will fare
none the worse because the dogs are fed.Ó She thought Him one who kept so good
a table that all that she needed would only be a crumb in comparison; yet
remember, what she wanted was to have the devil cast out of her daughter. It
was a very great thing to her, but she had such a high esteem of Christ, that she said, ÒIt is nothing to Him, it is but a
crumb for Christ to give.Ó This is the royal road to comfort. Great thoughts of
your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will
pilot you into the haven of peace. ÒMy sins are many, but oh! it is nothing to Jesus to take them all away. The weight of
my guilt presses me down as a giantÕs foot would crush a worm, but it is no
more than a grain of dust to Him, because He has already borne its curse in His
own body on the tree. It will be but a small thing for Him to give me full
remission, although it will be an infinite blessing for me to receive it.Ó The
woman opens her soulÕs mouth very wide, expecting great things of Jesus, and He
fills it with His love. Dear reader, do the same. She confessed what Christ
laid at her door, but she laid fast hold upon Him, and drew arguments even out
of His hard words; she believed great things of Him, and she thus overcame Him.
SHE WON THE VICTORY BY BELIEVING IN HIM. Her case is an instance of prevailing
faith; and if we would conquer like her, we must imitate her tactics.