Evening and Morning
By Charles
Haddon Spurgeon
April 10
Morning
"The place which is
called Calvary."—Luke 23:33.
The hill of
comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood
of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven
rock—riven by the spear which pierced His side.
No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary's tragedy.
"Is it not strange, the darkest hour
That ever dawned on sinful earth,
Should touch the heart with softer power,
For comfort, than an
angel's mirth?
That to the Cross the
mourner's eye should turn,
Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem
burn?"
Light springs from the
midday-midnight of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath
the shadow of the once accursed tree. In that place of thirst, grace hath dug a
fountain which ever gusheth with waters pure as
crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of mankind. You who have had
your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever
found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you.
The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life;
the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your
cares, and the groans of Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich. We never
should have known Christ's love in all its heights and depths if He had not
died; nor could we guess the Father's deep affection if He had not given His
Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep
sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look
at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see
the Man of sorrows die.
Evening
"For there stood by me this
night the angel of God."—Acts 27:23.
Tempest and long darkness, coupled with imminent risk of shipwreck, had
brought the crew of the vessel into a sad case; one man alone among them
remained perfectly calm, and by his word the rest were reassured. Paul was the
only man who had heart enough to say, "Sirs, be of good cheer." There
were veteran Roman legionaries on board, and brave old mariners, and yet their
poor Jewish prisoner had more spirit than they all. He had a secret Friend who
kept his courage up. The Lord Jesus despatched a
heavenly messenger to whisper words of consolation in the ear of His faithful
servant, therefore he wore a shining countenance and spake
like a man at ease.
If
we fear the Lord, we may look for timely interpositions when our case is at its
worst. Angels are not kept from us by storms, or hindered by darkness. Seraphs
think it no humiliation to visit the poorest of the heavenly family. If angel's
visits are few and far between at ordinary times, they shall be frequent in our
nights of tempest and tossing. Friends may drop from us when we are under
pressure, but our intercourse with the inhabitants of the angelic world shall
be more abundant; and in the strength of love-words, brought to us from the throne
by the way of Jacob's ladder, we shall be strong to do exploits. Dear reader,
is this an hour of distress with you? then ask for
peculiar help. Jesus is the angel of the covenant, and if His presence be now earnestly sought, it will not be denied. What that
presence brings in heart-cheer those remember who, like Paul, have had the
angel of God standing by them in a night of storm, when anchors would no longer
hold, and rocks were nigh.
"O angel of my God, be near,
Amid the darkness hush my fear;
Loud roars the wild tempestuous
sea,
Thy presence, Lord, shall comfort me."